âThis musical culture here in Lafayette, La. is very collaborative and inclusive so most of us play in at least two bands,â he continued. âA lot of us in the band are in three or more bands. We are very busy gigging musicians. We gig a whole lot locally with other bands, but Feufollet has gotten to a point where itâs more of a touring act. We do sometimes play locally for festivals and things like that but weâre not really hitting the club gigs every weekend.â
Bilingual band
The Grammy-nominated group, pronounced Fo-fo-lay, mixes Cajun music with honky-tonk country and modern Americana. The lyrics are presented in either English or Louisiana Cajun French. The bandâs discography includes âLa Bande Feufolletâ (1999), âBelle Louisianeâ (2001), âTout Un Beau Soirâ (2004), âCow Island Hopâ (2008) and âEn Couleursâ (2010). The latest studio album, âTwo Universes,â was released in 2015. âPrends Courage,â a career-spanning retrospective of previously unreleased Feufollet recordings, was released in 2019.
âWe theoretically have plans to go do some recording in Nashville at some point, maybe later this year,â Stafford said. âWe donât have anything fully firmed up yet but itâs definitely something we want to do in the future. We love making records and we think itâs absolutely a worthwhile thing but weâre all going in a million directions musically with so many projects. Weâre so busy and kind of all over the place. We get everybody all together whenever we can but to actually do a whole full-length record is going to take some planning.â
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
No laughing matter
One of the groupâs best-known songs, a cover of Brian Enoâs âBabyâs on Fire,â started as a joke. It became a live favorite and was released as a single in 2017.
âWe worked up a version of the song and played it live for years,â Stafford said. âPeople would request it, so we put out the single. It might be the most popular thing weâve ever done. People ask for it all the time. They play it locally here on the radio.
âI remember going to a station that plays more traditional Cajun music, zydeco and country to do an interview,â he continued. âA lot of our records are not very straight up Cajun music and theyâre like, âI donât know, weâre probably not going to play most of this.â But that cover of a Brian Eno song is their favorite, however that happened. They play it all the time on that station. It has some appeal I guess.â
In session
When heâs not performing, Stafford spends much of his time at Staffland Studio, the recording facility he owns and operates in Lafeyette. He has recorded acts like Cedric Watson, Steve Riley, Blake Miller and the Revelers.
âIâm working in the recording studio right now,â Stafford said. âSometimes you have a dry spell in the studio, but for whatever reason Iâve been busy lately. Iâm working on a collaboration with a guy here in town that I produce a lot of stuff with named Chas Justus. He plays guitar in a Cajun zydeco band from Lafayette called the Revelers. We received some funding to do a various artists EP of new original songs in Louisiana French. I get to do a lot of Cajun music in my studio. When I first opened the place, I was doing a lot of the local indie rock bands and stuff.
âI was younger and thatâs the kind of people that were calling me and maybe trusted me,â Stafford continued. âAs Iâve progressed and gotten older, Iâve done quite a lot of recording with all the Cajun bands around town. It has been very cool because there are people who are contributing new music and new lyrics in our traditional language, which Iâm super excited about.â
Back in the van
For now, Stafford is focused on the nine-date stretch of Midwest shows that brings Feufollet to Yellow Springs.
âWe havenât necessarily had as many opportunities to all get together as Feufollet and go on the road that much since COVID,â he said. âWeâre slowly getting our way back out on the road and getting into touring again. This is the first tour of this length weâve done in a very long while. We did the Dayton Cityfolk Festival two or three times but itâs been a while so it will be great to get back to that area.â
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
Who: Feufollet
Where: The Foundry Theater at Antioch College, 920 Corry St., Yellow Springs
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21
Cost: $30 general admission, $15 current Antioch College students and children 17 and younger More info: antiochcollege.edu/calendar
Artist info: https://feufollet.net
About the Author