The Doc Marshalls

"Well-executed, frenetic Cajun music that will thrill fans of the genre as well as the yet-to-be converted." - New York Magazine

"This Brooklyn-based Zydeco outfit has been under my radar for too long. If this don't get blood boilin' and `a dancin', ya just ain't got no heart...go out and see these guys and save a trip to the Big Easy." - Village Voice

"...graceful, down-home country." - Time Out New York

The Cajun-flavored Americana of the Brooklyn-based quartet the Doc Marshalls owes as much to Buck Owens, Gram Parsons and the new traditionalist honky-tonk of Dwight Yoakam as it does to Creole culture. Tracks like NOublie-Moi Pas, sung entirely in French with its use of the Cajun accordion - occupies one end of the spectrum, while tracks like Restless Heart come squarely from The Flying Burrito Bros. songbook. But its the Texas-raised Nicolas Beaudoing who is writing this sharp material, which is given a lively feel by this humble and organic band. Some added guest players on pedal-steel, fiddle and lead guitar also fill out the sound which ultimately comes off sounding like a jumping night at the ol dancehall down on the Texas/Louisiana border. - Album Review ("No Kind of Life")

Brooklyn based Zydeco outfit deliver a set of songs for the drinkers, dancers and romancers of the Cajun swamps of Louisiana. Swinging in all the right ways, The Doc Marshall’s sound like one of the best party bands around, and No Kind of Life their greatest hits. If you want to turn your home into a sweat drenched honky- tonk then these are the guys for you. The arrangements and execution suggest that this is a killer live band. - Americana - UK

"Cajun Velocity"

First, a quiz. The Doc Marshalls are to Cajun music as:

A) Charo is to '70s variety shows
B) Anne Murray is to soft porn
C) Fabio is to romance novels
D) Faye Dunaway is to face lifts
E) The Pogues are to Irish music

If you guessed E, you would be correct. To explain: the Pogues, who play traditional Irish music, wanted to make their stuff palatable for audience members who couldn't be bothered to sit in an Irish pub and listen to hardcore Irish tunes. So, to suck them in, they punked it up.

"I don't think I want to use the word 'punk' pertaining to our music," says Doc Marshalls leader, Nick Beaudoing. "But what the Pogues did is they revved it up and started playing the traditional music faster. In the same way they revved it up for audiences, we're trying to do the same with Cajun music."

For those new to the genre, Cajun is the traditional music of Louisiana. It is usually sung in French and accompanied by acoustic guitar, a 10-button diatonic accordion (hand made in Louisiana), a fiddle, and drums. "When people hear Cajun music for the first time, it's an amazing sight," says Beaudoing "People go completely nuts. I don't know what it is. But Cajun is first and foremost dance music. Some people may argue that every song sounds exactly the same, but it's the beat that's important."

Beaudoing grew up in a French speaking household in Texas with Acadian ancestry. The Doc Marshalls, formed in Brooklyn in 2001, quickly gained a reputation for spine rattling, high energy performances - that's Beaudoing on vocals, acoustic guitar, Cajun accordion, and washboard; Mat Kane on fiddle, mandolin, and washboard; Terence Murren on bass; Doug Clark on drums; and Will Solomon on lead and acoustic guitars (Solomon once fronted the local bluegrass band, Grass). With influences ranging from the traditional honky tonk of Buck Owens and Johnny Cash to country innovators Gram Parson and Dwight Yoakam, The Doc Marshalls push country music to the fringe with Cajun breakdowns and Zydeco shuffles. Their massive grooves have gained them entrance into alternative rock venues and clubs where today's sugar-coated twang would never be allowed. They are determined to convert you.

The Doc Marshalls will release their debut record, No Kind of Life, this month. Beaudoing promises that it will be all originals with a mix of styles, from traditional, hardcore honky tonk with a '60s feel to blood-racing Cajun. If you'd like to hear a snippet of what you're in for, their Web site has mp3s for you to groove on. It's gettin' pretty cold out there, but this live show should heat things up.

- Chronogram, Sharon Nichols

Burrito Brother references are too often cited in Americana music writing, but Beaudoing's Chris Hillman-like vocals and classic songwriting skills definitely evoke the Gilded Palace of Sin era.”
- Bill Frater