Bandit’s reunion continues to ‘deliver the goods’

It couldn’t be money, but what was it? Nostalgia? A sappy story about an unfinished bromance? A void in the hearts of former musicians? An indescribable love for the art they no longer channeled?

No, the force that reunited Bandit and helped it become a stalwart on the party scene after a 28-year hiatus was channeled through an organic progression of blowing off steam.

The path of life separated the teen-aged Houma cover band in the early ‘80s and sprawled its members across the country as they chased college degrees, families and the beckoning American Dream. After matriculating back to south Louisiana, it was only natural to rekindle the group to help cope with the stresses their chosen lives presented.

“When we got back, we ran into each other and got together for some therapy,” said Blayne Bergeron, the band’s lead vocalist. “We had so much fun, we started regularly getting together.”

A pre-reunited Bandit held its first jam session in 2004 at the house of Kevin Martin, the band’s guitarist who had a studio that could host the therapy sessions. Martin was the only member to stick with music throughout the hiatus, but the band started to meet infrequently, at times with years in between sessions, and began the reformation.

Now, with four members from “back when,” Bandit has rocked parties from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and Lafayette, but still puts in substantial work at the Piazza Bar and Hard Racks in Houma, the hub of the original iteration and reincarnation.

The reunited group made its first live performance at the 30-year high school reunion for Vandebilt Catholic’s class of 1979. From there, Hard Racks took a chance on Bandit and the band hasn’t looked back since.

Bandit began making an impression on the local nightlife scene, drawing a party crowd and performing in front of an audience that had cheered it on nearly three decades earlier. The group has since signed with a booking agent out of New Orleans and transitioned into Mardi Gras club parties, weddings and other private gigs.

Bandit does not produce original music and cover bands are hardly a novelty, so how has this one-time therapy session evolved to the point where middle-aged men who hadn’t played music in almost 30 years have become a party necessity?

“We deliver the goods,” Martin said. “The energy is high. I wouldn’t say we’re a high-energy band in the sense that we have a horn section that’s dancing and doing the earth, wind and fire type high-energy thing, but the music lends itself to that.”

Bandit specializes in classic rock and sprinkles in Motown selections. Recently, the group has begun to play more country music, as requested by audiences and party hosts, but even then, the sound is still delivered with a rock ‘n’ roll influence and are rearranged to the band’s liking.

“We call it Banditizing the songs, giving a little rock edge to it,” Bergeron said.

Banditizing a song allows the performers to stamp it with their signature, but it also makes some of the requested songs more palatable for men who originally styled their music after Bad Company, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.

“The country tunes that we pick are more rock anyway, I guess to tolerate it more for our own psyche because, honestly, nobody likes playing the country stuff,” Martin said. “I do appreciate the audience’s responses to it and that’s why I submit to playing it. Of course, we don’t want to be arrogant b—holes and say, ‘This is what we do, like it or not.’”

Four of the band’s five members chime in on the microphone. Bergeron is the lead vocalist, but Kevin Forshag (bass), Martin (guitar), and Jim Trant (keyboard) also lend their voices to the crowd. Gregg Graffagnino spends all of his time on percussion.

Live performances extend beyond sound, however, and Bandit’s members believe some of their success comes from a quick transition between songs.

“We don’t waste time between the tunes and it comes off as being kind of slick and professional,” Martin said. “(Wasting time) just leaves an impression on me that it’s not very professional. Once you get your energy on your audience, you need to keep it there and being prepared is one way to do it.”

Upcoming public shows:

Jan. 20, Spahr’s at the Ramada Inn in Houma, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Jan. 21, Congo Lounge in Thibodaux, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Jan. 28, Piazza Bar in Houma, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Website: www.banditrockslouisiana.com