This is what people think of my music. Hell, I even put a few reviews I couldn't understand in here!   Music Review: Bandry Land - Sharecropper's Whine Written by Stephen Foster Published May 24, 2008 "Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about." W.H. Auden Of course authenticity is rare, and getting rarer. Too many distractions in this life lining up to snatch us from what matters. Authenticity's especially difficult to discern when it comes to music, even though lots of people would argue that point. [N.B., I'm not being elitist here. Sometimes, I suppose, you simply need to hear Barry Manilow's "Mandy," although that's a poor point since that song and much of Manilow's work are definitely authentic. How about "Dust in the Wind"?] Mostly, I believe, that music because, of all the arts, is the most powerful and seductive: many times we want to believe when we shouldn't; or our belief is excessive. And this is not simply artist by artist, but song by song. No matter what, we "Don't Stop Believin'," so to speak. But I know this: Bandry Land's Sharecropper's Whine is authentic. Listen to it and smell late day sweat in the southern summer sun. Feel the dust tighten your throat, the dank and humid August air choking you like an angry lover's fingers. That's why it matters that you hear this album. It's real and if it slaps you in the face a time or two, be thankful. What have you heard lately that treats you so roughly and rudely, but with such respect? Bandry Land's former calling card read Drew Landry and the Cajuns. That group released one full-length album, Keep What's Left (2004), and a post-Katrina EP titled Hurricane Companion & Tailgaten Relief EP—both to excellent reviews. That group is now Bandry Land, and Sharecropper's Whine is its latest (or first, depending on how you look at it) release. I don't know his earlier work, but I'll seek it out now that I've heard — almost non-stop for the last week — Sharecropper's Whine. It's an album that would have been (mis) labeled "roots" five years ago. I don't know what roots music means today and it doesn't matter. What this CD stands for is the purity of music, what it means to feel and to have the guts to say what you feel. It's an emotionally treacherous 14-song display of heart and soul. Like Steve Earle, Landry works out of a truth-telling tradition, no holds barred, no sacred cows. He's not playing; this isn't a game… I been through hell and now I'm back again. From the song "Conspiracy Theory": "This ain't no joke no more/ hell it ain't no holy war/ just another way a rich man got fat off of the poor." The war, the Katrina disaster, the losers in this life, emotional disaster and nostalgia for the good times and friends we've lost — these all inform Landry's vision as intensely as shedding your skin and "pullin' out of here to win" do Springsteen's. Landry's working in the tradition of Dave Alvin and Cash and Springsteen and, particularly, Earle — all of whom he'll remind you of. But musically he's traipsing a more varied terrain than any of the above. His music is rock (most definitely rock when it needs to be), country, country blues, Cajun, fiddle-grit, and, of course, the blues. Landry's voice can be lazy, full of twang, urgent and annoyed, or resigned. By turns it's angry in a defeated sort of way, or simply melancholy. But it's always real. So is Sharecropper's Whine. I'd say it's vital, and represents a chance to hear something, maybe for the first time in a long while, that'll lodge solidly in your gut.   JOE SIX PACK SAYS: Great new voice in the alt-country/Americana scene, Nov. 25, 2006 If you're looking for cool new alt-country artists with grit and guts to turn your ears, you might want to check these guys out. Fans of High Sheriff Ricky Barnes (or maybe even Drive By Truckers) will find a kindred spirit in Landry's witty, musically accomplished work. Plus the song "Category Five," about the shock and anger folks in the Gulf felt following Hurricane Katrina, is powerful blast across the bow, an opening shot that lots of hard country/Americana fans will want to check out. This guy is is the real deal!   OXFORD AMERICAN-winter 2005 Sometimes an inspired amateur can achieve an originality that veteran competence forbids. Consider as a case in point the extraordinary debut of D. Landry & the Dirty Cajuns on "keep what's left"(self-released). His coon-ass romps simultaneously extend and rebut the country music of his native southwest Louisiana in the same way that the Pogues' lurching, fast-forward, can't-walk-a-straight-line rambles blasted through the greensward pieties of traditonal Irish music. Counrty, Cajun, Zydeco, Rock & Roll, Landry does them all. "Hounds of Hell", for instance, is a terrific blues tune. You can imagine hearing D. Landry's songs at a (very inlightened) truck stop. The relative homemade quality of the recording is an asset, too, though "low-fi" has become a cheap signifier these days of authenticity -Will Blythe   FTB reviewer Michael Meehan's Top 10 CD releases of 2004 Best Various Artists Beautiful Dreamer Songs of Stephen Foster (Emergent) Best New Artist Moot Davis/Moot Davis (Little Dog Records) Drew Landry and the Dirty Cajuns/ Keep What's Left (Pailhorse Records) Favorite Song - "I've Endured" (written by Ollabelle Reed, performed by Tim O'Brien) Songs of the Year Paint and Glass Robert Hunter/Jim Lauderdale Bible Song Lori McKenna Gamblin' Shack Drew Landry PEER Beale altcountry.nl “best of 2004” 1. Maggie