Mark St. Mary - Delta Blues & Zydeco
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Mark St. Mary - Delta Blues & Zydeco

San Francisco, California, United States | INDIE

San Francisco, California, United States | INDIE
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"Mark St. Mary"

Mark St. Mary’s family came to the Bay Area around 1960 in search of “better money” and greater freedom. “There was no civil rights,” he recalls of those days in Louisiana. “It was just bad. You can’t go to this wash house; you gotta be careful of the Ku Klux Klan.” The family later relocated to the Sacramento Valley but continued traveling back and forth between California and Louisiana. Most of the St. Mary family worked in construction, but they were more famous as performers of Creole music.

Today St. Mary lives in Alameda and calls himself the Delta King, a title he received at the Isleton Crawdad Festival. He plays a bluesy zydeco style influenced by accordionist Clifton Chenier. Depending on the venue, he might play pure zydeco, or he might “cut loose,” throwing in “a little R&B, jump, and a little down-and-dirty belly rubbing.” In this clip, he talks about the dances during his childhood in Louisiana—and how his father used tough love in encouraging his musicianship. - Zydeco Nation


"Transported to Louisiana with St. Mary & Co at Ashkenaz"

The award for busiest dance floor in Berkeley could easily go to Ashkenaz. In fact, the 38-year-old music and dance community center has claimed such designations in the past.

Last Saturday the floor was particularly packed thanks to the zydeco stylings of Mark St. Mary and company – also recognized as “The Best Zydeco Band” by the Bay Area Blues Society in 2007.

Northern California’s “King of the Delta” — as he was crowned in Isleton in 2003 — came equipped with his hotrod-red accordion ready for a good time. His only mandate, “let’s have a party,” was a command he issued several times throughout the night. And the crowd obliged.

Fifty somethings reigned supreme that night, spinning, shaking and two-stepping. A handful of others represented the 20-something group, but guests checked any ageism at the door. When the lights went out and the rub board started scratching, all the dancers blurred together.

The band had that sort of power, inducing a sense of down-home Americana. As soon as St. Mary’s accordion pushed out its first breath of air, everyone in the crowd was transported to southern Louisiana, shuffling for space to two-step or waltzing across the floor counter-clockwise and in unison like one massive life form.

The band was tight, with all the calm and cool of award-winning veterans. Each member played seamlessly, throwing out an occasional head bob or grin to an appreciative audience. St. Mary’s bluesy, longing vocals mixed seamlessly with the group’s upbeat chord progressions.

Dan Concalves, who frequents Berkeley venues, said the zydeco dancing left him feeling particularly youthful. “This is a middle-aged transformation,” he said. “And it’s all due to the company and the music. It’s like a pill.”

The zydeco veteran St. Mary said he felt youthful as well. “I’m already retired,” St. Mary said smiling backstage. “I’m one of the longest running guys that’s been out here, and I’ll be out here until I retire again.”

Robert A. Mills is a graduate student studying interactive journalism at The Reynolds School of Journalism at The University of Nevada, Reno. He is currently interning at Berkeleyside. - BerkeleySide


"Zydeco King"

He is Sacramento's own "King of the Zydeco." Bon Ton (Good Times) Mark St. Mary makes good on the claim, every time he and his band fire up their Louisiana bayou music.
Zydeco is an accordion powered, foot stomping blend of blues, rock, rhythm and blues, and Acadian-French music, strainght from Cajun-Creole Country. Just like the food from that area, the sound is hot and spicy. Mark St. Mary, who plays the accordion and sings, can be heard in local bars such as Sam's Hof Brau, the city's prime blues bar, and the Fox and Goose. But his band mostly plays churches and Private parties. Mark feels right at home in Sacramento. He feels he is part of the evergrowing blues underground. Mark is truely a musician who loves his music, and it is a treat listening to Mark and his band .

Mick Martin
Sacramento Union Staff Writer - Sacramento Bee


"Pardi Gras"

Center Circle Event - Parti Gras with Mark St. Mary and his Zydeco Band, performing plenty of tunes from 6-10 pm in the Belle's Center Circle.
Mark St. Mary and huis Zydeco Band is putting on a musical Mardi Gras - throwing Beads and keeping the dancers on their feet! - Laughlin Nevada


"Straight from the Bayou"

He calls himself the "California Zydeco King" but his youthful appearance and slight build give him more the look of a crown porince. But 30-year-old "Bon Ton" (Good Times) Mark St. Mary has faith that Sacramento's large and growing Cajun-Creole population will help him retain his title. He currently resides in North Sacramento. The Louisiana Creole Loves his wife, pot of rice and his horses. His music is zydeco, a genial and sprited blend that has elements of R&B and Traditional Arcadianm-French music. The result is irristably danceable. In person, St. Mary's self-cokfidence borders on the brash, but that impression is soon swept away in a wave of Southern sociability and love of talk.. You realize he has earned the self-confidence by making it a point to succeed at what he does. I was invited to one of Mark's dances at Lady of Lordes Church and I want to use the word "electrified"--by the energetic good looks of the crowd of dancers. This is a great enterainer and will be for years to come. - Sacramento Bee


Discography

Live from Nevada * NEW Available NOW
DOWN HOME ZYDECO
ZYDECO TONIGHT
"Delta King" Live at Isleton Crawfish Festival
Classic Bon Ton
Hyway Zydeco
Somebody Doing Me Wrong
Hold It On the Road

Photos

Bio

I'm self taught musician from Lake Charles, Louisiana, and have been playing since the age of 15.
My mentor is and always will be the late great Clifton Chenier - "King of Zydeco." While touring with Clifton, I mastered the idioms of traditional Creole-Cajun/Zydeco, as well as Louisiana blues and R&B.
I'm a purveyor of the double pump beat accordion style. The music I have mastered ranges from traditional French/Creole zydeco and cajun to down-home blues and R&B. But if you like the sound of Boozo Chevis, Marcele Dougas, or Buckwheat, I can play that too.
I have performed from New Orleans to Seattle and all through California. and have performed with such notables as Barbara Mandrell, Doug Kershaw, Queen Ida, and Big Mama Thornton, just to name a few. I have been named the "Delta King" by the Isleton Crawfish Festival, which brings in 170,000 visitors each year. I was honored when asked to play the 33rd Annual San Francisco Blues Festival in 2005. Repeat venues include Isleton Crawfish Festival, The Big Easy-Sparks, Hot August Nights-Reno, Fairfield Crawfish Festival, Simi Valley Cajun Festival, Cotati Accordion Festival, Long Beach Cajun Festival, Sebastapol Cajun Festival, Mount Shasta Cajun Festival, DisneyLand, California State Fair, Travis Air Force Base "Welcome Home the Troops", Rocklin Jubilee, Ardenwood Zydeco Festival, Alameda Eagles Hall, Colorado Belle--Laughlin, Sand Dollar - Las Vegas, just to name a few.
Over the years I have received numerous music awards from the Cajun Music Association for the Dedication and Preservation of Zydeco Music and privileged when Hohner congratulated me on becoming a Hohner Endorsee. My Band and I pride ourselves in bringing a good time to our fans. We enjoy pleasing the crowd and we keep the skirt tails jumpin' and the cowboy boots stompin' to waltzs, two-steps, country line dances, slides and a lil' boogie. .
What sets us apart from other bands is the we keep this cultural music traditional. I play "Old School". This is the music I grew up on and I'm just "Keeping It Real."
Mark St. Mary Delta Blues & Zydeco was inducted into the Hall of Fame and presented with "Best Zydeco Band" 2007 by the Bay Area Blues Society.