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swamperella press kit

Publicity Photos - Contact Us - Reviews - PerformancesStage Plot 


After twelve years of partying up crowds at the Gladstone Hotel, Swamperella has deserved its acclaim as a guaranteed good time. The eclectic demographic that is attracted to Swamperella’s monthly events attests to this acclaim. If you don’t think you want to dance, just listening to the band and watching the crowd is almost as fun. But, dancing or not, you probably won’t be standing still - the Swamperella sound won’t let you and the scene will keep you smiling.

The original mandate of Swamperella, ‘to honour the Cajun music tradition’, has never been compromised. The integrity of the traditional form and sentiment has always been maintained even as originals and Zydeco began seeping into the Swamperella repertoire. But there’s nothing stodgy about this band. The old time flavour stirred up in a brand new pot makes for a fabulous and rich musical experience and the Swamp-stew just keeps getting yummier. Case in point: the latest Swamp CD, ON THE LINE.

ON THE LINE, Swamperella’s third CD, is a very accomplished example of the Swamperella experience. Sweet Cajun ballads, knock-out two steps, Creole , Zydeco, all reflect the best of Swamperella’s repertoire. ON THE LINE is Swamperella really laying it ‘on the line’ with some tasty surprises - standards such as Corrina with a New Orlean’s beat and a funky interpretation of the amusing Creole classic ‘Tes Parents Veulent Plus me Voire’. Originals include Same Old You - a country\Cajun lament en anglais with Burke Carrol on dobro; Katrina - an instrumental memorial to the victims of Hurricane Katrina; The Frankenstein - a zinging Zydeco party tune (tongue in cheek reference to Zydeco King Keith Frank) and Sans Nom - a fabulous two-step with accordion and fiddles duking it out.

Swamperella can rock a festival tent, perform a riveting main stage concert and play acoustically front porch-style all in the same day. From Cajun twin fiddling and rustic solo accordion, to rockin’ washboard-driven Zydeco originals and traditional tunes, ON THE LINE shows us in our party clothes and truly reflects the Swamp experience - exciting, heartfelt and authentic.

Give our CD a listen and don’t be alarmed if you feel like dancing (see the CD page for reviews of ON THE LINE)

Swamperella is:

Soozi Schlanger - fiddles, vocals and washboard
Peter Jellard - accordion, fiddles and vocals
David Pontello - triangle and drums
Conny Nowe - accoustic guitar
Rachel Melas - string and electric bass


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Contact Information

To enquire about bookings, please

or mail us at:

SWAMPERELLA
P.O. Box # 90036
1488 Queen Street West
Toronto ON Canada
M6K 1M4

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to join our mailing list for official SWAMPERELLA updates!


 

Reviews:  What the critics say about Swamperella


 Cate Friesen interviews Swamperella: go there! (opens in a new window)

GOLDMINE, New Releases, September 30, 2005 Vol 31, No 20, issue 657, Hank Davis

Swamperella, the Toronto Cajun band, have just produced their second CD, Black Cat Boogie, and I'm falling in love with their music all over again ...The 17 tracks on Black Cat provide plenty of opportunity to dance, but they also remind you that Cajun music is often melodic and beautiful.... The disc kicks off with the joyous and infectious "La Crep A Nazare," which positively sizzles.   Fiddle player Soozi Schlanger, who pours her Cajun soul into the vocals, offers a wonderful reading on "Braille Pas, Jolis Petits Yeux Bleux," a song as bluesy as it is beautiful...Special notice goes to the CD's closer, the amazing "Les Barres De La Prison."  Ad some surface noise and it would be right at home on an anthology of Cajun music from 1932.

THE LIVE MUSIC REPORT
, Review of Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival, July 2005,
Joyce Corbett

"A crowd pleaser? Oh yeah. This band had more people up dancing on the burning concrete of Nathan Phillips square than any group I’ve seen at the festival... they show themselves to be darned good musicians.  Peter Jellard is a creative artist on button accordions ...Full review

PENGUIN EGGS
, Recordings, Spring 2005,
Paul-Émile Comeau

"... This group paddles through the swampy terrain with a keen sense of direction. .... Soozi Schlanger's .... fiddle playing is gritty enough to sound authentic.  Even if Swamperella wasn't close to being the only Cajun Band in Canada it would probably still be the best in the land"


NIAGARA HOT SPOTS.CA, WASHBOARDS AND WALTZES, Swamperella Wins Over Brock Crowd, Friday, March 18, 2005

"... Highlights of the evening included the sombre Braille Pas, Jolis Petits Yeux Bleus recalling the heartbreak of a young couple forced to separate by the girl’s parents, the self-described “corny” number and CD title track, Black Cat Boogie (“You know things are bad when you’re writing love songs to your pets,” quipped Schlanger) and the rollicking tribute to the Swamperella’s main haunt in Toronto, The Hotel Gladstone Two Step.

