Dahli Pardon’s risky music choice paying off

It may not be the most traditional, or longest tenured band in the area, but in less than a year, Dahli Pardon has quickly established itself as one of the most popular bands in the area by performing at various bars throughout Houma, Thibodaux and Gonzales.

While many cover bands in the area perform some of the most well-known ’80s hits, Dahli Pardon distinguishes itself by playing hits from the ‘90s. And these hits are not just of the rock variety, stretching from Rage Against the Machine to Kris Kross. “The one thing about what we do is we play covers that are today’s music,” said vocalist Jason Derouen. “Most cover bands out there, they play a lot of ’80s, and nobody’s really doing what we do.

“We’re taking a risk doing it, because we know (’80s covers) are what’s popular. But we thought we’d take a risk and do something different. And man, everybody’s loving it.”

That “risk” started in December of 2005 when Derouen and Ryan Rodriguez (drums) decided they wanted to start a cover band. The two previously played together in two original bands that broke up.

“I met Brandon (Hebert) at Jam Night at The Brickhouse, and I called up Ryan and asked if he thought Brandon would want to be in a band.”

Derouen said that Hebert (guitar/vocals) did not hesitate to join. “I called him up, and before I could even ask him, he was like, ‘Hell yeah.’”

After trying out multiple bassists, the band again found a member at The Brickhouse. “We went out to Jam Night at The Brickhouse, and the house bass player played with us,” explained Derouen. “We felt like we meshed pretty good, and we asked him if he wanted to play with us.”

And since then, Shawn “Diesel” Roddy has been the band’s bass player.

“Next thing you know,” said Derouen, “we just started kind of taking off around here. People are really getting involved in what we do.”

Dahli Pardon’s first show was in April 28, and since then they have been providing good times for fans throughout the area. How has Dahli Pardon become well-known in such a short period of time?

“I would like to say it’s because I really feel like a lot of these guys are really talented,” said Derouen of his band mates.

While agreeing with that reasoning, Rodriguez provided an alternative. “When we started, it was small crowds of good-looking women,” he explained. “And that brings guys, which brings more good-looking women. We have great looking women in our crowds.”

Derouen agreed. “I’m a firm believer that one girl brings three guys,” he joked. “We bring a lot of girls to the concerts, and they get the guys to follow them.”

And those crowds enjoy a wide variety of music ranging from rock to hip hop. “We range from everything,” said Derouen. “We like to cater to everybody out there, because we have people in this area who like hard music, then you’ve got people that like lighter rock. We’ll go from something as hard as Rage Against the Machine to something as soft as ‘Lips of an Angel,’ by Hinder.

“At the same time, we’ll come back with dance songs like ‘Let’s Get it Started’ by Black Eyed Peas. And we’ve even brought back some old school like ‘Tricky’ by Run DMC and ‘Jump’ by Kris Kross. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone at Dahli Pardon.”

So you’re probably wondering how the band came up with its name. “Ryan and Brandon could not agree on a name,” joked Derouen. “I got to the point where I didn’t care. One of them would like a name, and the other wouldn’t. I called Brandon and said, ‘Think of something, quick. Just get it over with.’ He had a magazine that had Dolly Parton on the front page.

He said we’ll spell it like Dahli Llama and the word pardon.

“So I booked our very first show, and we called it Dahli Pardon.”

And from there, Dahli Pardon was officially born, thriving on variety, crowd interaction and an appreciation of all types of music. “We’re constantly grabbing the crowd,” said Derouen. “I like to interact with the crowd, too. Sometimes in the middle of the thing, we might start chanting ‘Who Dat?’.

“The great thing about us is we just all appreciate music, as a whole. We’ve got that ability to be able to play anything, whether it’s hard or soft. We’re able to get away with playing certain songs that people might ask, ‘You’re listening to THAT?’”

For Dahli Pardon’s play dates, visit the band’s Web page at www.myspace.com/ dahlipardon.

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