Brown - Maggie Brown 2. Kevn Kinney's Sun Tangled Angel Revival - idem 3. Thomas Denver Jonsson & the September Sunrise - Hope to her 4. Smutfish - Lawnmower mind 5. Woods Afire - And still there is no sign 6. Richmond Fontaine - Post to wire 7. The Lonesome Sisters - The Lonesome Sisters / Going home shoes 8. Kate James & Lost Country - HomeWrecker, HeartBreaker 9. Rosavelt - The story of gasoline 10. D. Landry & the Dirty Cajuns - Keep what's left 10b Damien Rice - O   Theo Oldenburg - Alt-Country Cooking http://www.realrootscafe.com/altcountrycooking.html Best Record Of April 2006-Tailgaten Relief... radio_altcountrycooking-maand-01"I'm not sure how well it will do outside of my home state, but it seems Louisiana has been in the news too much for our own good lately." Drew Landry en zijn Dirty Cajuns kunnen gerust zijn, "Tailgaten Relief & Hurricane Companion EP" is een schijfje dat wij graag HELEMAAL willen draaien! EP is trouwens een betrekkelijk begrip: er staan zeven lange liedjes op plus een hidden track van zo'n tien minuten. Drew heeft de juiste weerbarstige stem om de scherpzinnige teksten over Hurricane Katrina, gevangenis, moeras en TV-dominees te brengen, omlijst door folk, cajun en zydeco muziek. Jaarlijstjes-materiaal!   It is the story of why Drew Landry has not yet followed up on the critical, if not commercial success of 2004's 'Keep What’s Left'. Landry had been preparing a full-length release for 2005 when Hurricane Katrina levelled his home State of Louisiana. Then, just as things could not get any worse, they did - Even closer to his Lafayette home; they took a right hook from Rita. The desperation of the situation his people found themselves in & the lack of any responsible or coordinated Governmental response forced him into recording events - 'Suddenly' he told me, 'The new songs just seemed so much more important than the ones I had been writing'. Musically, Tailgaten Relief is a natural progression, yet remains a bed fellow too, ‘Keep What’s Left’, The Dirty Cajuns brand of Swamp rock with a heavy dose of country, punk, zydeco & something 100% proof has been recorded cleaner and clearer, but maintains its live, organic feel. In spite of some pretty hefty subject matter, much of this album is catharsis through honky- tonk - Don’t cry into your beer, just spill a little dancin'. However, the focal point of this record, and one of the finest songs I have ever heard is a simple guitar & vocal folk song called 'Category 5'. Landry is concerned that Tailgaten Relief will make no sense outside of his home state & I suspect this track is why. It is an account of the immediate aftermath of Katrina and the prelude to Rita. It aches with a resigned desperation at the constant in- fighting at a local, state & government level, looking to point fingers while roundly ignoring the immediate issues at hand – the dead, the living yet to be evacuated and 'another storm just days from making land'. Category 5 five is a parochial song, but it would never work unless it was. It seeks neither pity nor charity. It simply documents those first few days through the eyes of one who knew the guy from Gulf Port, Mississippi who 'lost every God damn thing he ever had'. Only then could Landry write the closing verse and in spite of its divisive lyrics, you can tangibly feel his pain & frustration… "They say there’s going to be some big investigation But I don’t care what Guiliani says This aint a couple of airplanes, or a couple of burning buildings There’s three whole states on which these storms have tread." Category 5 is not the only song on this EP, but it is the most important. It is important in showcasing Drew Landry as a songwriter that should be heard and, more importantly, listened to. This is protest music, as well articulated and socially relevant as anything, of its time, by Dylan, Joan Baez or Phil Ochs. PG Date review added: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 Reviewer: Pete Gow Reviewers Rating: 9/10 Related web link: www.americana-uk.com   Landry’s song “Category 5” may turn out to be the best piece of artistic expression to come out of the Hurricane Katrina mess. -Nick Pittman, the Daily Adveritser   Offbeat Review: May 2006 With all the natural catastrophes, horrific tragedies and political bungling plaguing Louisiana over the past several months, it’s a wonder there aren’t more than sonic commentaries crawling out of the woodwork. But the good news is that not much has escaped roots troubadour Drew Landry, who isn’t afraid to look the devil in the eye and take a swing at it. Two songs of this seven-song EP make interesting, if not biting, observations about hurricanes Katrina and Rita with such whistle-cheering lines as “Ole Dick [Cheney] flew in from DC for a photo opportunity and landed right here at the gates of hell” and others too numerous to count. Additionally, the world-weary voiced Landry spins gripping yarns about backwoods, poaching Cajuns and dealing with the aftermath of ecological devastation. The themes are heavy, but on “Tiger Fan,” Landry provides comic relief with the faithful, chronically betting LSU fan who’s so ardent, he’s got tiger stripes on his “underoo.” Compared to his auspicious debut, the production is much better and Landry’s sidemen supply killer fuzz-toned guitar licks and wailing harmonica howls. Recommended, especially for those who disdain Fox News. -Dan Willging   CD REVIEW: Drew Landry and the Dirty Cajuns – Tailgaten Relief and Hurricane