Soul fusion
Marc Broussard grew up in south Louisiana, where the tongues of old folks are tinged with a Cajun-French dialect and people know the difference between fresh and frozen shrimp. But , no, folks don't keep pet alligators.
There is, he says, something wonderfully unique about where he grew up, a flavor that energizes the singer-songwriter's music without resorting to cliches about pirogues and crawfish. Broussard will let Chicagoans sample that flavor for the first time Thursday night, when he opens for O.A.R. at the Aragon Ballroom.
"There is a certain kind of groove -- an ebb and flow -- in south Louisiana that you can't find anywhere else. You feel like you're in a different country when you are down there. There is nobody who talks like they do, nobody who acts like they do, for sure. We know how to party, we know how to chill, we know how to just do things and we do them our own way down there.
"And I try to maintain that home living when I'm on the road. I try to bring that energy with me."
Broussard's music is not swamp-stomp. While some songs on his debut album, "Momentary Setback" (Ripley Records, 2002), are obviously Cajun-inspired -- "French Cafe" for one -- songs like "Just Like That" show Broussard's also influenced by Motown and Philly soul.
"I call it all soul music," Broussard says. "I'm just trying to just write songs. I'm not trying to write any particular way. Hopefully I'll never get locked into any certain style or genre."
The goal, he says, is to create a market for his music -- not a genre, not a style -- but Marc Broussard music.
To set it off he's taken to the road with manager Ross duPre and drummer Calvin Turner III, three dudes in an SUV with a single mission.
Turner, by the way, "is also an insanely talented bass player," so he begins each set on bass and ends each set on the drums. Traveling has had some drawbacks, Broussard says. This year marked the first time in his life he missed Mardi Gras. But, he adds, it wasn't as hard as some people might think.
"Mardi Gras tends to be a crazy time of year. You're in the mood for it or you're not in the mood for it. I really couldn't tell you how it was (to be away from Mardi Gras) because I didn't even realize it was Mardi Gras."
Besides, he says, there's music to spread. "We're just in an Isuzu Rodeo trekking across the country. We're making new fans, making new friends, just kicking butt everywhere we go."
David Jakubiak/March 11, 2003
Chicago Red Streak