The Zydepunks are going to be huge someday. Move over Gogol Bordello, you suck. If you haven’t heard The Zydepunks before, you’re in for a treat. They are a high speed, accordion dueling Yiddish-zydeco- Klezme-Celtic-Cajun-Slavic folk punk outfit from New Oreans. Totally original, incredibal musicians and tight as the preverbial ducks arse. Finisterre, their 3rd release is the least Celtic of the lot but don’t worry Paddy Punks you’ll still love’em and maybe you’ll even improve your French and German language skills.
Like I said, The Zydepunks are going to be huge someday, so before some prick at Rolling Stone tells you that that, remember you heard it here first.
It’s almost October, and this is my choice for album of the year!I’ve been waiting to hear this album for years. Even before I’d ever heard the album, or even heard of The Zydepunks, I’ve been wanting to hear Cajun-punk. I remember discussing the idea of starting a Cajun-flavored punk band with a few friends years ago as a joke, it sounded like a great idea. Too bad none of us had any clue about Cajun music, Zydeco music, or anything remotely close. We figured there were probably a few bands in Nawlins already doing it, and our discussion altered into who was buying the next round. A couple of years later at a BBQ, I heard a Zydepunks song and got so excited, I attempted a drunken back flip, and landed on my head. lying upside down between the bushes, grass, a fence, and dog shit, at the edge of my buddies yard, I screamed “FUCK YEAH!” It was so original, fresh, and exciting. A totally new sound. I couldn’t get enough. (True story!) The Zydepunks like to call their flavor of music: Bayou Gypsy Punk. It’s a combination of: New Orleans-Cajun-Irish-Breton-Klezmer-Slavic-Zydeco, and let me tell you, since the BBQ, I’ve been listening to it non-stop. If the combination of genres isn’t enough for you, maybe the combination of languages will wet your whistle. The Zydepunks sing in English, French, German, Spanish, Yiddish, and Portuguese. The album “And The Streets Will Flow With Whiskey” is all over the place. The placement of the songs seriously reminded me of listening to The Pogues album “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” for the first time. The songs are all over the place. You’ll be smiling from ear to ear with an irresistible urge to dive nose first into a bowl of gumbo. (Maybe that’s just me.) It’s an album you’ll play in it’s entirety, you won’t want to skip a track. After a description like that, what more needs to be said? A whole helluvalot. According to their website, the quick history of The Zydepunks goes something like this:Five years ago, Eve Venema and Christian Kuffner met while street-performing in the French Quarter with a clown on a unicycle and a white rapper supposedly on the run from the FBI. A number of raucous shows at the notorious old Hi-Ho Lounge followed, planting the seeds for what was to come. The Zydepunks are moving from being a traditional folk band (or a glorified cover band) to creating original music inspired from their diverse backgrounds and instrumentation. From the heart of New Orleans, the Zydepunks tear it up on accordion, fiddle and drums, playing their own breed of Bayou Gypsy Punk. Singing in six languages and deftly mixing styles in a frantic pace, they take the audience from Louisiana Bayous to Berlin cabarets and everything in between, mixing traditional folk tunes with their own originals. Playing dance music that is popular across all ages and crossing all genres, the Zydepunks force their audience to get up on their feet and stomp through hours of music1. Madeleine (trad. Acadian) 2. Satan/Dance You Fukr (trad. Klezmer) 3. Lowlands of Baghdad (trad.Irish arr. by Christian) 4. A Fistful of Oysters (original) 5. Bwamba’s Rambles (original) 6. Eve’s (original) 7. Tumbalalaika (trad. Jewish) 8. Reel & Jig Set (trad. Irish) 9. Con tí se va mi corazón (original) 10. Romanian Hora & Bulgar (trad. Klezmer) 11. Johnny Can’t Dance (trad. Acadian) 12. Die Schwimmbadpiraten (original) 13. Mabel’s Got the Blues (original) I’m sure what happened to New Orleans, and the Gulf Coast is still in your thoughts. I’d like to happily mention that even if the members of The Zydepunks are temporarily scattered across the globe. (From North Carolina to Austria) Not even a fucking hurricane (Or two) will stop them, or their music. They’ll be playing a Halloween show in Memphis, so make sure you support them when they come through your town. Even their CD’s have been saved from the storm. So make sure you pick one up if you’re lucky enough to see them live, or if you live too far away, you can order it from their website: http://www.zydepunks.com/store.php So, if you’re looking to hear something somewhat similar to Celt-Punk, but with a spicy Cajun twist, I suggest picking up a copy right now, play it at a backyard BBQ, and keep an eye out for the village idiot attempting a back flip into the bushes.
Shite'n'Onions 