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The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), Apr. 27, 2007
For 20 years, the Bluerunners have intermingled the fully amped guitars of
modern roots rock with the fiddles and accordions of traditional Cajun
music. Their sound remains as fresh and invigorated as ever.
-Keith Spera
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http://tweedsblues.net
"I caught 'em last nite at the Backroom Bar in Boca Raton and they flat out smoked! You have not heard it all til you hear Black Mattie done with a pedal steel and accordion thrown in. Absolutely hair raising. Best band I've seen in a long time. People danced their asses off down there. Six stars out of a possible five"
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The Independent Weekly (Lafayette, LA), Apr. 25, 2007
Early on in its career, the Bluerunners broke down and re-assembled Cajun,
cow punk, zydeco and other Louisiana strains to create the most unique and
hottest sounds coming out of Lafayette at the time. Though its punk days are
long behind the band, The Bluerunners still possess the same incredible
knack for synthesis. Gritty, dirty blues and swampy accordion and rubboard
mix to create sweaty dance numbers best experienced live. Like a snowball
rolling down from a high peak, Bluerunner gigs, often kicked off by the
brilliant transition of “Nonc Tete Dure” to “Grand Chenier,” pick up speed
and intensity as the ensemble squashes styles, pairing earthy Americana
blues and the spirit of a Clifton Chenier roadhouse gig.
-Nick Pittman
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Live at The Triple Door
Offbeat Magazine (New Orleans), Nov. 30, 2006
Usually when a band has been around for close to two decades, there’s at least one live album popping up in their discography. A live recording was never on the Bluerunners’ radar until they played Seattle’s swanky Triple Door and the good folks there offered to record the show. If you’re familiar with the Cajun roots rockers’ recorded output, there are no surprises here other than the “new,” scintillating versions of Clifton Chenier’s “Louisiana 2-Step” and “Shake It Don’t Break It.” But what is emphasized is the breadth of styles (Americana, rock, Cajun, zydeco, blues) that are innately fused into their sonic signature as well as the career-spanning catalogue of songs that have had such staying power. Rendered live, everything sounds astoundingly fresh as if it was just concocted yesterday. There’s a lot to appreciate here, whether it’s the telepathic jamming between guitarist Mark Meaux and steel guitarist Will Golden, a Meaux-penned line (“Most of my days I spend trying to make things rhyme”) or how their reverence for Chenier zydeco is a cornerstone of their rocking sound. The last several tracks (“Zordico,” “Bluco”) especially go on a hell-bent tear. If you think this is a fan-only record, think again.
-Dan Willging
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The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), Oct. 20, 2006
"Lafayette Cajun rock band The Bluerunners have always excelled onstage, revving up an electric fusion of Cajun music and roots rock like a Lafayette-based Replacements."
-Keith Spera
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Michael Doucet of Beausoleil
"The Bluerunners are an affirmation of the power of collective creativity in the center of a conservative culture. Like racehorses connected to a wagon, they pull the essential qualities of time honed themes into a new musical field with great abandon. It's always refreshing to hear music created by a group that goes beyond sanctioned standards to bring forth their own ideas. This kind of musical journey takes courage, insight and talent; qualities quite apparent in the Bluerunners.”
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The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette), Apr. 28, 2006
A Lafayette favorite and staple since their late 1980s inception, The Bluerunners take Cajun music to a new level. While very grounded in tradition, they incorporate other Americana influences and some techniques that must be heard to be believed. Their sometimes-set-opener transition of Nonc Tete Dure to Grand Chenier is a hair-raising, suspense-building tune that breaks into fiery Cajun stomper
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Honey Slides
The Times Leader August 12, 2005 (Marietta, OH)
Lots of excellent vibes out there waiting to be discovered.
Unless you're a satellite radio subscriber or happen to frequent bayou country, Lafayette, Louisiana's Bluerunnners have likely managed to escape your audio system.
Here's some sound advice from the Left Lane: Go to their website: www.bluerunners.com, sample a few choice cuts, then ask yourself why exceptional bands of this caliber toil in relative obscurity?
The Bluerunners have actually been around since 1987, in other words, nearly two decades. While they haven't exactly been prolific performers in the studio, they have a loyal following where Cajun meets Creole.