Companion EP By Chip Withrow - 03/04/06 -musesmuse.com The other day, I was watching a news report about the first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina. The haunting song in the background was a gospel group, maybe the The Blind Boys of Alabama, singing “House of the Rising Sun/Amazing Grace.” Drew Landry’s “Category Five” deserves a spot alongside that song as a powerful soundtrack for post-Katrina images. With a gravelly voice and an acoustic guitar, Landry tells a story that is both poetic and direct, with this searing message: “Maybe next time all the old and sick and poor won’t have to die.” This 7-track disc begins with the blistering “Grosbec (Game Warden Song).” I can’t figure out whether it’s a cautionary tale or unapologetic advice to do what you gotta do, but it satisfies my periodic craving for doses of good Southern rock and nasty slide guitar. At first listen, I didn’t much care for “Tiger Fan” – it sounded too much like a novelty. But after repeated listens, I realize that the sentiment applies to anyone who – like my wife has accused me of being with Ohio State sports – bases his emotional well-being too much on how his favorite team is doing. Plus, the guitar and harmonica interplay rocks, and rhyming “Shaq O’Neal” with “Billy Cannon up and down the football field” is just plain cool. “Dirty South” and “Land of Dead Giants,” different as they sound, seem like companion pieces, odes to a Cajun country that used to be. The former is a rousing rocker (again, strong lead guitar and blues harp) with the refrain, “Where you been goin to?” The latter, a plaintive guitar-and-fiddle number, is a vivid picture of lost wilderness. The closing track (well, there is a bonus track, a boozy-sounding singalong that seems to be called “I Can Hear the Jukebox Play”), is well-suited to end this Louisiana-themed song cycle. On “Salt Water Tears,” Landry refers to TV preachers, looters, and the government’s favoring of foreign wars over national safety. In the notes that accompanied this CD, Landry writes that Tailgaten Relief and Hurricane Companion is “the story of what kept me from putting out a 2005 release.” He adds that this EP might not appeal to people outside of Louisiana, but I disagree. Good songs are good no matter what, and I’m looking forward to the tales he will tell on his 3-CD set due this summer. www.dirtycajuns.com   APRIL 2005- JOE SIXPACK'S HILLBILLY RECORD RIOT D. Landry And The Dirty Cajuns "Keep What's Left (17 Songs)" (Self-Released, 2004) Well, these guys from Louisiana certainly win the indier-than-indie award for the year, just based on the packaging alone. The CD comes sandwiched inside a folded-up hunk of cardboard, held together with packing tape. The song titles are rubberstamped onto a scrap of colored 20-bond paper which is taped onto the cardboard; if you want to check out the lyrics, there's a plain, white xeroxed sheet, cut lengthwise with a grainy photocollage on one side and the words to four songs handwritten on the other. Wish I'd kept the handout that came with this in the mail, although after I glanced at it, with the loud proclamations of the artist's "coonass" rednecky-ness and all, I just rolled my eyes backwards and figured this'd be another forgettable, ho-hum disc full of white trash stereotypes and gun-truck-drunk-incest-is-best references and intentionally sloppy, why-even-try-it's-just-country musicianship. When I finally popped it into the stereo, though, I was pleasantly drawn in by Drew Landry's loose-limbed, idiosyncratic, kooky roots music jamming. The songs are odd, but they have substance, and there's real wit and humor behind Landry's art. Musically, this ranges over a wide landscape, with scrappy, sorta-bluegrassy twang alongside kerangging backporch blues jams and even some quieter introspective stuff... Okay, I admit that's a pretty lame, vague description... So let me compare Landry to a few folks -- he's in the same sort of inventive, eclectic, just-havin'-us-some-fun territory as, say, the Bad Livers or the Gourds, just with far less ambition towards anything remotely resembling commerical viability or conventional song structure. Or, to go lowbrow, Landry's sort of like a raspier, more low-rent version of the Drive-By Truckers, if they weren't so completely full of shit. This guy I respect. This record is weird, but it's also sincere and it's also worth checking out. His website's fun to poke around as well: (www.dirtycajuns.com)   THE ONLY REVIEW THAT REALLY MATTERS Dear Drew, Thank you ever so much for the CD, and for your kind words at the festival two days ago. I'm back in Boston now, where it's 30 degrees and raining and the drone of sirens and bachata and worldly worries encircle you like the police tape down the block. I guess I forgot how edgy this place can be... Riding the 6:00am subway into work, I put in your CD, and according to Boston tradition, dutifully ignored everyone around me, while lost in your music... Your songs are beautiful and they broke my heart. Busted, you dug out the soul of yet another backcountry farm kid trying to make it in the city. It's been ten years so far, but I realized on the train ride this morning that I've never really felt at home. Thanks for singing what life is really all about. Don't change a goddamn thing. Yours, Vickie (the annoying girl taking photos at the jazz fest)   Drew Landry & The Dirty Cajuns | Tailgaten Relief & Hurricane Companion Ruwe bolster, blanke pit à la Townes