Swamperella takes a break from la danse?to bring us a stronger Cajun flavour.
SOOZI SCHLANGER vocals & lead fiddle and washboard?? When you hear her sing you might think she was born on the bayou, but Soozi Schlanger is a Toronto girl. She fell in love with Cajun music in 1992, began playing the fiddle and immersed herself in Cajun culture.? During trips to Louisiana, she studied the playing of the Balfa Brothers and Dennis McGee
CONNY NOWÉ, guitar and vocals? Conny plays guitar and developed an obsession with Cajun music the first time she heard it.? A veteran of the Canadian alternative music scene, she has recorded and toured with the bands Mother Tongue, Lillian Allen, Courage of Lassie and singer songwriter Laura Repo.? Learning guitar at an early age, she put it aside for years to study drumming and traditional West African percussion -- until she met Soozi and joined the ranks in Swamperella's rhythm section.
PETER JELLARD vocals, accordion and fiddle? Born in Devon, England, Peter came to Toronto by way of Edmonton.? While busking in Paris he heard a recording of the Balfa Brothers, leading to a life long infatuation with Cajun music.? After a six-week trip to Louisiana he founded the Cajun Ramblers who performed a mix of Cajun and Zydeco around Toronto.? Peter has performed with the Grievous Angels and is also spending a lot of time playing traditional music from Quebec.
RACHEL MELAS, bass?? Born in New York City, Rachel Melas started playing Bass in 1976 at the age of 16.? She worked her way through 2 Mel Bay for Bass books and learned the basslines off of a pile of blues, jazz and reggae records and since has played music continually in many different settings.? She has been a bump on the log of Canadian music for about the last 20 years performing every thing from the post punk groove music of the Animal Slaves to the World beat of Mother Tongue and the atmospheric Folk of the Courage of Lassie, amongst others.? Playing string bass in a Cajun Dance Band is the logical culmination of a long and varied career.? She currently performs with Yiddish swing and Klezmer band The Sisters of Sheynville singer songwriter Max Woolaver and with the Alistair Christl Rock-a-Billy band.
DAVE PONTELLO, percussion? Dave is Swamperella's most recent recruit and a newly-diagnosed victim of the "Cajun Bug".? Born and raised in Toronto, he has played drums and percussion in a number of settings, such as with Halifax rock group Nathan's Flat and folk singer Trevor Mills.? His longest standing gig to date (over 6 years) is with Toronto singer-songwriter Justin Rutledge.? In addition to performing, Dave continues to study drums with Jim Blackley and piano with Brian Rudolf |