It took a desert drive from Las Vegas to L.A. and a XM Satellite-equipped rental earlier this year for us to hone in on "Honey Slides" the band's brilliant CD and easily, in our opinion, one of the year's finest records -- regardless of genre.
Those unfamiliar with the legendary sound of Zydeco music will be introduced to the Bluerunners' seemingly effortless melding of frenetic accordion accompanied by a near-lethal dose of slide guitar mastery.
"Honey Slides" is also complemented by adept writing and singing, courtesy of the band's founder, Mark Meaux. Said Meaux in a press release for the record: "Honey Slides' is our most fully realized album in terms of songwriting, production, and good vibes coming together at the right time."
That's Willy Golden laying down a breezy groove on guitar and Adrian Huval working over the accordion. Drummer Frank Kincel and bassist Cal Stevenson join Meaux who contributes mandolin and a majority of the disc's writing.
The record's 13 tracks include nine originals and four covers. Don't be surprised to hear two songs sung in French, including "Coulee Rodaire" with Huval providing vocals.
"The Gravedigger" is an extended jam likely to be tabbed on several personal favorite lists, including ours.
Area fans who attended Bruce Springsteen's recent show in Pittsburgh were likely indirectly exposed to the Bluerunners. Springsteen has included three of "Honey Slides" songs as part of the 'walk-in' music for his Devils and Dust Tour.
The good news is that "Honey Slides" is being discovered nationally. Blues Revue Magazine called the record: "A superior piece of roots music," while No Depression Magazine stated the obvious: "This band is gonna make you move."
Until something better comes our way, "Honey Slides" tops the Left Lane's best of list thus far in 2005.......
-Rich Gibson
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Honey Slides
Rolling Stone Magazine, June 2, 2005
When I reviewed the Bluerunners' first album in 1991, I heard a lot of Scotty Moore and J. Geils Band amid the Dewey Balfa and Clifton Chenier in their electric gumbo. On Honey Slides, the Lafayette band stirs in more of everything -- zydeco bounce, voodoo blues, the rugged poetry of Cajun living and loving -- in perfect, original proportion.
-David Fricke
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Honey Slides
Down Beat Magazine March, 2005
"4 Stars"
The last time singer-guitarist Mark Meaux and his band were noticed outside their Lafayette swampland was in the early '90's when a thrilling if uneasy sonic alliance of zydeco and X inspired punk rock fired up their debut album on Island. Here again the 'Runners make a belated bid for wider recognition by going beyond dance-hall research to find a fresh, edgy sound that simultaneously reveals their full understanding of Cajun/Creole culture and their affinity for blues-rock recklessness. Accordian player Ade Huval works wonders focusing the intensity in "Coulee Rodaire," "Kingsnake Crawl," and 11 other selections
- Frank-John Hadley
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Honey Slides
Yahoo Music March 10, 2005
Although hailing from Lafayette, Louisiana, the Bluerunners bring to mind the musical melting pot of New Orleans. On Honey Slides, they dish out rock, zydeco, blues, country, Cajun and jam band funk. But instead of sounding like a half-dozen different bands, they simply sound like one marvelous roots rock band ready and willing to play all night long. The disc opens with a zippy zydeco rave-up "Working Mans Zydeco" before launching into the Los Lobos-like rocker "The Gravedigger." The Bluerunners have been described as a Bayou-version of Los Lobos, and one can hear the Lobos here in tunes like "Voodoo Mens and Voodoo Dolls" and "Kingsnake Crawl." However, it would be simplistic and inaccurate to view the Bluerunners as the Lobos' French-speaking cousins. "Walking and Sighing" turns on a dime from a Cajun waltz into a howling blues rocker that ventures into Led Zeppelin territory. "Ghost of Girl," an affectionate backporch ode about a woman who has "seen way too much world," has the laid-back charms of the Rolling Stones "Country Honk," and features guest vocals from Continental Drifter Susan Cowsill. Another strong cut is "I Got You," a jaunty Dylan-esque talking electric blues number. These three tunes form a terrific centerpiece trio that comes about midway through the nearly hour-long set, but they are surrounded by more colorful songs that show off the band's musical diversity. Helping to tie everything together is frontman Mark Meaux, the sole remaining original Bluerunner. Meaux, who plays guitar, mandolin and fiddle, as well as co-producing this disc, has a gruff but affable singing voice that fits his songs perfectly. Aiding him here are his equally talented and versatile bandmates. Adrian Huval mans the accordions, while stepping to the mic on a cover of Canray Fontenot's "Coulee Rodair" and his own "Lune de Minuit." Will Golden, who takes over lead vocals on a raw and raucous rendition of Jessie Mae Hemphill's "Black Cat Bone," provides nimble fretwork on the lap steel and National guitars, while drummer Frank Kincel and bassist Cal Stevenson hold down the spirited rhythm section. Filled with lively tunes, boisterous playing and a French Quarter joie de vivre, the Bluerunners have made a disc, their fifth album, that's a truly winning outing.