Van Zandt. CD, Eigen beheer tekst: Peer Bataille 'You're gonna drown tomorrow / If you cry too many tears for yesterday', zong Townes Van Zandt in 'Only Him or Me' op zijn album Delta Momma Blues. Deze regel siert de bijsluiter van Tailgaten Relief & Hurricane Companion, de tweede plaat van Louisiana-man Drew Landry en zijn Dirty Cajuns. Toch dreigt Landry binnenkort te verzuipen, want het verleden is een van de rode draden op de ep, die niettemin bijna drie kwartier duurt. En dat terwijl hij ternauwernood aan de verdrinkingsdood ontsnapte tijdens orkaan Katrina. En daarmee hebben we de andere rode draad te pakken. De plaat opent met 'Grosbec (Game Warden Song)', een krachtige aanbeveling aan iedereen die maar luisteren wil om toch vooral je eigen weg te gaan ('Don't let them never get the best of you'). Verpakt in zuigende southern rock met sleurende slide-gitaar. 'Category Five' is het hartverscheurende verhaal van Katrina samengevat in een kleine zes minuten. Met een ferme uithaal naar 'pissed-off politicians busy pointing fingers': 'Everybody wants the credits / But nobody wants the blame / For them floating down the Mississippi to the Ponchartrain'. Later doet Landry er in 'Salt Water Tears' nog een schepje bovenop door onder meer de dubieuze rollen van tv-dominees, plunderaars en de regering in Washington, die liever bommen gooit dan dijken bouwt, aan de kaak te stellen. 'Dirty South' en 'Land of Dead Giants (For Greg Guiraro)' behandelen achtereenvolgens de morele en ecologische achteruitgang van het Diepe Zuiden. In het eerste nummer verlangt de stuiterende harmonica naar lang vervlogen tijden, toen het Zuiden nog het Zuiden was: 'Dirty South / Where you been goin' to?' Om daar bijna fluisterend aan toe te voegen: 'Come home'. In het tweede liedje bezingen onder meer twee fiddles de tijden waarin 'the cypress trees grew thick / The fish was still biting / And the land was still free'. Drew Landry is een ruwe bolster, blanke pit in de stijl van Townes Van Zandt. Een ongeslepen diamant met een stem van prikkeldraad. Zijn sociale commentaar verpakt hij in scherpe, stekelige teksten. Het losvaste gezelschap The Dirty Cajuns zorgt voor een bijpassende, ongepolijste begeleiding. "Once you get dirty… there's no going back", schrijft Landry op zijn website. Ik kan, maar wil ook helemaal niet meer terug. Zijn af en toe iets te nostalgische hang naar het verleden op Tailgaten Relief & Hurricane Companion, neem ik op de koop toe. (25 maart 2006) www.kindamusik.net   www.cheezball.net 3/13/06 We get CDs from people we don't know all the time, and a cursory listen usually validates their obscurity. Not so in this case. Once through Tailgaten Relief & Hurricane Companion, and we almost felt that we should apologize to Drew Landry for not having heard of him earlier. Equal parts gritfolk and southern-fried country-rock, Drew Landry and the Dirty Cajuns' latest release is a 7-track, 43-minute EP that collects 8 songs, a few answering machine messages and some sort of field interview a la Alan Lomax. While Drew and the boys draw the occasional comparison to the Drive-By Truckers--give "Grosbec" a listen [REAL AUDIO CLIP]--don't write them off as imitators. Their admixture of biting social commentary and well-rendered regional vignettes has a distinctly original flavor. The album has several standout tracks, but we're partial to "Salt Water Tears" [REAL AUDIO CLIP]. These guys deserve a listen.   AMERICANA-UK.COM PETE GOW Reviews: D.Landry &The Dirty Cajuns “Keep What’s Left” (Self Release 2004) Available: Now. Review by Pete Gow Man this guy D. Landry has confidence in himself. In fact looking at what dropped through my door for review some might say it is a confidence that borders on malapert arrogance. A CD, with no case, a photocopied strip of paper wrapped around the disc that contains neither the name of the artist, never mind the name of the record. Oh yeah & it has the words to five of the seventeen songs handwritten on the back with a promise that the rest of the lyrics will be posted soon on a website (that appears to be under construction) and ending with the declaration ‘P.S It’s Copyrighted 2004’. It just made me wonder how many times Mr Landry’s record found its way into the bin, before ever getting anywhere near a CD player? ‘Keep What’s Left’ is the equivalent of the Lomax field recordings for the 21st Century. The tracks were, apparently recorded in three days & none of the players got paid. Well I can guess that not much of those three days were spent on mixing, or mastering the tracks. They are a sonic cluster- fuck. I would compare them to the sessions in the 30’s when the work of A.P Carter & his family was committed to acetate for the first time, but I suspect they may have used slightly superior equipment in Bristol. So why am I scoring this so highly? I will tell you why, because it is brilliant. It captures a spirit that will never be replicated in a conventional studio. Landry is a songwriter of essentially country music, but ‘Keep What’s Left’ dips its toe into all manner of blues, old- timey, skiffle and roadhouse variations on the theme. A number of the songs are just Landry and his (increasingly out of tune) guitar, building verses over repetitive guitar figures, his storytelling draws us into a whole cast of cowboys, drinkers, gamblers & fighters… ‘Moe Brown’, ‘the Rodeo clown who works two hundred days of the year’, or the prisoner repenting the murder he committed in Shreveport before they ‘Locked me up & threw away the key in the Angola Penitentiary’. There are also more biographical tales, such as ‘Hub City Blues’ or the enigmatically titled ‘Family Farm’. When the Dirty Cajuns kick in, they really bring some good old-fashioned ass-kicking to the party. Elegantly sloppy (check out the drumming on ‘Whiskey Shot’) this is the a house band that probably takes its pay in Wild Turkey and amphetamines. The guitar solo that leaps out at you in ‘Hub City Blues’ (I don’t think they have heard of compression in Lafayette!) sounds like James Burton on heroin…. but in a good way, while the beautifully monikered ‘Bayouself’ is a guitar & fiddle ballad in which Landry’s voice is all but giving out on him…. When the bottle is empty, it ain’t worth a damn. I’ll drink to that. I’m not going to pretend that over seventeen tracks that this record works every time. But that is kind of the point. It is not really a record. There is no apparent thought gone into the sequencing, it just sounds like the soundtrack to one of those picking parties that Townes Van Zandt & Guy Clark used to hold where the guitar was passed around in the same hand as the Jim Beam. D. Landry has some songs to sing and here they are. He is getting them down before he forgets them. Well I won’t forget them in a hurry. That these recordings made their way out of South Louisiana and to my door in England is an absolute triumph for independent music & underlines my long running argument that the best bands are not always auditioned. It is not easy to get hold of this album, but the rewards will be obvious to anyone who loves music with heart, soul & integrity and, lets face it, not much else. www.pailhorse.com (…. when it is finished) www.milesofmusic.com PG ROOTSTIME CD REVIEWS D. LANDRY & THE DIRTY CAJUNS KEEP WHAT'S LEFT Website : www.pailhorse.com Email : drew@pailhorse.com Jaarlijks worden vele cd's gemaakt. Het merendeel verkoopt voor geen meter. Talentvolle bands zien dromen in rook opgaan. Vraag is: hoe kun je je als band toch profileren? Misschien met een originele cd-verpakking dachten D. Landry & The Dirty Cajuns. Daarom werdt hun nieuwe cd "Keep What’s Left" volgens mij wel in één van de meest innovatieve verpakking gedaan die ik in de laatste jaren heb gezien. Als je de cd in handen krijgt, begin dan in ieder geval niet meteen de plakbandjes los te peuteren! Drew Landry is thuis in Lafayette, zijn liedjes zijn diep geworteld in de omringende swamps. De cd bevat een pittige gumbo, met ingrediënten als country, country blues, cajun, bluegrass, roadhouse blues en folk. De gedreven countryfolkband uit Louisiana rond zanger/gitarist Drew Landry is meer alternatieve country dan folk. Samen met zijn band, The Dirty Cajuns, brengt Drew een onmiskenbare countrysound van weleer, aangevuld met af en toe een mandoline en pedal steel, die zorgen voor een hip, crunchy alt country tintje. Je kunt in "Keep What’s Left" horen wat je maar wil: Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan en Fred Eaglesmith. De ene keer horen we een countryshuffle als "7 Years", dan weer tempert ze het volume voor een gevoelige ballad, zoals op het prachtige "Moe Brown". Drew Landry beschikt over de juiste countryvoice, heeft de historie van de rootsmuziek op zeer verdienstelijke wijze vertaald, maar staat kritisch ten opzichte van veranderingen. D. Landry & The Dirty Cajuns volgen hun gevoel, met respect voor de muze. Dit debuut roept dan ook om meer. ________________________________________ altcountry.nl D. LANDRY & THE DIRTY CAJUNS Drew Landry vergezelde zijn vriend Scott Biram een jaar of twee geleden als roadie tijdens een tournee waarin Biram opende voor Hank Williams III. Toen Biram om gezondheidsredenen uitviel, vroeg Hank of Landry het voorprogramma wilde overnemen. Tegen zijn verwachting in werd Landry niet van het podium gejoeld, en vroegen mensen zelfs om een cd. Die cd is er nu: Keep What’s Left van D. Landry & The Dirty Cajuns (eigen beheer). Drew Landry is thuis in Lafayette, Louisiana; zijn liedjes zijn diep geworteld in de omringende swamps. De cd bevat een pittige gumbo, met ingrediënten als country, country blues, cajun, bluegrass, roadhouse blues en folk. Grootste attracties van dit debuut zijn Landry’s stem van prikkeldraad en het ongedwongen, bijna terloopse spel van the Dirty Cajuns (een los-vast gezelschap lokale muzikanten). Mij doet de cd steeds denken aan Things Are Changin’, de eerste plaat die ik ooit hoorde van Fred Eaglesmith. Landry kiest in zijn teksten duidelijk partij voor de underdog, en daarmee het gezelschap van mensen als Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan en Fred Eaglesmith. Uitgaande van reële of fictieve personen schets hij een situatie en geeft daar commentaar op. In de countryshuffle 7 Years kijkt de hoofdpersoon zichzelf via de spiegel achter de bar diep in de ogen, omringd door ‘the crowd of usual losers’. Moe Brown vertelt à la Eaglesmith het tragische verhaal van een rodeoclown. Even tragisch is het verhaal van Landry’s opa, voor wie het leven geen zin meer heeft als zijn boerderij moet wijken voor een snelweg (Family Farm). Hub City Blues beschrijft de neergang van een oliestadje nadat de oliebron is opgedroogd. In Corner Store vraagt Landry zich aan de hand van de sluiting van een buurtwinkel af, wat er met de Amerikaanse droom gebeurd is. Bayouself - ‘by yourself’ - gaat over eenzaamheid, gesymboliseerd door een jankende fiddle (‘When the bottle gets empty, you ain’t have a friend’). In