The Cajun Coyotes have been playing traditional Louisiana dance
music since
1991. Consisting of fiddle, accordion, guitar, and the triangle
('tee fer)
or rubboard (frattoir), this band has introduced hundreds of
folks in
Northern California to the great music of Southwestern Louisiana.
The Cajun Coyotes include the following
musicians:
"Fiddlin' Gus"
Garelick (fiddle) was a California State Fiddle Champion in
the 70s, toured with Queen Ida and Al Rapone in the 80s, and most
recently
played with the late Jim Boggio and the Sonoma Swamp Dogs. He
admires the
contemporary style of Michael Doucet (and steals his licks every
chance he
gets). His favorite composers are Fats Domino and Gustave Mahler.
"Coyote
Carlo" Calabi (guitar and lead vocals) plays traditional
folk,
country, cowboy, and Cajun music and does the best Coyote howl
this side of
Texas. He also participates in numerous music camps each year,
including
Mendocino's Lark in the Morning , Fiddle Tunes in Pt. Townsend,
Washington,
and Family Dance Camp, near Fresno. When he's not playing, he's
probably
dancing (or howling at the moon).
Dennis "Da
Squeeze" Hadley (accordion and vocals) has been playing the
full
piano accordion for many years here in Northern California. He is
living
proof that if you play the accordion, you go to jail, having just
played in
the old jailhouse at Forest Hill, CA. (We have proof). His Cajun
French is
so authentic, not even the Cajuns know what he's talking about
(and neither
do we). His accordion says it all, and his singing aint so bad,
either.
Dema Kay Hudson
(triangle and frattoir), our newest member, comes to us
straight from the famous School for the Musically Bewildered, in
Odessa,
Texas. You must hear it to believe it. And once you do, you'll
wonder how
you ever got along without it.