Sauce Piquante

Artist Information

Biography

SAUCE PIQUANTE plays stirring old time Cajun-Creole music. It's the back porch music of South Louisiana's bayous and prairies, the fuel for dancers at fais-do-do's and honky tonks and crawfish boils. They have an infectious joie de vivre that lets the good times roll!

Since 1999, the band has played an active part in the San Francisco Bay Area's vibrant Cajun-Creole-Zydeco music scene, the largest outside the Gulf Coast. SAUCE PIQUANTE plays regularly for dancers at local venues like Ashkenaz, McGrath's, Bobby's Back Door, the West Sacramento Moose Lodge, DeMarco's, and others. The band has performed at many festivals, including the Isleton Crawdad Festival, Boogie on the Bayou, the Berkeley Farmer's Market Cajun Festival, the San Francisco Free Folk Festival. They have enlivened private events ranging from church Mardi Gras festivals to weddings to corporate functions. Sauce Piquante has also volunteered at many hurricane fundraisers.

A little more about the band members:

BLAIR KILPATRICK, who founded the band, plays the 10 button Cajun accordion and does most of the singing. (It's all in French!) She fell in love with this haunting music almost twenty years ago, during the first of many visits to Louisiana, and she's never looked back. She has studied with many of the accordion "greats" (Steve Riley, Bois Sec Ardoin, Eddie LeJeune, Delton Broussard, Jesse Lege.) Her primary teacher and mentor was legendary Creole accordionist Danny Poullard, the guiding spirit of the Bay Area's Louisiana French music community until his death in 2001. Blair is also the author of "Accordion Dreams: A Journey into Cajun and Creole Music" (University Press of Mississippi, January 2009.)

STEVE TABAK plays the fiddle. He started out as a bluegrass mandolinist, but happily followed Blair into the world of Louisiana French music. He has been particularly influenced by Creole fiddle styles, and he considers Ed Poullard his primary influence. He also makes a fine gumbo. He and Blair host regular jam sessions at their Berkeley home.

KATHY "KP" PRICE grew up singing and playing piano. Her years of Cajun-zydeco dancing in the Bay Area rekindled her desire to make music, so she took up the electric bass. For a change of pace, she sometimes plays stand-up bass and triangle.

JIM RUTH is a rock-solid rhythm guitarist who looks to Rodney Balfa and Ann Savoy for inspiration. He has a strong background in Irish and Old Time music and is also a fine singer.

The band often adds a drummer, especially when they play for dancers. They usually call on Bay Area favorite David "Killer" Hymowitz but have also played with Kathy Dodge and Lisa Leal.

Instrumentation

Blair Kilpatrick Cajun accordion, vocals
Steve Tabak fiddle
Robert Richard guitar, vocals
Kathy "KP" Price bass, vocals
When we have a drummer, it is usually local Cajun-Zydeco favorite David "Killer" Hymowitz

Discography

Sauce Piquante Live: Vieux Temps Passe (recorded live in 2004, available through CD Baby)

Upcoming CD: Three audio samples are included on the EPK. Eleven tracks have been recorded and mixed. Material from a live performance will also be included.

Official Website

http://www.saucepiquanteband.com

Links

• to purchase "Sauce Piquante Live" through CD Baby
• Blair Kilpatrick's author site

Audio

• Jolie Bassette
  Listen  
• Dance a Dorcena
  Listen  
• Drunkard's Blues
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• CD review [+ Show ]
  

  ''Its debut disc...pays homage to Poullard's guiding spirit. Overall, it's an honest live effort ju...''Its debut disc...pays homage to Poullard's guiding spirit. Overall, it's an honest live effort juiced with plenty of pep, vigor, and ambience....As these proceedings indicate, live performances are where the rubber meets the road, and here, there is no hydroplaning whatsoever. It won't be long before the Sauce becomes the boss."
  
  --Dan Willging, "Beyond the Bayou,"
  Dirty Linen, December 2003/January 2004

Setlist

The band plays traditional Cajun and Creole music, with vocals in French. Since this originally developed as dance music, most songs are waltzes and two steps along with the occasional shuffle.

The core repertoire draws on legends like Amede Ardoin, Iry Lejeune, Balfa Brothers, and Bois Sec Ardoin, and current masters like Marc and Ann Savoy, Steve Riley, and the Poullard brothers. The band does offer some of its own arrangements, including some original vocals.

Sets can vary in length. The band has more than enough material to play for a three hour dance (two long sets or three shorter ones.) The band usually plays a couple of two steps, followed by a waltz, since this creates an up-tempo energy that dancers and listeners prefer.

A representative set:

Lacassine Special
J'ai Ete au Bal (I Went to the Dance)
Lovebridge Waltz
Jongle a Moi (Think of Me)
The Back Door
La Bague Qui Brille (The Ring that Shines)
The Mardi Gras Song
Johnny Can't Dance
High Point Two Step
Jolie Blonde
Drunkard's Blues
Jolie Bassette (Pretty Little Short Woman)
Port Arthur Blues
Valse Criminelle
You Had Some, You're Not Getting Any More
Home Sweet Home

Basic Requirements

Calendar