Nonc Nu & Da Wild Matous

It is no secret that Louisiana's culture is slowly disappearing amongst the younger generations in the bayou region. For example, within three generations of my family, the Louisiana French language has vanished. I only speak English, but my grandfather, Alfred Bouvier, was on the cusp of that language transition in Lafourche Parish. He remembers when he was 6 years old in the first grade in Larose, and how he was reprimanded and teased by his teachers for speaking Louisiana French instead of English. “We were bullied into losing our culture; they should have taught everyone to speak both languages,” he says.

Now there are efforts to restore and preserve our native tongue, but that’s like someone wanting to live in their house after they have already burned it to the ground. It is the plight of humanity to always have to duct-tape what our ancestors screw up.

When looking at the current landscape of Houma’s music scene, “Cajun and zydeco” seem more like of a novelty item that you pick up from a gift shop for tourists. It is seldom to hear a Cajun or zydeco band in Houma with young members and a young
audience listening to them. That’s not the case in places like Lafayette, where young bands are celebrated for creating music with that zydeco twist. That is why it was refreshing to be able to sit down with a founding member of Houma’s newest zydeco sensation, Nonc Nu and da Wild Matous.

Cody Guidry, a bassist, explained to me some of the underlying themes in the band’s music, how it uses humor to tell stories about growing up in the marshes and bayous of south Lafourche. The group will sometimes have as many as eight people on stage including Leith Adams on drums, Phillip Porche on vocals and guitar, Brance Lloyd on washboard, Mike Collins on accordion, Travis Orgeron on guitar, Brent Kliebert on cow bell and tambourine, and Brent Melancon on fiddle, all of whom had a wide range of musical influences before they even considered zydeco.

They played in groups ranging from death metal to country to delta blues, but always held on to their earliest memories of traditional Cajun and zydeco on the radio. They formed only 18 months ago, just for fun, and now they are getting regular calls to play everywhere from hardware stores to fishing rodeos. I first heard them perform at Houmapalooza Music festival in Downtown Houma in April and literally laughed out loud at the song “Eyee Yi Yee,” lyrically about getting poked by the fin of a catfish.

The music is upbeat, and they use all sorts of broken Louisiana French terminology and expressions that hit close to home for me. Besides the comedy and feel-good rhythms, the songs carry important messages about the culture and environment of southern Louisiana.

One song, entitled “Da Camp,” is about a child spending time with his father, who teaches and passes down traditions. Another tune, called “Living off the Land,” is about future generations going off to college and the family trade not being continued. The song “Cajun” has a line that says” “The language is eroding like the coast everyday, the younger generation will have to save it some way.”

Guidry, 32 years old, says that he feels like a lot of people take Louisiana for granted, and through Nonc Nu and da Wild Matous’ music, he hopes to pass the torch. -

We asked, and you responded.

Readers of the Gumbo Entertainment Guide voted the best in local entertainment – event, band, theater production and art venue – via an online survey and mail-in ballots.

Thank you to all who participated, including Tania Theriot, who was the random voter picked for a $100 prize. Stay tuned for more opportunities to interact and to win prizes.

Without further ado, onto the winners. Nonc Nu and da Wild Matous, an all-original, bi-lingual band that has taken the local zydeco baton and accented it with rock and country, won first place in the inaugural reader-driven Gumbo’s Greatest Hits contest. Nonc Nu got their start in 2011 at the Rotary Bayou Music Festival in Golden Meadow. They released their first EP earlier this year and are in the studio working on a full-length album, which they expect to release in January 2013. Many of the band’s members grew up together in Lafourche Parish, and they had musical experience in various rock bands. After half-heartedly discussing the formation of a zydeco band for months, Nonc Nu was born from shared memories discussed over a beer on Lloyd’s patio.

“When we first started writing this stuff, it was to try to relate, I guess, a lot of our childhood experiences growing up down the bayou,” Lloyd says. “That’s really what we started out at. As we’ve evolved from there, we’re finding out this is definitely an
avenue that we can relate to a lot of people.”

The band takes pride in raising cultural awareness, Lloyd says, and it makes the solemn issues palatable by infusing humor into the songs. Most of the lyrics are written in English, but they include “Cajun French” terms the men picked up while growing up on the bayou.

Mike Collins (accordion), Cody Guidry (bass), Leith Adams (drums), Travis Orgeron (guitar), Brent Klibert (cowbell/tambourine) and Philip Porche (lead vocals, lead guitar and harmonica) round out the band. Although there is an abundance of zydeco-familiar instruments, the band is not strictly a zydeco band. “We have no clue how to categorize ourselves,” Lloyd says. “I guess you can say it’s zyde-rock. I have no clue.” Nonc Nu is on a bit of performance hiatus while they focus on the album. Live shows should resume in January or February. “Pass a Good Time or Two,” the EP, can be purchased through iTunes or www.cdbaby.com.