- Michael Berick, All Music Guide
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Honey Slides Feature Story
The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), Feb. 25, 2005
In the Neil Young biography "Shakey," Mark Meaux, leader of Lafayette roots rock and Cajun band the Bluerunners, came across a scene that struck him. While recording "On the Beach" in 1974, Young collaborated with southwest Louisiana songwriter Rusty Kershaw. In addition to his musical contributions, Kershaw cooked up marijuana and honey treats called "honey slides."
"A 'honey slide' sounds like something your mom would make for the Cub Scout meeting," Meaux said recently. "It's actually weed. Apparently it's really strong.
"I liked that idea, that 'honey slides' is not what it appears to be. In terms of our band and our approach, yeah, it's Cajun and zydeco music. But it may not be what you think it's going to be."
With that in mind, Meaux titled the Bluerunners' new CD "Honey Slides." The disc mixes up English and French lyrics, rock songs with waltzes, original material with traditionals. Meaux and his bandmates celebrate the new CD Saturday at the Mid-City Lanes, followed by Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots.
From the outset, the Bluerunners grafted Cajun accordions and fiddles to electric guitars and rock rhythms, BeauSoleil meets the Blasters. A self-titled 1991 debut for Island Records introduced the band to a national audience intrigued by the synthesis.
But the Bluerunners' history is a tumultuous one. Meaux readily admits that he "fired real strong" in his younger years, often confronting what he perceived as affronts to the band's integrity and questioning why he was even in the the music business. In such a volatile atmosphere, band members came and went along with record deals. Long gaps between albums made sustaining momentum difficult.
But by 2001, a reborn Bluerunners had released "Le Grand Bleu," an ambitious, sumptuous collection of Cajun roots rock. The band's lineup stabilized with Meaux on guitars and lead vocals, lap steel guitarist Will Golden, accordionist Ade Huval, bassist Cal Stevenson and drummer Frank Kincel.
Consistency sparked renewed creative energy. So, too, did a reorganization of the band's business affairs. They hired a new Lafayette-based manager and founded their own label, Bayou Vista Records. A lucrative corporate gig in New Orleans during the 2004 Sugar Bowl gave them enough money to finance a recording project.
Last year, the Bluerunners and co-producer Ivan Klisanin holed up in Klisanin's home studio and got to work. A Houston native in his 20s, Klisanin started out crafting beats for hip-hop artists. While working for Lafayette radio station KRVS and as Chubby Carrier's sound engineer, he learned about southwest Louisiana's indigenous music.
"He throws himself into different kinds of music," Meaux said. "To him, the traditional music is more fresh and exciting because he's fairly new to it. That's invaluable, to get a new perspective on something that we have our own thoughts about."
Given rap's emphasis on bass, Klisanin helped shore up the Bluerunners' bottom end.
"He brought a fresh perspective to both the traditional music and the original stuff," Meaux said. "Building his library of beats, he had to listen to hundreds of records. There's something about a young guy that is so passionate. That gave me a kick in the pants. I'm always into it, but I fed off his enthusiasm, too."
Going into the project, Meaux knew the music would differ from the alt-country slant of "Le Grand Bleu." Onstage, Golden's guitar licks and Huval's chromatic accordion had edged the band in a bluesier direction. Also, the sets included more traditionals from the great Creole fiddler Canray Fontenot. Fontenot's "Coulée Rodair" turns up on "Honey Slides."
