‘Louisiana’s Rockin’ Fiddler’ and Houma’s native son talks music and playing for the home crowd

A performance by Cajun fiddler and Houma native Waylon Thibodeaux is all about one thing: entertaining the people.

More specifically, Thibodeaux’s mission is to keep the people dancing.

After playing last month’s Voice of the Wetlands Festival at Southdown Plantation in Houma with the Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, Thibodeaux has a full roster of shows coming up in the Tri-parishes in November.

“People like to watch us perform,” he said. “I’ve been playing music in this area all my life. People here have watched me grow up playing.”

“It means a lot when they call and ask me to play,” he said. “I love to see local people when they turn out.”

Thibodeaux has put out numerous albums, but he has announced that his April 2008 release, “Who’s Yo’ Cher Be’ Be,” is on the list to be nominated for a Grammy Award.

The album was aimed more at a national market, with tunes penned by a bevy of song-writing talent. The cover has the bearded Waylon wearing a satyr-like grin, cuddling with a couple of female musicians.

Thibodaux describes his music as a hodgepodge of Cajun (not overly traditional), zydeco, New Orleans music, swamp pop, country and rock-‘n’-roll, with an emphasis on danceable sounds. “It’s high-energy music, stuff you can move your feet to,” he said.

“People like music they can dance to,” he added. “I personally test out these songs to make sure people can dance to the music. If you can’t dance to it, you can’t dance.”

In fact, Thibodeaux cites as one of the big differences between audiences in south Louisiana and Canada the fact that the Canucks do more jumping than dancing.

“In south Louisiana, people love to dance,” he said. “We play more songs people like to dance to.”

“In Canada, we do more show music,” he said. “They don’t dance like they do in south Louisiana, but they love for me to show up and entertain.”

In addition to Canada, Thibodeaux has played music in France, Central and South America and all over the U.S.

Thibodeaux didn’t start out playing the fiddle. He became fascinated as a kid watching drummers at festivals and dances he attended with his parents. He eventually gave that up and began sawing on the strings.

At 16, he was named fiddle champion of Louisiana. Today he goes by “Louisiana’s Rockin’ Fiddler” and only plays drums on zydeco numbers during his shows. But he finds those workouts “more of a pain in the behind than anything,” he said. His father plays washboard at his concerts.

The talented Thibodeaux plays bass and washboard too, but he only plays those instruments-along with drums-on studio recordings.

In 1986, Thibodeaux began performing regular gigs at various clubs on Bourbon Street. He’s still there, playing at the Tropical Isle Beach Club on Bourbon’s corner with Toulouse Street Thursdays through Sundays with Sammy Naquin on accordion and Tommy Moliniere on washboard.

“I’ve met so many people from around the world,” he said. “They’d see me and come back five years later, saying, “Wow! I remember seeing you at that other club.’ Then they go back and tell their friends.”

He said someone actually moved to New Orleans just so he could see Thibodeaux’s shows regularly.

Thibodeaux also said he enjoys passing on the playing tradition to younger musicians.

“God has blessed me with a wonderful music career,” he said. “I still enjoy it. It’s fun to entertain people. It’s turned me on to a lot of different people and taken me to places I would not have been if not for music.”

Thibodeaux is scheduled to play at the Cutoff Youth Center on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 1 to 5 p.m.; the Atchafalaya Culinary & Arts Festival in Morgan City on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 7 to 10 p.m., and Downtown Live After 5 in Houma from 7 to 10 p.m.