...  the band displayed a subtle versatility illustrating that they have an authentic understanding of Cajun music."

EXTRA
, Indie Beat - review of Black Cat Boogie, December, 2004  

"The band plays with high-spirited proficiency - its rather infectious. ... The sombre yet cozy instrumental Waltz of Too Many  Goodbyes has an authentic feel and sound.  The band softly caresses Schlanger's words on the splendid Waltz for One.  Other killer tracks: Je t'Aime Encore and Hotel Gladstone Two Step."

JAMES WEGG REVIEW.COM, Niagara Symphony Orchestra Concert Review: Cajun Crew Warms the Heart, 2004. James Wegg

"Hmm, hmm, good!  Chef Daniel Swift oversaw a delectable banquet of savoury sounds and musical fun as he steered the good ship NSO “Down the Mississippi into the Bayou” Saturday night.  On board for the fast-paced excursion was the Cajun quintet “Swamperella,” whose down-home no nonsense stylings .... sizzled and swayed throughout Sean O’Sullivan Theatre. ....

...As lead fiddle, vocalist and artist in her other life, Soozi Schlanger oozes buckets of enthusiasm, zest and an infectious smile that makes it a pleasure to be in the same room.  From the opening bars of “Bosco Stomp” it was clear that her vision and passion was equally shared by the rest of the group.  Peter Jellard’s one-row button accordion, whether pumping out the tune or punching up the chords was a constant pleasure."  Full review

NOW, Music Feature. Swamperella bring the swing of the South to Toronto, February 21, 2002
Sarah Liss

"(The) band opened for Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys (Festival du Voyageur, Winnipeg, 2002) 'the biggest Cajun band out of Louisiana'. One of the highlights of (the) trip was getting the thumbs-up from an authentic Louisiana Cajun band. Toronto's a far cry from the Bayou, so the Mamou Playboy's seal of approval gives Swamperella some down-home credibility."

GOLDMINE, New Releases: Björk, Passenger, Prince, Swamperella, B.B. King and more.., November 2001
Hank Davis

"This CD and the group that produced it are one of the sweetest musical surprises I've encountered in years....The last thing one expects to hear is a Cajun band playing the kind of music heard in a juke joint in Lafayette some 50 years ago. Swamperella has become a Cajun lightning rod. How good is this album? Comes very close to acoustic and follows some of the deepest Cajun traditions."

L'EXPRESS, Musique, August 12, 2001
Dominique Denis

"In this age of sampling, where sounds from around the globe have become little more than ingredients in a constantly changing gumbo, its pretty rare to find a musician who would show such concern for the integrity of her musical sources." Full article

THE TORONTO STAR, Arts & Entertainment Guide, March 22, 2001
Geoff Chapman

"The femme quotient makes for fascinating two-part harmonies on the CD -- Cajun country isn’t exactly a haven for female singers -- and the group has no problem incorporating languorous country licks, Celt-style fiddling and a touch of the blues, with most lyrics sung in Louisiana French."

"This is the music of western Louisiana, authentic old style with a smattering of original material tossed into the southern stew. It’s sentimental to be sure, but pumps with life"

THE TORONTO STAR, Club Notes, February 18, 1999
Ben Rayner

" ...despite the purist aesthetic, Swamperella is hardly an exercise in dry musicology. This is, above all, a party band, and a spirit of wry fun cuts through even its most mournful material"

EYE MUSIC August 13, 1998
Erin Hawkins

"There’s five of ‘em but singer / fiddle player Soozi Schlanger is the singular embodiment of Swamperella, a name that brings to mind a brassy dame tramping through the bayou with gators in tow, ball-gown covered in mud."

TORONTO WEST JOURNAL, February 1998
Doug Baker

"If you like to dance or enjoy country music check out the Cajun Dance nights at the Gladstone hosted by Swamperella. This is real country...."