At least three Meaux originals -- "The Gravedigger," "Ghost of a Girl" and "Voodoo Mens and Voodoo Dolls" -- deal with death and loss.
"Sometimes songs look like one thing and they're something else," Meaux said. "There's a lot of gray area in there."
The origins of "Voodoo Mens" date to the Bluerunners' weekly gig at the Maple Leaf years ago.
"I was totally green," Meaux said. "I hadn't been out of Lafayette that much. There were these wonderful people, locals who lived a totally different life than I was used to seeing. The night people. They seemed like the living dead to me. 'Everybody's glowing yellow' -- when I think back to the set breaks and there's the yellow glow of the street lights on these people. I don't know what they do that they're able to be out at 3 or 4 in the morning on a Wednesday . . . I didn't want to judge them in the song, but it always struck me as kind of sad and cool. I didn't know how they did that."
Meaux liked "Honey Slides" as the album's title the more he thought about its connection to the late Rusty Kershaw. Meaux briefly met Kershaw one night at Carrollton Station. "He struck me as such a nice, sweet man, and he wasn't in the best of health," Meaux said. "In 'Shakey,' it explains how he went to Nashville with his brother and had been through the wringer of the music business. By the time he got to Neil, he was considered this Cajun wild man. This wasn't the man I met. I had such empathy . . . there's something about music that is so beautiful but gets so obscured by the music business itself. There's thousands of musicians from Louisiana that have been through that process. They start with something that is natural and special to them. Then you bring it to the marketplace, although you're not even really conscious of that when you're doing it, and it gets distorted and thrown back in your face and you're left wondering how you got into it in the first place."
That was once the Bluerunners story writ large. But they are no longer under such duress.
"We're at a good place now, but there were years where I didn't know if I was coming or going, or why I was even doing this," Meaux said. "Because it didn't feel like when we started, when it was for the joy of playing. That's what I'm most thankful for now. The last few years, it has been that. It's real to me now. I do it because I enjoy it and the songs and music mean something to me."
- Keith Spera
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Honey Slides
The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), Feb. 18, 2005
Somewhere between BeauSoleil and Los Lobos, two great American roots music bands, there's the Bluerunners. The Lafayette band's roots-dipped Honey Slides manages to be rocking, waltzing, two-stepping and laid-back and contemplative, all in a mere 13 tracks. A product of their environment, the Lafayette band hits a driving regional groove in "Working Man's Zydeco." Often tagged Cajun rockers, the electric guitar-accordion partnership in "The Gravedigger" proves the tag accurate, at least some of the time. The versatile Bluerunners' new songs flow smoothly alongside their interpretations of traditional tunes, including Canray Fontenot's Creole waltz, "Coulee Rodair."
Doing much of the singing and songwriting, Bluerunners founder Mark Meaux could be a Cajun Bob Dylan in the wry and rhythmic "I Got You." The zydeco-blues of "Walking and Sighing," suggests what might have happened if Clifton Chenier and T-Rex had a jam session. A contagious swamp groove pushes the atmospheric "Voodoo Mens and Voodoo Dolls" on its humid path. And "Big Head," another Meaux song, and its layers of acoustic strings place him in the bittersweet company of John Prine. So, even though it's early in the year, the earthy Honey Slides may well be among the best Louisiana CDs of 2005.
- John Wirt
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Honey Slides
North Bay Bohemian (Santa Rosa, CA), Feb. 16, 2005 (2nd story)
Talk about Southern flavor with a twist, the Bluerunners take their name from a Louisiana swamp fish, and the title of their fifth and latest album honors the sweet psychedelic shots that Neil Young used to ingest during the On the Beach recording sessions (a mix of low-grade pot and honey sautéed in a skillet). But you can bet the stinging slide-guitar solos that slice through these zydeco-inflected tunes play at least a small part in that title selection. Fueled by pumping Cajun rhythms, and the music and lyrics (many sung in French) of band member Mark Meaux, who hails from the Cajun heartland of Lafayette, La., the Bluerunners live up to their reputation as leaders of the region's next generation of roots-music artists. Let the good times roll.
