The Picardy Birds

On Dec. 12, I went to the very well-attended The Picardy Birds (www.myspace.com/thepicardybirds) album release show at Blue Moon Saloon (www.bluemoonpresents.com). You would think I would scoff at Louisiana winters after having survived them in Minnesota (hardly anything tops having your truck frozen to the ground), but I can’t dismiss how awful they can be. The wetness of a Gulf Coast cold goes right through to the marrow, and it takes really dedicated musicians, as well as fans and patrons, to go to an outdoor venue like Blue Moon Saloon where there is nowhere to hide from the elements. As always, however, a few heaters and enough bodies packed in and it’s just like late spring.

The Picardy Birds have been flying (Merry Christmas, you get a pun!) for several years now in Lafayette. Their summary on Facebook is better than what I could craft: “Four years, several styles and music degrees later, the Birds have become a harmonious reminiscence of Ella Fitzgerald's technique, The Meters' funk, Aretha's soul, and rock that ranges from a love for Radiohead to The Mars Volta — an exhibition of funktastic glory!” They are really enjoyable for me because I remember their formation years ago and seeing what they’ve morphed into is a joy.

Emelie Guidry fronts the band, alternating between piano and guitar, and her voice is spectacular. Sure, you can start singing and be pretty good and go with it, but Emelie’s talent reminds me that singers in every style of band could stand a few vocal lessons. Her resonance and range and purity is magical.

The Birds are rounded out by Brad Credeur on drums, Hayden Talley on bass, and Mike Lahey on lead guitar. All the members are very young, and they’re reflective of what’s happening now in music: Thanks to the internet, kids are exposed to every genre of music from every era, and it all feeds and blends into a sound you can’t quite pin down, but is all their own.

You can nab their album, Play On, on iTunes — or at one of their gigs, of course. - The Times of Acadiana

With only a small floor lamp for light, the evening's first performer Emelie Guidry held court with an acoustic guitar and a keyboard, working through a series of coffeehouse renditions of Jewel and Radiohead songs peppered with a dash of original stuff. This kind of thing is what I consider to be real folk music, people taking the songs of their environment and life and meting them out with a few guitar chords and a voice. Folk music is usually split between the sonic equivalent of scratchy archival footage and slick virtuoso performances (and I'm a big fan of both) but this is what folk music in the present tense is all about. Guidry has a great voice that darts from a soar to the confessional around her intricate and sometimes aggressive guitar and keyboard work.

The crowd I saw there was younger than most folk audiences I encounter, which is a beautiful thing. I like and see a lot of different music, but when young people can all collect around acoustic music; it doesn't get better than that. It's the same kind of vibe that emanated from MacDougal Street coffee houses of nineteen-sixties New York, mixing in new with old in song. What was also great about this is that the audience was there to listen. I'm not saying one could hear pin drops as she performed, but the audience was completely engaged, calling out requests and encouraging her to do more. That kind of listening, that participation, is palpable when it happens. The concentration takes on a presence. I see a lot of shows in bars and theatres where the audience is competing with the band for attention, so this experience was very refreshing to these ears.

-Alex Cook - Country Roads (Baton Rouge)

"Emelie Guidry and her band gave an outstanding performance! She has an incredible voice with some of Lafayette's best musicians backing her."

-Gary Granger, guitarist, 3LC
Nashville, TN - Times of Acadiana

"The Picardy Birds spin an impressive and unexpected blend of southern funk, soul, rock and jazz with socially outspoken folk songs and the strong, expressive voice of singer/songwriter Emelie Guidry.

The Birds deliver musically adventurous jazz-flecked tunes with the spirit of indie rock running underneath. They’re a band with a lot to recommend, so you should definitely check them out."

-The Times of Acadiana - Times of Acadiana

Led by singer-songwriter Emelie Guidry, The Picardy Birds opened the evening with a loose, organic set filled with funky jams and strong, soulful rock. With a sound that hits very close to the Dave Matthews Band, Guidry’s passionate lyrics are tied to a spirited, acoustic (or piano-driven) undercurrent that rises and falls alongside swells of jazz, rock and funk. There were a few times when she got carried away and stretched her range a little to thin (as on a cover of Jill Scott’s “The Way”), and similarly, the young band’s yet to truly define their sound. But Guidry is a talented songwriter with a captivating stage presence, and her mates share her vigor and match her dynamism. From sparkling grooves to winding, psychedelic stretches to syncopated jazz flourishes the band showed an uncanny ability to draw out the tension between Guidry’s lyrics and verses. The deep, emotional tide of “Play On” seemed to resonate with everyone in the room, and the fervent social statement “Pop Culture” earned the band an encore. Though they’re a bit green and still fleshing out their grooves, The Picardy Birds certainly aren’t afraid to lay everything out there. And, of course, I dig that. For their encore, they ripped through a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean.” - Groovescapes (New Orleans)