Biography

Chubby Carrier is undeniably "The World's Premier Zydeco Showman." He and his Bayou Swamp Band take their highly infectious dance music to clubs, theaters and festivals throughout the United States, Canada and Europe more than 275 nights a year. The Chicago Tribune called them "one of the finer standard bearers of the classic, blues-based zydeco sound among the new generation of Louisiana bands."

Chubby is well known for his show-stealing live performances that leave his fans in a dancing frenzy. He always brings the party with him wherever he goes, and the level of energy and excitement of those live shows has made him one of the most sought-after zydeco acts in the country.

With his latest release on Blind Pig, Who Stole the Hot Sauce?, Carrier has done everything he can to capture that electrifying sound. As Chubby says, "This is the closest you can get to a live sound in the studio."

True to the tradition, the backbone of his music is the syncopated Louisiana drumming, the polyrhythmic scraping of the washboard, and the push-and-pull of the amplified accordion, accompanied by spontaneous whooping and hollering. Carrier claims Clifton Chenier, the widely acknowledged "King Of Zydeco", as his primary influence, but unlike most traditional zydeco and Cajun acts, Carrier adds elements of blues, New Orleans funk, gospel, soul and even do-**** to his spicy brew.

Carrier was born in 1967 in Lafayette, Louisiana into a family of performers. His grandfather played zydeco. His father, Roy Carrier Sr., is a well-respected zydeco musician in his own right, and his cousins had an act known as the Carrier Brothers. Chubby has played zydeco since his public debut at the age of 12, propping his heavy accordion on a stool so he could join his father on stage. Chubby started out by playing drums with his dad, who worked on an oil rig, but he'd take over the band and the accordion spot on the weeks when Roy Sr. was out to sea on the rigs.

After asking his dad to teach him the accordion, Chubby was told, "If I teach you accordion, I want you to play your own style. Let people know who you are - Chubby Carrier." Besides learning accordion from his dad, Chubby also was exposed to the blues on the records his father loved to play, especially those by B.B. King and Bobby Bland.

After fronting various zydeco bands through high school, Carrier put down the accordion and picked up the drumsticks for a chance to go on the road with the another rising Louisiana music star, Terrance Simien and the Mallet Playboys. Carrier toured Europe, Africa and North America with the Playboys for three years before unpacking his accordion to start his own band in 1989. Soon thereafter he cut his first album, entitled Go Zydeco Go. Chubby's next recording, Boogie Woogie Zydeco, was released on Flying Fish Records (now Rounder) in 1991.

Carrier's first album on Blind Pig, Dance All Night, was released in 1993. CMJ New Music Report raved, "Carrier's live sets are nothing less than phenomenal, and that energy and love translate to each of Dance All Night's 13 grooves. Carrier is a rare breed, a new zydeco artist who's fully aware of tradition, but he's also unafraid to make a few changes, giving the music room to grow and breathe and stay alive." CD Review said, "Exhilarating dance-floor zydeco, this album teems with spirited party-time music, as the band dashes, sprints, and zips through several crowd-pleasing boogies." Furthermore, the recording received the Living Blues Critics' Award as the "Best Zydeco Album of the Year."

Chubby and his band hit the road big-time that year, and began landing gigs at many prestigious festivals and events, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Chicago Blues Festival, the Houston International Festival, the St. Louis Blues & Heritage Festival, and the Ultimate Rhythm & Blues Cruise.

Chubby Carrier is without question one of the most exciting young purveyors of zydeco in the '90s, and Who Stole the Hot Sauce? is high-energy, zydeco party music at its best.