-Greg Cahill
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Honey Slides
Rockzillaworld Magazine
Rat-a-tat-touie sockit-to-me-louie!
That's a verbal expression for that feeling that arises when a CD from some band you've never heard of mysteriously finds its way to you and it turns out to be some serious arse-kicking, put-that-in-your-pipe-and-smoke-it music.
Press play on the Bluerunners' Honey Slides and you join a party all ready in progress. "Working Man's Zydeco" is in full swing as it fades up, like your steadily approaching the soiree from afar. If a paean to the working man it is, then it be that part of the working man who comes out 'round midnight on Saturday when he hits that point where sobriety and inebriation are nodding hello as they pass each other and the sweat beading on his body finds its source, not from work, but from workin' it.
Hoooo daddy, that's a humdinger of a sentence, but I can't stop myself. If I'm forced to sit down and type when I should be up doin' the chicken, then allow me the freedom to wax it how I like.
Okay, that disclaimer's out of the way.
"So they're a zydeco band," you surmise. Well, not exactly. Let's put it this way: Bluerunners are to zydeco what Los Lobos are to conjuntos and polka. These Lafayette boys have it in them and hit it straight-up at times, but often throw their zydeco soul in a stew (or should I say gumbo) of music: a full cup of rock most certainly, with heaping tablespoons of blues and country.
Speaking of Los Lobos, "The Gravedigger" could very well be on Kiko, (and that is one heck of a compliment). The accordion (Ade Huval) puts aside its zydeco affinity, lap steel sears (Willy Golden), trotting tom-toms drive the percussion (Frank Kincel) and a certain lyric keeps catching your ear to hint things aren't quite right with our narrator (Mark Meaux), "I fill up that hole in my chest where my soul used to be."
Honey Slides is a hearty gumbo for sure with thirteen tracks and nearly an hour of music. "I Got You" has a very strong feel of Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited with the accordion and lap steel filling it out with a more flowing, comfortable sound. Meaux might have tried too hard to write and deliver this one like Dylan of the 61 era, but that's forgivable.
Especially when the next cut, "Walking and Sighing," puts across the most realistic delivery of a breakup that, for some inexplicable reason, seems to have escaped the four million, six-hundred fifty-thousand and two songwriters who've broached this subject before him. The realism comes from his competing emotions: deeply hurt, feeling beyond repair is sometimes replaced by a cocky swagger that it's her loss. It's a grimy blues ditty but the chorus strays from the formula. Here the band hits a grand slam for capturing the full realm of spiraling emotions packed within the very contrite lyrical wallop. Meaux lays out the utter truth to nearly every breakup with a carnal delivery accentuated by a guttural squeal, "You're gonna miss my love, baby. And I'm gonna miss you, too." Sounds simple. Trust me, they nail it.
Emptiness scores another song's refrain as Meaux dons an understated mandolin for "Ghost of a Girl" and is joined by Susan Coswill (Continental Drifters, The Coswills) to harmonize a pretty score, even if the lyrics are somber:
She got the homemade blues.
Whatever happened in there takes a lifetime to lose.
She's a ghost of a girl,
She's seen way to much woe
Just a ghost of a girl,
But I love her.
But getting back to the zydeco, I love it. They wander off in other directions just enough that when they return the Creole French lyrics sound like honey on a hot beignet (if honey on beignets made a sound, of course). The twin Louisiana fiddles of "Valse de Grand Pere" are enough to make me wish I grew up in that culture.
The only downside to Honey Slides is it sometimes has a weird effect on me that is really incongruous with anything going on, and that is that I occasionally burst out in a loud Yosemite Sam impersonation and hop about hollering "sufferin' suckatash" and similar garble. This alarms my neighbors, but rest assured it is 99% likely that this is just me, and you will suffer no similar side effects.