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Swamperella - Past Performance Highlights


August 2007
Riverfolk Music and Arts Festival Manchester, MI, USA
August 2007 Stratford Summer Music Festival Stratford, ON
September
2006
First Annual Leslieville Catfish Festival and Cook-Off Toronto, ON
August 2006 Downtown Oakville Jazz Festival Oakville, ON
August 2006
Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France Quebec City, PQ
August 2006 Kelso Hall Elgin, PQ
July 2006
Home County Folk Festival London, ON
October 2005
The Lighthouse Festival Theatre
Port Dover, ON
Sept. 2005
Toronto City Roots Song Celebration Toronto, ON
August 2005
Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival Oshawa, ON
August 2005 Hornby Island Festival Hornby Island, BC
July 2005 Filberg Festival
Comax, BC
July 2005 Islands Folk Festival
Duncan, BC
July 2005 Mission Folk Festival
Mission, BC
July 2005 Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival Toronto, ON
July 2005 Canada Day, Queen Victoria Park
Niagara Falls, ON
June 2005 National Jazz Awards, Phoenix Theatre,
Toronto, ON
June 2005 Ancaster Society of Performing Arts
Ancaster, ON
April 2005
Perth and District Collegiate Auditorium,
Perth, ON
August 2004 Canadian National Exhibition Toronto, ON
August 2004 Musiques du bout du monde Gaspé, PQ
July 2004 Millrace Festival Cambridge, ON
July 2004 Festival du Loup Lafontaine, ON
June 2004 The Lung Association's Breath of Hope Skydome, Toronto, ON
Febuary 2004 Niagara Symphony St Catharines, ON
Febuary 2004 Charles W Stockey Centre Parry Sound, ON
Febuary 2004 Heritage Theatre
Brampton, ON
Febuary 2004 Sanderson Center for the Performing Arts Brantford ,ON
Febuary 2004
Oakville Center of the Performing Arts
Oakville, ON
August 2003
New World Festival Randolph, Vermont, USA
July 2003 Stan Rogers Festival
Canso, NS
July 2003
Chester Playhouse
Chester, NS
July 2003 Folk On The Rocks
Yellowknife, NWT
May 2003
dance with Tracy Schwarz
Toronto, ON
August 2002 Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival Lunenburg, NS
July 2002 Calgary Folk Festival Calgary, AB
July 2002 South Country Fair Fort Macleod, AB
July 2002 Northern Lights Festival Boréal Sudbury, ON
July 2002 Sunfest London, ON
Febuary 2002 Festival du Voyageur Winnipeg, MB
November 2001 Coup de coeur francophone, du Maurier Dance Theatre Toronto
August 2001 Hot & Spicy Festival, Harbourfront Toronto
July 2001 Harrison Festival of the Arts Harrison Hot springs, BC
July 2001 I.C.A. Folk Fest Victoria, BC
July 2001 Islands Folk Festival Duncan BC
June 2001 Radio Canada - Northern Ontario, Open House Toronto
May 2001 Black Sheep Ottawa
March 2001 Harbourfront Toronto
May 2000 Doors Open Toronto Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
August 2000 Oakwood Festival of the Arts Toronto
March 2000 20th Anniversary Fem Cabaret Bluma Apel Theatre, Toronto
July 1999 Mémoire et Racines Joliette, Quebec
June 1999 Mariposa in the City Toronto
May 1999 Milk Festival International Harbourfront, Toronto
February 1999 Festival du Voyageur Winnipeg, Manitoba
October 1998 Ontario School Teacher's rally Queens Park, Toronto (attendance: 40,000)
July 1998 Lilith Fair Molson Place, Toronto
July 1998 Metro Hall Toronto
June 1998 Gordon Best Theatre Peterborough, Ontario
December 1997 First Night Harbourfront Toronto
December 1997 Greenbank Folk Society Greenbank, Ontario
September 1997 monthly dances start at the Gladstone Hotel Toronto
August 1997 Music of the Americas Harbourfront, Toronto
July 1997 Hillside Festival Guelph Ontario
June 1997 Ontario Science Center Toronto, Ontario

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Swamperella publicity photos

click on any picture to view and download a larger jpg version in a new window.
 
Colour photo of Swamperella 2007



2007: Colour photo

3.7 Meg
4992 x 3328
photo credit: Rainer Soegtrop
Colour band photo




Vermont: Colour photo

621 KB
1093 x 1348
photo credit: Ann-Marie Saunders
click for larger image - 275K Masks: B&W photo
275 KB
1583 x 1080
masks by Soozi Schlanger
photo credit: Ann Levinston

If more photos or different quality media are required, please .  Thank you!

Download a Stage plot for Swamperella in pdf format.

To hear what the band sounds like please go to the CD page

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