Next Show: Mardi Gras Party in Kitchener, Feb 11th
Mardi Gras season will start off with a party at the Edelweiss Tavern in Kitchener, for The Grand River Blues Society
The Waterstreet Blues Band will be joining the festivities.
Where: Edelweiss Tavern, 600 Doon Village Road, Kitchener, ON
When: Doors open at 7pm, Show starts at 8pm
Cost: $20 in advance
The news from Sooz
2012 is proving to be action packed for the Swamperella crew starting right now. February and March is our Mardi Gras season. We will be bringing our costumes, masks and decorations to our many gigs during those months along with our instruments! Our Mardi Gras show will be bouncing around everywhere from Kitchener to Burlington to Toronto to Ottawa to Quebec to Burlington to Oakville.
Mardi Gras night (Tuesday Feb 21st) we are thrilled to be playing a show at the fabled Dakota Tavern in Toronto. It starts around 6pm so all of you Mardi Gras riders can get there on the way back from your rounds.
Check out photos from our 2012 Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras in Ottawa
Each year Swamperella brings a Mardi Gras to Ottawa, hosted by Michael Ball and Jody Benjiman of Ball and Chain.
And boy can those government folks cut loose.
This year we will be partying at the infamous Irene's in the nations capitol.
Brand New Dave
Swamperella has a brand new Dave. Dave #3 in fact! For the past two years we have been enjoying the excellent percussion services of David MacDougall. If you are a dave and looking to get married just hang around us.....thats what seems to happen to all of our daves.
New Recording On the Way
In March, Swamperella will be embarking on the recording of our 4rth CD featuring current cajun faves and some rockin' home brewed zydeco.
Stay tuned for updates and CD release party news.
Swamperella at Millrace Festival
We had a great time at Millrace. We spent the weekend playing to fantastic audiences, catching the other acts, participating in workshops and sessions and eating tacos.Alexis Frank just happenend to be visiting from Louisiana. She joined us on stage where she wowed the audience with her Zydeco moves, and generally tore up the cobblestones.
Scott Sneddon has put together a slide show of Swamperella's performance at Millrace on Yahoo Video
A message from Miss Swampy
2009 has been chock full of great Swamperella gigs......the 13th annual Mardi Gras at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto was the kind of event that left me stunned..........(good stunned of course!) I had to wonder how does it keep getting better? The music, of course, with time and effort will always evolve.........but the party itself !!!!....the people...the vibe .....!!!!-and I have to say it ---the love---not groopie love..... but the love of having an excellent good time and everyone putting all they had into it to share that good time.... that kind of love! Sure the band works hard to set up a good party......decorating.....practicing......and recombining 13 years of old costumes so they look like different costumes...... but the whole big bunch of you on the dance floor gave it right back to us...thank you to all involved....bandmates.....Gladstone staff.... dance teachers Maya and Ann- Marie ....and all the people who attended. As if one amazing Mardi Gras wasn't enough......
Ottawa welcomed the band with open arms and dancing feet at the Elmdale Tavern......what a fantastic crowd....there was even a line up outside....filled to capacity.....(well its been known to happen at the Gladstone.....but this was our first Ottawa overflow event.) Thanks to the hard work of Jody and Michael of Ball and Chain who publicized the gig and conducted the dance lesson....----major good energy and great dancing and some pretty creative solutions to the space.....it was so crowded that sometimes waltzing and two stepping became difficult especially with all the support columns .......suddenly I looked up and the support pillars on the dance floor at the Elmdale became props instead of obstructions...This clearly wasn't the nations capital for nothing....... we were among serious professional problem solvers , that was obvious when a giggling conga line at once materialized...slinking around columns...... snaking along......and singing along....(making up the words just like we do!) Thank you Ottawa....see you next Mardi Gras!!!! This year we were again invited to play for Habitat for Humanity at the Air Canada centre (overlooking the hockey rink!!!) This was also a lot of fun......a great cause.....helping rebuild homes in New Orleans...and of course yummie food.....More feathered masks and Mardi Gras paraphanalia for our ever expanding collection were the by-products of a lovely event we played at Niagara on the Lake......
a fundraiser to help preserve the town's high school.......Wow !!!......and we got to meet the only Lord Mayor left in Canada....and we led a rousing version of O Canada ....I almost cried....hand on my heart and all.!!!!!!!....Well, truth be told, it was a patriotic moment to be sure.....but I remember getting a shameful C minus in singing in grade 4 because I sang O Canada....well shall we say in an over big voice.....not in a sweet girl voice....Well, man oh man, did that voice come in handy at this gig..... I sure enough nearly cried with joy...---------now what do you think of that, Miss Wickle?????.....thanks to the very supportive guests and organizers.......oh yes, and thank you for that lovely meal!
Swamperella on CD Baby
Black Cat Boogie and On The Line are can now be purchased over the internet via CD Baby
Swamperella at the Flying Cloud Folk Club
Swamperella performed at the Flying Cloud Folk Club last November. Wil Macaulay was there with his new-fangled electric camera and took some great shots of the proceedings. You can see more by going to Will's site on Flickr
On The Line released fall 2007
Swamperella is very happy to announce the release of their new CD, "On the Line". Produced by John Switzer, the album contains a mixture of traditional Cajun waltzes and two steps, Swamperella originals, and some upbeat zydeco numbers. We played to a packed house, and sold lots of CDs and had a great evening.Tom and Myra have posted a couple of clips of the party on YouTube
ON THE LINE is available on the CD Page on this web site
Swamperella in Black and White
At our May Gladstone dance, photographer Greg King took some wonderful photos of the band in black and white. Makes us look like serious old folkies. You can see them at our online photo gallery.
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