- Danté Dominick
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Honey Slides
Winston-Salem Journal (Winston-Salem, NC), Feb. 03, 2005
It’s Mardi Gras time, down in Cajun country a time of celebrating, eating, drinking and dancing. Honey Slides, the new album by New Orleans’ Bluerunners, is a great soundtrack for any Mardi Gras party, or any party in general. The group has been around for years, steadily building a following for its mix of old-time Zydeco and hot-sauce swamp rock. One thing has become clear: Music isn’t something the Bluerunners make, it is something they live. Honey Slides offers a nice blend between a traditional Zydeco homage (“Working Man’s Zydeco”) and more ambitious twists on a familiar Cajun theme; “Ghost of a Girl,” with guest vocals by Susan Cowsill, is roots-folk at its melodic best. A lot of different elements are heaped in this gumbo - it’s not hard to hear echoes of Bob Dylan and Hank Sr. in the mix of country music and bayou blues. But in the end, what makes Honey Slides - the title is borrowed from an infamous intoxicant - so delectable is the way that the skillful playing merges with good-time vibes. Havin’ big fun down on the bayou, fer sure.
- Ed Bumgardner
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Honey Slides
TheOnion.com, Feb. 02, 2005
... [Rosco] Gordon's influence may not be well known, but it extends to just about every roots band with a regional kink. For example: The Bluerunners, which has varied the pace of Southern boogie with woozy zydeco rhythms for more than a decade. The band's new Honey Slides is named for the fried, sweetened marijuana snack that Neil Young and his band consumed during the recording of On The Beach, and the album has some of Young's crude beauty. Even songs that stay mired in the bayou, like "Working Man's Zydeco" and "Coulee Rodair," hold an offhanded, blissed-out quality—the accordion swells and the slide guitar half-dance, half-stumble around each other. And on the murky country waltz "Valse De Grand-Pere," the draggy fiddles and nasal snatches of French make Louisiana seem like a foreign country within American borders. In a country packed with polished blues-rock bar bands, it's funny how the musicians who can barely hold it together leave the strongest impression.
—Noel Murray
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Honey Slides
The Independent, (Lafayette, LA), Feb. 02, 2005
Honey Slides is a feature story in The Independent. Click link for full interview.
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Honey Slides
Offbeat Magazine (New Orleans), Jan. 31, 2005
Never mind that Lafayette's Bluerunners have stuck it out longer than the majority of bands working the Hub City scene. Regrets, there've been a few, but hands down, the Bluerunners outdid themselves this time with their fifth effort in a storied 17-year-run. Gone are the alt-country influences and much of the Cajun traditionalism found on the previous couple of outings. Rather this time they're more akin to the Latin Playboys interpreting artsy blues-based zydeco while howling on the Atchafalaya levee under a glowing full moon. Scrumptious tunes like "Voodoomens and Voodoo Dolls" and Jessie Mae Hemphill's "Black Cat Bone" featuring Will Golden's toasty slide run ahead of the curve while another hipster, "I Got You," resembles Bob Dylan trapped in an insufferable South Louisiana summer without an air conditioner. A well-concocted brew of sorts, there's garage band old school zydeco ("Working Man's Zydeco"), a nod to Creole fiddler Canray Fontenot ("Coulee Rodair") and cerebrally crafted songs ("The Gravedigger") textured with layers of meanings and sonic coolness. Cal Stevenson's beautiful "Valse de Grand Pere" is built upon subtly swirling undertones. "Lune du Minuit" with accordionist Adrian Huval's gliding five-row stylings is a good ole fashion clanky waltz. Killer stuff.
-Dan Willging
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Honey Slides
www.FreightTrainBoogie.com, Jan. 30, 2005
The opening cut on this very enjoyable disc is "Working Man's Zydeco", which perfectly describes one aspect of this veteran Lafayette, Louisiana band. But as you listen on, you'll find they're just as comfortable presenting a swampy blues groove (The Grave Digger, King Snake Crawl) or mandolin driven, haunting country ballads (Ghost of a Girl, Big Head.) What ties this regional music together is rousing accordion and slide guitar licks (evoking local favorite Sonny Landreth). With rock and roll attitude and strong cultural roots, French Cajun tunes and rolling instrumentals, this release is just in time for Mardi Gras but will sound great year round.
