Breaux Bridge, LA — Soko Music is proud to announce the July 27, 2018 release of Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/guitar player/multi-instrumentalist Y
Louisiana Lovin’ grew out of a previous recording session where Landry and Romero remade the only number one hit to come out of Lafayette, Louisiana — Dale & Grace’s rendition of ‘I’m Leaving It Up To You’. “I had a duo gig and my regular guy couldn’t be there, so I asked Roddie if he would cover. He said, ‘yes’ and a rehearsal was scheduled. About 30 minutes into the rehearsal, I asked Roddie if he would sing a few tunes. (I mean, who wouldn’t want to hear Roddie sing?!) His response was, ‘Let’s do a duet!’ I asked what he had in mind and he said, ‘I’ve always wanted to do this song, but I haven’t found the right person to do it with. Let’s give it a try.’ It was magic! We finished rehearsal, played our gig, did the song, and both left smiling. A few months later, I was in the studio recording my CD, “Me & T-Coe’s Country”, and I can’t quite remember how it came about, but I got to talking to Eric Adcock, Roddie Romero’s keyboard player, and he suggested we record the song — at the same studio that Dale and Grace recorded it—La Louisiane Studios. I asked my rhythm section, Josef Butts and my son Trevor Landry to record with us.”
Yvette Landry & Roddie Romero’s rendition of “I’m Leaving It Up To You,” became a local hit…not only with area fans, but with them as well. The two knew that they needed to record more together. Landry made a call to Dockside Studio, a 12- time Grammy Winning gem in Maurice, Louisiana. “I knew who I wanted to record this project. Back in 2010, I walked into the Blue Moon Saloon in Lafayette. As soon as I entered the front gate, I heard drums…a drummer…and I thought it was the most amazing rhythm I’ve ever heard. I hurried around the back to find this guy, laying down a groove like I’ve never heard. I told myself in that moment, that before I die, I wanted to record with him. Who is this? Jermaine Prejean. Next, I knew that Roddie Romero and Eric Adcock were a must. But I wanted sax as well, since the vibe I wanted to achieve was 1950’s Louisiana Jukebox. I met Derek Huston at a festival in Rhode Island. He plays often with Roddie Romero & The Hub City All-Stars, and I just liked his style. While in a van, on day 17 of a 21-day tour, I typed a group text, said a little prayer, and pressed send. Almost immediately, everyone responded with a ‘Yes, I’m free and would love to be a part of this project.’ — Once we laid down the tracks, I decided to give this new collaboration a name. Rather than just releasing the album as ‘Yvette Landry,”’ I felt this group was special. They had an old school feel… Louisiana Swamp Pop at it’s finest. I decided on, ‘The Jukes.’ “
On the afternoon of January 12th, Yvette Landry, Roddie Romero, Eric Adcock, Josef Butts, Jermaine Prejean and Derek Huston went into Dockside with recording engineer Justin Tocket — Richard Comeaux (pedal steel) and Beau Thomas (fiddle) lend a hand on a couple of tunes, as well. “Rather than write songs for this album, I chose songs that I felt reflected ‘the feel’ I wanted to achieve. I chose songs that I wanted to dance to, and that had some kind of tie to Louisiana and to me. Bobby Charles, a native of Abbeville, Louisiana and a staple at Dockside studios, wrote several songs I selected. Some believe that Bobby’s spirit still hangs out at the studio. As a matter of fact, if you look at the bottle cap that’s on the inside cover of the CD package…there’s a Bobby Charles story that goes with it. The session itself was magic. That’s the only way I can describe it. There were no rehearsals. This collaboration of musicians had never played together before, yet pretty much the first take of each song was a keeper! I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. My brother came to visit for a short while when we were recording Bobby Charles’ Homesick Blues, and it literally moved him to tears. When we finished, we went to listen to the track and he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “Yvette…what just happened?” I responded, “Magic.”