Angola Rodeo en Prison Grave toont Landry zich begaan met het lot van hen die hun leven achter tralies moeten slijten. Zoals de titel van de cd al aangeeft, staat Landry kritisch ten opzichte van veranderingen. Gelukkig zonder hem te kunnen beschuldigen van reactionaire tendenzen. De enige kritiek die je op Keep What’s Left kunt leveren is de lengte: 65 minuten is te lang en een nummer of vier, vijf had best gemist kunnen worden. Drew Landry is een ruwe diamant, die vooral niet te veel geslepen moet worden. Met dank aan Hank III. Nog dit. De verpakking van de cd is de meest innovatieve die ik de laatste jaren gezien heb. Als je de cd in handen krijgt, begin dan in ieder geval niet meteen de plakbandjes los te peuteren! (Peer Bataille) The Times Of Acadiana heeft een interview met Drew Landry. Keep What’s Left is verkrijgbaar bij Miles Of Music. MILESOFMUSIC.COM Title: D. Landry & The Dirty Cajuns - Keep What's Left Description: With the opening track, "Chicken Pot Pie", D. Landry And The Dirty Cajuns present such a stark, backwoods, deep bayou, lo-fi performance you get the sense that Alan Lomax was at hand. Tracks 2-17, though, upgrade the fidelity from ribbon mic to something more contemporary. Spotlighting the songs of Drew Landry, Keep What's Left includes old-timey country, roadhouse, back porch and electric blues, and even some Cajun and Zydeco influenced folk. It's all that you would expect from someone who lives in the South Louisiana town of Lafayette: raw, loose and honest. The gruff voiced Landry builds these songs from his acoustic guitar, and some simply stay unadorned. Others bring in the accompaniment of The Dirty Cajuns, adding skiffle, honky-tonk, delta blues, hoedown and folk instrumentation to this fine do-it-yourselfer. Keep What's Left is the epitome of independent alternative country releases, presented with a hand-printed label taped to a cut and folded length of corrugated cardboard. This barebones packaging goes hand in hand with Landry's musical approach, which comes through with sinewy tenacity. What do you expect from a recording that took three days and no one got paid? (self-released)   Offbeat Magazine NOLA- 2005 Given the hand-stamped cover plastic wrapped around a folded cardboard square, it's a safe bet that Drew Landry's modest debut won't win any awards for packaging. Technically, the rough-and-tumble Landry's raw; lyrically he's so refined that tags like the "real deal" won't draw much disagreement. No matter what song the needle drops on, the gifted troubadour consistently delivers applause-worthy lines such as "when the bottle's empty / you can't find a friend" ("Bayouself"). On "Corner Store," his twangy voice warbles about the slipping American dream: "I only joined the army because I couldn't afford living / They sent me off to fight another war." His songs are occasionally comical such as the Mid-South wrestling sketch but for the most part, broken hearts and prison themes ("Angola Rodeo") are re-occurring favorites. Although 'Dirty Cajuns' implies full band support, most tracks find only Landry banging out simple chords in the spirit of Woody Guthrie who once remarked "If you have more than three, you're showing off." What your mama told is still right: Don't judge anything by its cover, especially hand packaged discs by Drew Landry. -Dan Willging   "When Townes Van Zandt meets Drive-By Truckers!!!!" Erwin- www.rwin.nl   Drew Landry & The Dirty Cajuns Louisiana Music Factory November 20, 2004 Drew Landry told the crowd leaning on rows of CD's that no matter how bad his gigs we're going- if finished with his about Mid-South Wrestling, everything would be fine. Guitarist/lead vocalist Landry encouraged the onlookers at Louisiana Music Factory Saturday afternoon to sing along with his ode to the MSW he used to watch on TV every Saturday morning. Lead guitarist/vocalist Jason Meaux yelled out, "J-Y-D!" when the crowd was supposed to respond with the same affirmation about wrestler Junkyard Dog. Landry got it loud at his 3 p.m. in-store performance, and the crowd clapped and seemed appreciative of the raw, countrified folk he brought from the land of "coon-asses," as he described himself. Landry was also accompanied by harmonica player Blake Simon. No drums. Just the essentials. Landry started the set off with a bunch of sad songs, one of which was the Leadbelly influenced back porch blues number, "Hounds of Hell." Percussion was Landry's hand against his guitar, and Meaux shone with elemental and driving slide work. Landry employed a gruff, grizzled voice for most songs, but he used a pleasant whining voice on the sparse Country song "Carry My Cross." Landry said it was written about a friend in California who was in rehab. Landry's explanation of his songs connected him with the audience and ultimately made his set a success. Landry continued with "Bayouself," a slow two-stepper about loneliness, and he finished his down bunch with "Angola Rodeo," a folky, haunting number about an Angola prisoner/rodeo clown. Landry stuck with his acoustic guitar, while Meaux had a choice between an acoustic and two other electric guitars. When taking a solo, which was often, Meaux kept his progressions simple but enjoyable by bending notes over and over. Landry's music and onstage attitude was earnest, real, and honest. No pretension. Meaux and Simon didn't even get paid for being his backing band. In addition, Landry's debut album, "Keep What's Left," is wrapped with corrugated cardboard. It's