LakeSide Gamblers

The LakeSide Gamblers are based out of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Lake Charles lies in the southwest corner of Louisiana just a few miles from the Texas border. The band draws its talents from a wide range of musical genres including Texas Swing and Country & Western which can be found just over the border, as well as Jazz and Blues which can be found in New Orleans and Mississippi.

The LakeSide Gamblers are dedicated to accurately representing Louisiana Roots Music which includes, but is not limited to Cajun, Creole, Zydeco, Swamp Pop and Country. If an artist, or song, has ties to Louisiana in any way, the band has been known to include them in their sets. Because of the wide range of talent, The LakeSide Gamblers will sometimes “cut loose” with something out of the ordinary.

The band’s pulse is up-tempo and appealing to dancers. No two performances by The LakeSide Gamblers are the same. The ensemble is synergistic; their experience and professionalism ensure quality performances and reflect the band’s ever increasing talent. Renown for their solid rhythms, red-hot instrumentals and bluesy vocals, The LakeSide Gamblers are the perfect pick for entertainment at listening rooms, concert halls, dancehalls, festivals, restaurants and parties.

Bandleader Ganey Arsement’s involvement in Cajun music began at the early age of ten. His great-grandfather was a Cajun accordionist who worked as a blacksmith during the day and played music at night. By the age of twenty, Ganey had learned to play the accordion and was working on the guitar.
In 1996, Ganey began touring as a professional musician playing bass with world famous Cajun bands The Basin Brothers and Balfa Toujours. Over the next three years, he played traditional Cajun music in 42 of the 50 United States, Canada, Mexico, England, Scotland and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Ganey has been on stage at many of the largest Folk festivals in North America including the Newport Folk Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, The Edmonton Folk Festival, MerleFest, The Vancouver Folk Festival and Festival Acadiens.

Born to a Texan father and a Philippine mother, fiddler Clint Ward found himself living in the middle of a cultural Mecca. Growing up in South Lake Charles, he remembers the many nights that he stayed with his grandparents. Upon waking, he would often find his grandfather drinking coffee and listening to Cajun music on his AM radio. Clint bought his first fiddle at a pawn shop, and soon after, began to attend jam sessions. Within a couple of years, he became a much desired fiddler with the local bands. Clint developed an appreciation for old style fiddling citing heroes such as Lionel Leleux, Harry Choates and Denus McGee. He was awarded an apprenticeship from the Cajun French Music Association which he used to study fiddle with internationally known fiddler, Ken Smith. In the early years, he played locally with Percy Boudreaux, Jimmy Aguillard, Kenneth Thibodeaux and Jesse Lege'. It wasn't until fiddler Mitchell Reed decided to leave the Mamou Prairie Band that Clint got his opportunity to explore Cajun music outside of his hometown. Accordionist Bob Reed asked Clint to take Mitchell's place in the band. Clint played regular with the Mamou Prairie Band for about six months until the work started to slow down. It was then that he was asked to join Cory McCauley and his Evangeline Aces. Clint's gig with Cory led to his first commercial recording.

It should come as no surprise that Mitch Simon had a love for music from birth. He is the only child of Milfred and Saundra Simon who hail from the tiny community of Wright, LA. Mitch's father, accordion player and vocalist for the Hicks Wagon Wheel Ramblers, paid for his birth entirely with gig money.
Of course, the love affair with music doesn't end there. Mitch's parents were music lovers. Because of his father’s influences, he grew up listening to the sounds of Aldus Roger, as well as Country stars like Hank Williams, Ronnie Milsap, Gene Watson and Mel Street. His mother turned him onto the sounds of Motown, as well as Sam Cooke, Ben E. King and the Commodores.
Mitch tried several times to harness his love for music by actually playing an instrument, but it wasn’t until the age of fifteen that progress was made. Mitch picked up an old guitar and teaching book that he found in his grandmother's attic. He began to learn basic chords, and as he honed his skills, he developed quite the singing voice.
Recognizing his son’s talent, Milfred, and his brother Vic, formed the band Down South to showcase Mitch’s guitar playing and singing. The band played its first gig scarcely a month after Mitch's high school graduation. The band enjoyed ten years of club and festival dates, headlining such events as the Gueydan Duck Festival and the Rayne Frog Festival. The band culminated in a 1999 self titled CD.
For ten years, Mitch honed his skills as front man and acoustic guitarist with Down