- Michael Meehan
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Honey Slides
www.highbias.com, Jan. 30, 2005
I absolutely adore the Bluerunners' 1991 debut album, which is as perfect a synthesis of zydeco and cowpunk rock & roll as you're ever likely to hear. I've been less impressed with the band's subsequent albums, all of which seemed to lose that balance. But the band's fifth record Honey Slides snaps the 'runners back where they belong without merely rehashing old glories. Leader/guitarist Mark Meaux is in fine form, his snide vocals and lean guitar leading the way on a set of wry, danceable originals. Accordionist Adrian Huval and lap steel guitarist/washboarder Will Golden add tasteful, occasionally blazing support. I still wish for the breakneck pace of some of the band's early work, but it's impossible to argue with bluesy, soulful cuts like "Kingsnake Crawl," "The Gravedigger" and the excellent "Ghost of a Girl," featuring Susan Cowsill on harmonies.
-Michael Toland
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Honey Slides
www.blogcritics.org, Jan. 25, 2005
Honey Slides is the fourth and latest release from Bluerunners, a Louisiana band that creates a wonderfully harmonious gumbo by combining the music of their Cajun heritage with a multitude of influences, ranging from genres, such as alt-rock and the blues, to artists like Clifton Chenir, an originator of Zydeco music, and Neil Young, who is referenced in the album's title because Honey Slides, fried marijuana covered with honey, is a concoction created by Rusty Kershaw for Neil Young during their work on Young's On The Beach. Bluerunners are Mark Meaux on mandolin/guitar, who is also the main singer/songwriter, Willy Golden on slide guitar, Adrian Huval on accordion, and the rhythm section of drummer Frank Kincel and bassist Cal Stevenson.
The opening track, "Working Man's Zydeco," fades in as the band is already playing, providing a sense that you are walking into the middle of an ongoing, raging party. The accordion is on fire as it leads the band. The singer screams with excitement before he breaks into the lyrics. His enthusiasm and the music are infectious. Even those with no sense of rhythm will find themselves tapping their toes and bobbing their head. You night not even notice that he's singing in Creole.
In fact, there are four songs sung in Creole, such as "Coulee Rodair," a classic by Canray Fontenot, a man many consider to be the greatest fiddler of our time. Two of the songs are new tracks, "Valse de Grand-Pere" by Stevenson and "Lune de Minuit" by Huval, yet they have an air of authenticity that allows them to stand alongside the covers.
The whole album is outstanding, but some of the highlights include "The Gravedigger" which takes us even deeper into the swamps with its tribal percussion and fat bass line. "Ghost of a Girl" is a beautiful, acoustic duet with Susan Cowsill about a woman who has "seen way too much world." It has a lilting, roots-rock vibe to it.
Bob Dylan's presence is strongly felt on the talking blues "I Got You," from the story told to the sound of Meaux's voice. The music shuffles along as the lap steel guitar by the appropriately named Golden shines majestically on the bridges. His influence can also be heard on the dreamy closer "Big Head."
The band and the engineer make some great sonic choices as they create moods. "Voodoomens and Voodoo Dolls" has a wicked, fuzzed-out guitar a la Young that overpowers Meaux's vocals. You'll lock up your daughters and wives when this swamp boogie plays. "Black Cat Bone" is an outdoor party in the moonlight as the vocals are almost overwhelmed by crickets chirping. This song should be played very loud as Golden, once again, tears it up on steel guitar.
The unusual combinations on Honey Slides provide delightful results, much like eating a Cajun meal. You might not be sure what's in it, but you'll enjoy the results, which will leave you happy and coming back for more. I highly recommend it.
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Honey Slides
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (San Antonio), Jan. 21, 2005
The band roared out of Lafayette, La., in the early '90s with a fusion of traditional Cajun, Creole zydeco and all-out rock 'n' roll. Bluerunners opened ears with energy and audacity, not to mention accordion working with hot guitar and French/English lyrics.
After releasing four CDs, some more traditional than others, and after weathering personnel changes, the 'Runners, led by founder/guitarist/songwriter Mark Meaux, are back with "Honey Slides." The album is named for a marijuana/honey concoction reportedly given to Neil Young by Rusty Kershaw during the recording of Young's "On the Beach." The Bluerunners like "On the Beach."