a symbol for the music's dirt and bones sound. I look forward to hearing Landry again,   02-19-05, Bob Schneider, Drew Landry, the Gourds, Tipitina's: The alcohol was obviously being served early for this one. Of course, this was probably to be expected for a show whose headliners are from Austin. The drunkenness was felt early by many a beer-gutted 28-year-old waiting to hear the Gourds' redneck cover of Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice." Before getting to the Gourds, we waited through two polar opposite acts. First, Bob Schneider waltzed on stage, then immediately pissed me off, looking like a stylist tried to make him appear "country." His music was somewhere in between raping Tom Waits and G. Love. Yes, I dare you to imagine that. After Bob named checked their state, a crew of Mississippians howled back at Schneider. I suppose they confused the huge ass that he made of himself for the moon. An aside to Bob: Don't follow a song about Jesus with a song about pussy. It's not proper. I never thought a Cajun, a guitar, and his mama could be refreshing but that was exactly what Drew Landry was. Only playing a handful of songs, half of them accompanied by his mother Becca Begnaud, this somewhat unknown storyteller actually captured the alkies' attentions, even getting a few of them to sing along to a jam about Mid-South Wrestling. Although he was obviously nervous, the quality of this songs mirrored Lucinda Williams without her skilled guitarists. Landry entertained me, perhaps because his songs surprising told me something. By the time the Gourds got on stage, the audience spirits were good and high and in their plastic cups. These Texas favorites immediately got the audience dancing (what looked to be a special jig in praise of the band). Covering Neil Young within the first few songs, the band pleased drunk and bitter audience members alike. Their particular blend of bluegrass, hillbilly yodels, and Southern rock made for a delightful alt.country show, something seldom seen in New Orleans. -Shannon Billeaud   Swamp Logic It is about him, no matter how much Drew Landry protests. Nick Pittman / Staff Writer Posted on July 7, 2004 Nick Pittman / Entertainment Editor The worst truck in town makes its way through the nicest neighborhoods, heralding the arrival of Drew Landry and Poo-Swa. The rusty 1969 Ford Ranger called Biscuit, wobbling along on pie plate rims, rumbles through Henderson as it makes its way to the levee road. Scattered flyers and discarded clothes carpet Biscuit's floor and at its wheel sits Drew Landry singing a song in the radio-less ride. His faithful puppy, Poo-Swa, rests his head lovingly in Landry's lap. The closed, two-colored eyes of the Catahoula pup - a rescued abused dog Landry is trying to help build confidence - miss all scenery of high waters, swanky bars and ninja turtles painted on hamburger stands. As Biscuit cruises the levee road, avoiding the muddy spots, old Poo picks his head up and peers out the open window. Poo and Landry both get excited as they draw near the place he simply refers to as "the swamp." For the past few months Landry has been helping one of his mother's friends clear a pond filled with thousands of cypress trees of anything that will never grow a knee. In Landry's words, his boss's hound has been dominating Poo-Swa. But Poo, lately, has nutted up, handling another dog at his house. Today, both are anxious to see if Poo-Swa holds his ground or if he lives up to his name, a derogatory reference to his tail often being found 'tween his legs. "You know, I like the underdog. That's why I'm excited about my record. It's all the people who are really talented but never got their props," Landry says at an earlier stop at a Racetrac to air up the tires. (In the interest of disclosure, Drew is a friend of mine and did buy me a watered-down Lemon Lime Gatorade which I didn't ask for nor drink much of.) Landry's record Keep What's Left reflects the state he grew up in with a taste of everything from old country to roadhouse tunes to electric blues to Cajun and Zydeco. He's joined by some good friends, new friends and even better musicians by the names of Pudd and Lee Anne Sharpe (The Sharpe Family, as Landry says) Chris "Dirty" Breaux, Marty Christian, Horace Trahan, Troy Richard, Ken Veron, Mike Dean, Jason Meaux, Dave Trainer, Allen Lafleur and his mother, Becca Begnaud. For the official release of the CD, which has been making the rounds in a cardboard sleeve with hand-written numbering, he pulls many of these musicians together along with the more of his favorites. One of the largest servings of live music not part of a festival, the event features around 10 acts, barbecue and a mechanical bull. "I've been to a lot of different CD release parties where, I mean it was fun and all, (but) I don't want to bore people all night with my stuff," he says. "More importantly the record that I got done only happened because of all the other bands that I had helping me out ... The record would really suck without those dudes. It'd be me playing guitar half-ass." When Landry and Poo get to the swamp, the dog promptly begins frolicking, splashing apart the tranquil sea of green algae floating like skin across the calm water. His nemesis doesn't quite bow, but Poo doesn't cower either, leaving Landry to get to work moving about some of the logs his boss cut. Even as far as day jobs go, the work isn't glamorous, but it does afford him something he values - the chance to play his music and the occasional bit of wisdom. "Hard work keeps you honest. Easy money spends too fast," he says making a trip from severed tree to growing pile. In the fall, Landry was far from his home, working at a restaurant in Austin, Texas, which only gave him a paycheck. In the early days of summer 2003 he moved to Austin, knowing only squat on the guitar, to work on his career. At first, he had grand ideas of what the city would hold, being the live music capital of the world and all. Now, all he has for that capital city is a raspberry. However, his time spent in Texas did impart some wisdom. Not only did he expand his musical abilities - he can play a few chords now - he wised up to just how good it was in Lafayette. "The people around here are so much more sincere. Austin has turned into quite the commercial, and it's the kind of city where people tote around their résumés," Landry says. "It's namedrop central, but over here people know you. They know what kind of person you are. If you are not a good guy, they don't want to talk to you. Over there, it's like you gotta be a used car salesman to get anywhere" Years before heading west, Lafayette was a music scene he became engrossed in on one side or the other of nearly every bar in town. Later, he struck out on his own at The Rinky-Dink Dancehall, giving a stage to just about anyone he could. For a long time, Landry filled notebooks full of songs - or "goofy little poems" as he calls them - he wrote as therapy for what life handed him. Eventually, he became one of those countless openers at the Dink. However, like Poo-Swa, he just wasn't steadfast in his abilities, and remains a little self-effacing when it comes to his craft. "I don't know if you could call it singing," he says. In Austin, he learned the importance of open mic nights where performers still building their acts can add to the foundation of their sets. "You gotta have enough confidence in your music, and you gotta know it well enough. I played some gigs where I wasn't ready, and that's the worst," says Landry. Yet, the final bit of gumption came at the end of another long trip. A month or so before Landry moved to Austin, his friend Scott H. Biram was hit head-on by an 18-wheeler just a week before the launch of his national tour. The dates had to be pushed back to give Biram time to recover, but even by that autumn Biram wasn't ready to make the trip by himself. Biram asked Landry to come along and roadie for him as he opened for Hank Williams III. Even though it was almost certainly a thankless job, Landry jumped at the chance to put 12,000 miles on Biram's new van, see a little bit of the country and live the road life. Towards the end of the stretch, Biram had to head back to Texas, leaving III without an opener and Landry in the Carolinas. Williams asked him to open the show and Landry, still less than confident, reluctantly obliged. However, at the show the crowd took to him, singing along with one of his favorite songs "Mid-South," a ditty about old-school wrestling with the sticky hook of "It's 1-2-3, JYD!" "I decided if I didn't get booed off stage and people were asking me for CDs I better make a CD." Landry returned home to Lafayette and almost immediately brought back his own taste of Austin, setting up two weekly open mic nights, one of which is still in play, further honing his chops. Still a bit of a reluctant frontman, Landry confesses the release show is not about him, but about his two musical communities coming together and showcasing their best. "Everybody that plays that night, hats off to 'em," he says. "They been doing it a lot longer than me, and they are real good. So whatever I can do to help all the people that helped me out is basically what I am doing." In the swamp, June is running out of time to drop more rain on Acadiana. The sky is split down the middle, with one side clear and azure with sunlight bouncing off a few fluffy, white, harmless clouds. The other hangs as low as the ceiling in a two-bit one-stop, threatening to add a few more inches to the rain gauge. Choruses of swamp bugs chime in, with bass lines of approaching thunder. On one of his last trips to the pile, Landry relates one more piece of wisdom before the looming weather sends him and Poo-Swa back to the truck. A week or two ago, he and his boss were pulling wood out of a storage shed. The ceiling had a hole in it, and all the wood stored in there had been catching South Louisiana deluges. "He had put some huge beautiful pieces of pine wood back in there years ago and half of it was rotting away and he said, 'Man, people wasting their talent is like letting wood rot.' It's just kind of sickening." Earlier relating, "Hopefully this is what I was meant to do and it works out." Nick Pittman is entertainment editor for The Times. He'll give you a Third Opinion when he damn well feels like it. Phone him at 289-6300, ext. 610, or e-mail him at nick.pittman@timesofacadiana.com. The Gig: 'Let's not talk about age. The birthday is secret. I'm billing it as a music showcase instead of a Drew's getting old party.' - Drew Landry Drew Landry, Scott H. Biram, Mike Dean, Troy Richard, Rex Moroux, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Fluffers Union, Cade Callahan, Horace Trahan and Starlings, TN Grant Street Dancehall Saturday, July 10 Free barbecue Mechanical bull rides Food served at 5 p.m., show starts at 6 p.m.     Website designed and developed by System of Logic, Inc.