bioscalendarguestbooklinksmusicphotospress
 

about the band...


KRISTI GUILLORY
accordion, vocals
Kristi was pulled out of an 8-year retirement while finishing a graduate degree in Folklore when asked to join the Lafayette Rhythm Devils. She has since dusted off and retuned her accordions for yet another round. She first picked up an accordion at eleven years old and quickly immersed herself in the Cajun culture and music learning from players such as Octa Clark, Leroy Broussard and Aldus Roger. She first learned an appreciation for music from her grandfather, Jesse Duhon, an original member of the 1930s string band, The Dixie Ramblers. Kristi formed her own band, Reveille, and went on to win the CFMA’s New Dawn Award and Best Female Vocalist as well as Best New Recording awards. Her musical influences range from Cleoma Breaux, Iry Lejeune, Nathan Abshire and Octa Clark to Zachary Richard and Mamou. As a native Cajun-French speaker, a language she learned from her great-grandmother, Kristi has a deep appreciation for the stories within the songs of Cajun music. Kristi can also be seen fronting the band "Bonsoir, Catin".


RANDY VIDRINE
guitar, vocals
J. Randy "Frisson" Vidrine. A Ville Platte, Louisiana native, Randy now resides in Lafayette. As a child he grew up in a bilingual household, and is a rare link to a quickly disappearing past for Cajun Music. His voice is expressive, passionate, and unquestionably authentic. One feels he is in eerie time warp while Randy sings, yet many songs are new- with lyrics he has written about life today. The attitude and intensity would at times fit a heavy metal band, yet it's true to the traditions of Cajun music. “Frisson” does not play it safe- he makes each song his own.

In addition to vocal and songwriting influences from Adam Hebert, Lawrence Walker and Shirley Bergeron, Randy's rock solid rhythm on the guitar has been compared to the late great Preston Manual of Mamou. Randy's love and pride for his culture show in everything he does, and he has served as a staff member at the Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp in New York, Fiddle Tunes in Seattle, & Augusta Heritage Center in West Virginia, to name a few. He has also presented workshops at (among others): the London Cajun Festival (London, England), Copenhagen, Denmark, Festivals Acadiens (Lafayette, Louisiana), Festival International (Lafayette, Louisiana). Randy has had his own group, Charivari, and has recorded and toured with Mouton Noir.

“Frisson” is more than an exciting singer to the genre of Cajun music. He is a treasure to the culture, digging up the old forgotten tunes, writing new ones, and keeping the language of his birth alive with each performance.

CHRIS SEGURA
fiddle

Chris "Chop Chop" Segura began playing the fiddle at the age of four and performs with the precision of a seasoned veteran musician. He often plays bare-footed and head down, lost in a trance and deep in concentration. Chris has showed his devotion to the Cajun culture and language as the long-time fiddler for the young and vibrant La Bande Feufollet. As an admirer of the rhythmic styles of Mitchell Reed and Michael Doucet, Chris has also learned from fiddlers such as Steve Riley and David Greely of the Mamou Playboys. Musical roots can also be found in Chris's family. In addition to his father and mother enjoying Cajun music as a hobby, Chris's great-grandfather, Robert "Vab" Fontenot, was a Cajun fiddler originally from Belaire Cove in the Ville Platte area. Chris is also a distant relative of the Segura Brothers who made some of the earliest recordings of Cajun Music.



YVETTE LANDRY
bass, t-fer, vocals
Yvette is a native of Breaux Bridge. While she migrated to Lafayette for a while, she has since returned to her home in St. Martin parish. As a former Crawfish Queen, Yvette brings a regal air and poise to the Rhythm Devils bandstand and has since been deemed “Queen of Cajun Bass.” Yvette comes from a long and venerable line of musicians. Her grandfather, Lucien Landry of the Bill Landry Orchestra and The Louisiana Six, was among one of most important working musicians from the 1930s into the 1950s. Her grandmother, Viola Hebert Landry of New Iberia, was a musician as well, playing with her brothers Wilton, Noah, Cap and the rest of the Hebert clan in The Louisiana Six. Yvette is an accomplished musician and a classically trained pianist and has toured with orchestras throughout the United States and Europe. As a bass-player, however, she provides a rock-solid backbone and she can often be seen keeping the rhythm section in line. Yvette is also a member of "Bonsoir, Catin".


DONALD LEJEUNE
drums
Don'el is a resident of Rayne but claims to be from the “other side” of the Bayou Nez-Pique. He provides the Lafayette Rhythm Devils with his signature exciting grooves. He is also widely known for his devilish grin behind the drum set.

 
biocalendarguestbooklinksmusicphotospresssite by WORK