With the new 13-track disc, it's again effective fusion time with traditional-sounding songs such as "Mardi Gras Jig" clashing with, but complementing, Dylanesque rock wordplay ("I Got You"), a compelling duet with Susan Cowsill ("Ghost of a Girl") and swamp/funk/rock ("Kingsnake Crawl," "Voodoomens and Voodoo Dolls"). "Honey Slides" is what happens when culture clashes go well.
—Jim Beal Jr.
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Honey Slides
Philadelphia Daily News, Jan. 18, 2005
The Bluerunners light the night with good-time New Orleans flavors on "Honey Slides"
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Honey Slides
METRONOME MAGAZINE (Boston)
At first glance, the name Bluerunners might sound like a blues bar band who plays regularly on Beale Street. Nothing is further from the truth. The Bluerunners are a Louisiana band who play blend of traditional Cajun and Creole zydeco with the blues and country music popular in Southern Louisiana all leaning towards contemporary punk. So you'll hear accordions and fiddles and Cajun harmonies a la Beausoleil on "Ghost of a Girl," but you'll also hear a full tilt synthesis of punk and Cajun on the blues standard "Black Cat Bone."
Bluerunners was formed in 1987 by mandolin/guitarist Mark Meaux. The other members of the band include eleven year band veterans Willie Golden on slide guitar and Adrian Huval on accordion. The rhythm section features drummer Frank Kincel and bassest Cal Stevenson, both members for six years.
The record jumps off the turntable with "Working Man's Zydeco," which is an energetic tribute to the masters of the tradition like Clifton Chenier. The zydeco feel continues on Meaux's "The Grave Digger," an errie tale of one who shovels mud in the Bayou moonlight. The rhythmic spell of traditional Cajun dance hall music is captivating on "Coulee Rodair," and "Walking and Sighing." First you can roll back the rug in the living room and two step to the one chord "Mardi Gras Jig," then you can turn down the lights and waltz your partner around the room during the band's sweet twin fiddle approach on "Valse de Grand Pere." But this isn't all Cajun fiddles. On "Kingsnake Crawl" and "Voodoomens And Voodoo Dolls," the Bluerunners explore the darker blues guitar based side of Louisiana music.
After 17 years of successful touring and recording, the Bluerunners understand that being rooted in Cajun and Creole doesn't mean antique, these guys know how to rock and swing the traditional music that flows in their veins.
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Honey Slides
Charleston Daily-Mail, Dec. 16, 2004
If you care to add a little spice to your holiday musical fare, cue up the latest from Lafayette, L.A.'s Bluerunners. On the band's first release in three years, the tunes run the gamut from straight-up Zydeco (the opening "Working Man's Zydeco) and Cajun to the expected hybrids that meld syncopated rhythms, accordion and a Louisiana attitude. Led by founder Mark Meaux, the group's roots run deep, as evidenced by the dead-on, lazy Cajun feel on "Coulee Rodair," an old tune by vet Canray Fontenot while the easy-going acoustic "Ghost of a Girl" adds the sweet vocals of the Continental Drifters' Susan Cowsill. Elsewhere, there's the Dylanesque "I Got You," the rocking "Kingsnake Crawl," the swampy blues "Voodoomens and Voodoo Dolls" and the "Rollin and Tumblin"-styled Jesse Mae Hemphill nugget "Black Cat Bone"
-- Michael Lipton
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Honey Slides
Billboard, Nov. 18, 2004
Southwest Louisiana-based rock act the Bluerunners will appropriately release "Honey Slides," their first album in four years, during the week leading up to the annual Mardi Gras celebrations. Due Jan. 25 via the band's own Bayou Vista Records (distributed by Redeye), the set boasts a guest appearance by vocalist Susan Cowsill.
The 13-track album boasts nine originals, as well as covers including such Bayou classics as Clifton and Cleveland Chenier's "Working Man's Zydeco," Conray Fontenot's "Coulee Rodaire" and Jessie Mae Hemphill's "Black Cat Bone."
"'Honey Slides' is our most fully realized album in terms of songwriting, production and good vibes coming together at the right time," says groupleader Mark Meaux (mandolin/guitar/songwriter). The set is the follow-up to 2001's "Le Grand Bleu" (Louisiana Red Hot).
-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
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