“Romero chose a song written by our dear friend, David Egan, who has since passed. The majority of the songs are Louisiana songs, but I also wanted to do what was in my heart. Sara Evan’s song, ‘Three Chords and the Truth’, is not a Louisiana song, but it was something that I felt I needed to record. My husband and I found it by accident. We were having a discussion about country music and he remembered someone saying that country music should be three chords and the truth. We googled the saying and Sara’s song came up. I immediately fell in love with it. Although musically, it leans more towards ‘vintage country’, the feel is a Louisiana old-school, belly-rubbing slow drag. Also, along the country side of things is Floyd Cramer & Skeeter Davis’, ‘My Last Date With You’. The rest of the songs are just straight up Swamp Pop, released by some of the Louisiana greats: Bobby Charles, David Egan, Warren Storm, Cookie and the Cupcakes, and G. G. Shinn.”
YVETTE LANDRY grew up in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, not far from the levees of the Atchafalaya Basin, North America’s largest swampland. It was in and around that swamp where she learned an appreciation for the music, dance, stories and language of her Cajun culture. After earning a master’s degree in education and developing a successful teaching career, she began telling stories through song. Playing a variety of instruments in several Cajun bands, Landry also fronts her own band, The Yvette Landry Band. Her debut award-winning album titled “Should Have Known” was released in 2010. (The album was named Offbeat Magazine’s “Best Country/Folk Album” and Landry “Best Country/Folk Artist”). Over the past several years, Landry has traveled the world and played countless cultural festivals and venues – from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to the Bluebird Café in Nashville. She toured Russia and served as a Cultural Ambassador on behalf of the Library of Congress to perform at the Festival of Traditional American Music and graced the stage at both the Library of Congress and John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington, DC. By day, Landry is an educator, who has taught both American Sign Language and Song Writing at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is also a private homeschool teacher and has also taught bass, guitar, accordion and vocals at camps such as Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Voice Works @ Centrum, Ashoken Fiddle and Dance Camp, Cajun/Creole Week @ Augusta Heritage Center and Louisiana Folk Roots Camp. By night, Yvette Landry is a musician/singer/songwriter who continues to tour worldwide as a multi-instrumentalist, gracing the stage with greats such as Vince Gill & The Time Jumpers, Darrell Scott, Rhonda Vincent, and many more. The State of Louisiana 2013 Music Ambassador, Governor to the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy, Board Member of Louisiana Folk Roots and Director of their summer Cajun & Creole Music Kids Camp, Landry strives to bring cultures and traditions together, ensuring that they will be passed along.
Since her debut album in 2010, Landry has released three more CDs…First was No Man’s Land with a host of friends including Bill Kirchen, Cindy Cashdollar, Dirk Powell lending a helping hand. Later she released, Me & T-Coe’s Country and Oh What A Silent Night with pedal steel ace, Richard Comeaux. Her first children’s book, “The Ghost Tree,” was nominated for “Louisiana’s Young Reader’s Choice Award.” And more recently, her new book, “Madame Grand Doigt,” along with “The Ghost Tree,” were formally accepted into the Library of Congress Collection for Children’s Literature.
RODDIE ROMERO was born, raised, and currently residing in Lafayette, LA. Romero lives and breathes South Louisiana culture. His passion for authenticity shows in multiple aspects of his life, from his music with The Hub City All Stars (the band he started with keyboardist Eric Adcock 28 years ago) to what’s cooking in his cast-iron black pot. But before the celebrated front man had a Grammy nomination and multiple world tours under his belt, he witnessed the magic of Cajun and Zydeco music in his own backyard. Romero’s grandfather played the accordion at the family’s weekly Sunday gathering. When he was finished, he would pass the accordion off to Romero, who would spend the rest of the day teaching himself how to play the sounds he had previously heard. Soon after, his father purchased an accordion for Romero and his brother. Although underage, Romero sought out Cajun and Zydeco performances at clubs and was enamored with local legends like Buckwheat Zydeco. His dedication paid off and Romero quickly became a local legend himself as a professional touring musician while still attending high school — his musical influences including Clifton Chenier, Fats Domino and Otis Redding. As a teenager, Romero built up a name for himself as an internationally touring musician. Today, Roddie Romero has a unique take on traditional Louisiana roots music and tailors each performance to energy of the crowd—and nothing is off limits.
“I’m proud of this record. It is the music that I grew up listening to and dancing to. It is music from my home…my people. It is inside of me and it is something that I want to keep alive. It is good music, good friends, and good time—a little ‘Louisiana Lovin’.”