Runner-up: The Josh Garrett Band; Third place: Baby Bee -

As an art form as long-standing as South Louisiana culture itself, it’s not easy to come across fresh ways to deliver Zydeco music. But the modern Cajun band known as “Nonc Nu & Da Wild Matous” has done just that. This lively group of bayou area natives has developed an innovative sound by combining modern antidotes and often humorous Cajun-French lyrics with the traditional Zydeco rhythms we all know and love.

Although officially formed in 2013, the members of Nonc Nu & Da Wild Matous have been knowing each other for quite a while; some of them going as far back as elementary school. Each of them having musical backgrounds, they had all played in different bands throughout the years, and were running into each other playing here and there. But it wasn’t until after they had jammed at house parties for a few New Year’s Eves in a row, that Cody Guidry (bass) decided they needed to get organized and officially form as a band.

“We had all played in rock bands, metal, alternative through the years... but we had the most fun together when we were playing the music we liked to listen to from local radio stations on the weekends, which was Zydeco,” explained Cody. “So I started making calls and asking my friends to see who wanted to join in. We knew we needed an accordion, which none of us knew how to play. But Mike [Collins] knew how to play the piano, so I told him to just turn it on it’s side and play; and it worked! I called Phillip [Porche] to see if he knew how to play the fiddle, he didn’t. That’s a hard one.”

But the band did quickly start to form without a fiddle player, by adding Phillip Porche on guitar and lead vocals, Leith Adams on drums, and finally Nick “Raffi” Adams on the washboard. “I had never played washboard before,” Raffi laughed, “but once I tried, it felt just like dancing. You just get into the rhythm and go. I know we’re having a good gig when the shoes come off in the crowd. That’s when I can let loose because I know they’re having fun.”

Starting out, they played house parties, some local bars, and fundraisers here and there, but things started to really take off when the band was invited to play at the Voice of the Wetlands Festival in Houma. “That’s where it clicked. We had a great audience, and were able to form friendships with other musicians in the area, and learn from them, and hang out. It was great,” remembered Mike. “From there we started playing other festivals, more bars. We even had about a six month stint on Bourbon Street. That was interesting. We met people from around the world there.”

And although Nonc Nu & Da Wild Matous have played from Houston to Atlanta, and many places in between, the group credits their casual, down-home sound and funny lyrics to their unique Louisiana heritage. “We all grew up hearing our grandparents speaking Cajun French, and this kind of music is just as much a part of our culture as the incredible food. It seems everyone down here has at least an uncle or cousin who plays,” said lead vocalist Phillip Porche, “And I’m sure everyone remembers walking into a conversation in the kitchen and if Maw Maw didn’t want you to know what she was saying, she would switch to French!” he joked. “So you learn to pick up on some of the words. We have fun mixing them into our lyrics. The best compliment I think we ever got is somebody told us our music reminds them of their Paw Paw. Man, that’s the best.”

Boasting songs titles like “Boo Poo Dee,” “Whitetail Fever,” “Roux Ga Roux Shuffle,” and “Eyee Ya Yie,” it’s not hard for the band to immediately channel the bayou, wherever they may be. And if one is in the mood for some light-hearted Cajun chuckles, the band’s music can be bought on iTunes, streamed on Spotify, or even better, heard live at various bars in Terrebonne and Lafourche as well as some upcoming local fishing rodeos and festivals. When asked who their target audience is, in true Cajun fashion they jokingly responded, “Cooyons and Knuckleheads!”

So, who is Nonc Nu? And what are Wild Matous? Glad you asked. With a literal Cajun-French translation of “Uncle Naked and the Wild Tomcats,” the band claims it’s more of a state of mind. “Whoever gets casséd at a gig- that’s Nonc Nu for that night,” explained Phillip. “It’s no one person. We just thought it was funny,” added Mike.

With five years, two albums, and one compilation under their belt, the future looks bright for Nonc Nu & Da Wild Matous. They are currently writing songs for their third album, which the band is hoping to record themselves. Phillip credits their success to their ability to have fun and stay together. “Lots of bands just don’t get legs because it’s so hard to stay together. But we’re like a brotherhood, a big family. Even with other local musicians we’ve met. That’s what’s great about Cajun culture. Everyone’s family, no matter where you are. And by the way, we are still looking for a fiddle player!” - Point of Vue