Biography
Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys are a Cajun band band from southern Louisiana. The band formed in 1988 and has since recorded 10 albums, nine of which are on Rounder Records.
The bands members include: Steve Riley (accordion), David Greely (fiddle), Sam Broussard (guitar), Brazos Huval (fiddle/saxophone/bass) and Kevin Dugas (drums).
An additional member, Jimmy Domengeaux played guitar with the band up until his death in 1999. Domengeaux was killed in a motorcycle accident in southwestern Louisiana.
Although the band plays primarily Cajun music, other forms are blended into the music. The mood of the Bayou Ruler album (produced by C. C. Adcock and Tarka Cordell) is a bit edgier than its other albums. This emotional quality seems to reveal a level of comfort with the music that far surpassed the bands other albums.
On their latest album Dominos they have two excellent medleys "Napoleon B. Fruge" and the "Ardoin Medley". Their timing seems quite precise and allows the band to do interesting effects such as they do when they overlay parts on the fiddle on the song "Creole Stomp" on the Happy Town album.
The addition of Sam Broussard on guitar five years ago added an extra dimension to their music. Steve has his own blend of precision and speed on the accordion which sets him apart from many Cajun accordion players. David Greely the fiddle player finds old songs and poems and brings them to life. The vocal harmonies the Mamou Playboys do allows them to bring a new audience to traditional songs. Cajun music and Cajun dancing go hand and hand. They play a mixture of song types that are good for doing different kinds of dances. Some of the dances that suit their songs are waltz, cajun jig, swing, slow dance, two steps, and zydeco. Their albums cannot reveal the liveliness of their shows since the feedback from the audience and dancers affects the tone of the show.
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