NOTIZIE PRINCIPALI
When in 1981 a couple of Belgian friends with a passion for music decided to form a band and were looking for a name, it occurred to them that it would be appropriate to bring Mardi Gras back to the Continent it came from, enriched with the powerful musical heritage acquired in the course of its Trans-Atlantic passage. The fact that the surname of the singer and lead guitar of the band was Vastenavondt, which is Flemish for Shrove Tuesday, settled the matter.
Initially, the band experimented with garage rock influences, but it soon became apparent that its true destiny lay with Blues and Rhythm & Blues, and with the addition of a horn section, Mardi Gras had now found its groove. The band aimed at bringing the power of musical masters such as Delbert McClinton, Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Roomful of Blues to the Belgian stage, whilst staying true to its name by ensuring loads of fun and excitement.
In due course, the band reached its first peak with a 1986 appearance in the main line-up of the prestigious Belgium Rhythm & Blues Festival in Peer, to this date the Mecca of the Blues in these parts, which no self-respecting blues lover can afford not to have witnessed at least once in their life.
For Mardi Gras this performance was the first in a long list of successes. They were asked to play at various Belgian festivals such as Spring Blues Ecaussinnes, Bemdfestival Arendonk, Swing Wespelaar and Marktrock Leuven, and before long they also found their place on stages abroad--first in the Netherlands and in France, and then twice on a two-week tour in Portugal in 1991 and 1992. In 1994, the band cut their first mini-cd, Mad Man, produced by Marty Townsend, the then guitar player of Blue Blot.
There followed a couple of changes in the band line-up, but after a second appearance at Peer, and with some band members beginning to explore alternative musical horizons, it was decided to put the band on hold for a while.
Yet the blues will out, and Mardi Gras is now back with a vengeance, still firmly committed to the original intent: to create steaming, swinging good old rhythm and blues in the spirit of Delbert McClinton, Roomful of Blues, Walter Trout, and Popa Chubby. . .
True to the groove, and in recognition of their decisive impact on the Mardi Gras experience, we have powered up our horns and given them a name: The Mardi Gras Horn Section.
Our motto remains: "No matter if you’re black or white, it’s the blues that counts" (Katie Webster, Peer 1986
Benny Boonen 24 dicembre 2005 08:45