News - #6 DECEMBER, 1996

Thanks for a Great Year! To all those who organized and attended any of our 140 shows in 22 states and 5 foreign countries! As David says, "It would have been weird without you." Thanks to you we're still on the road! Gigging at Home? The band was able to spend three consecutive weekends gigging in South Louisiana this fall, perhaps a first for our post restaurant-gigging life. The best night might have been Angelle's Whiskey River Landing on the levee in Henderson, where the packed crowd danced on the tables! We're looking forward to returning there just before Christmas. The Lake Charles gig should have been called "Cowboy's Landing." The streets were flooded and impassible. We still had a happy crowd, but we're hope for better weather Dec. 27th. Flying in Florida We had a great time returning to Polk City at the Fantasy of Flight Attraction. Sound man Geoff is our aviation buff. He seemed in a daze checking out all those vintage aircraft and the simulators! Thanks once again to Wings and Strings! Zeke in St. Augustine put on another fine gig for us too. His outfit "Pretty Cool Music" did a great job of attracting 200+ very enthusiastic fans. Great concert, great little city! Steve's Working Hard! Check out his vocal talents on Jimmy Breaux's new album. Also, Steve survived some vacation gigs with the Bear Cats in England and Northern Ireland. Apparently, he promised one Irishman he would return with the Playboys... MPs Air Out Dirty Linen The Dec/Jan issue of Dirty Linen (a national magazine dedicated to Folk, Traditional and World Music) features an in-depth article on the band. Best quote: For his part, Riley wants to keep writing, recording, and 'constantly expanding my stage wardrobe.' Hopefully he wasn't talking about the waist sizes... Recording Time? By popular demand, the band will record a special all-traditional Cajun album in January, to be released sometime in the Spring. The release will include Steve's solo recordings, acoustic material, originals, and more great forgotten and obscure numbers from the heart of the tradition. Stay tuned for more details. Newsletter is 1 Year Old! Time flies when you're peeling labels. We've had some growing pains. We apologize if our limited regional mailings skipped you. But we now have a solution: If you would like to receive another year of newsletters (4-5 volumes) by snail-mail please send a $2 donation. This way we can keep the info flowing! Keep in mind, you can also view this info for free by accessing our Internet web page (URL above) or by e-mail (sign up with Schwarzy@aol.com). The Playboutique We appreciate your orders, this helps float the cost of the newsletters too! Of course, as long as you are sending in your newsletter donation, you might also consider Christmas orders (great gift ideas!). -Sincerely, The Mamou Playboys back to news