Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters’ recently released, self-titled album has been earning raves for its high-energy celebration of one of America’s rich cultural traditions that is beloved across the world: zydeco music.
Listen to the album here: https://atorecords-ffm.com/morefun
Watch this short film about the album here: https://youtu.be/VZP2_1xEUsY?si=0ReFORBV46LxLrCw
Music video for “Ooh Woo Woo (Please Don’t Leave Me)” - a red hot zydeco take on a Fats Domino classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaw3vEKUUPY
Known for their electrifying performances and their deep-rooted connection to the Louisiana zydeco tradition, Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters will ignite dance floors and playlists with their signature sound. Frontman Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. carries forward a rich musical legacy, infusing it with modern energy and charisma that makes this album a must-listen for both longtime fans and newcomers to the genre.
More Fun With features 12 new recordings that share the joy of zydeco with the world. The Dopsies, including David, and his brothers Tiger and Anthony, are known for having performed with everyone from Beyonce to Bob Dylan and are a perennial main stage favorite at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
More Fun With was co-produced by GRAMMY-winners Randall Poster and Stewart Lerman, and recorded at Esplanade Studios in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. Poster and Lerman’s resumés include extensive film and television credentials including Vinyl and Boardwalk Empire. Poster - who has worked closely with directors including Wes Anderson and Martin Scorsese - first encountered zydeco when producing a collaborative song by Buckwheat Zydeco and Yo La Tengo, for the 2007 film I’m Not There. Last year Poster curated the music for the soundtrack of a remake of Roadhouse. In the original movie from 1989, the late blues guitarist Jeff Healey provided all of the music. This time around, director Doug Liman wanted a variety of musicians, with one common denominator being a distinctive look. Poster’s research led him to Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., a live-wire performer whose dynamic stage moves, executed in seemingly perpetual motion, include agile splits in the best James Brown tradition. Recording several songs with Dopsie and the band went so well that Poster and Liman had them perform in the film -- which, in turn, led to this album. The experience has led Poster to proclaim: “I think everyone should listen to some zydeco every single day…and you will live a happier life!”
For seven decades, Rockin’ Dopsie (pronounced Doopsie) has stood tall in the world of zydeco. This exuberant alias was first used by accordionist Alton Rubin (1932-1993), a towering figure who passed both the torch and his moniker to his son, David. David Rubin now fronts The Zydeco Twisters with a soulful voice that calls to mind Wilson Pickett or Otis Redding. David also plays the rub-board, or frottoir - a steel, ribbed board played with metal keys. An instrument unique to zydeco, it provides a rhythm foundation and is often worn as a vest. David is joined by his brothers, Anthony (accordion) and Tiger (drums). Brother Dwayne, another celebrated Dopsie, and accordionist (who performed with the Rolling Stones at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival earlier this year), also guests on two songs: “Dopsie’s Boogie,” and “My Little Girl.”
Says Dopsie Jr.: “We pay tribute to my father here. We recorded songs that he wrote, like ‘My Little Girl,’ or songs he’s associated with like ‘That Was Your Mother.’ My dad would be so proud that all four of his sons are on this album. It makes me think back to when I was a kid. I remember when B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and other R&B and blues artists would play in Lafayette, they’d come to our house and visit my dad, he’d make a gumbo, or we’d barbecue in the backyard. I loved listening to my dad and those guys talk,” he reflects. “I learned a lot from them. My dad would love how we put our own new twist on his music.”
More information on Zydeco: Zydeco (pronounced ZY-duh-coe) is the vivacious dance music of southwest Louisiana’s Black Creoles, many of whom speak French or have ancestors who did. It is a rich hybrid of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and African-American styles such as blues, R&B, soul and, more recently, rap and hip-hop. Country music, swamp-pop, reggae, rock and even medieval songs from France also factor into this multi-cultural blend. Zydeco’s purpose is to make people MOVE! As zydeco legend Clifton Chenier once put it, “If you can’t dance to zydeco, you can’t dance -- period!” Chenier was absolutely right -- just try sitting still after hitting play on More Fun With Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters.
