Making music on a Jam at Scott (LA) with
DL Menard, Freddy Hanks en Don Montoucet.

Hello, I am Ron van Doorneveld and I hope that, just like Willem, I can convey some of my enthusiasm aboutbn\ cajun & zydeco through this site. I came into contact with cajun via some LP's from the Balfa Brothers, Doug Kershaw and a collection LP by Arhoolie that I had bought during the sixties. At the same time I was a big fan of bluegrass and such musical styles. As a matter of fact I was more attracted to that music than to Cajun, so one of my big wishes was to learn how to play the 5-string banjo. It took me some years before I finally decided to buy such an instrument at the beginning of the seventies, but it was still years after that before I really began to practise on it. Till roundabout 1996 I was playing acoustical country music in the band Country Stuff and after that in Except2. At some time while I was playing in Except2 the father of the violin player gave us a cassette with Steve Riley on it and I was completely overturned. Now I realise that I have been deaf and domb to this music from Louisiana for almost 25 years.After some wrestling on the piano-accordeon and a two-row button-box I found out that I really needed a one-row button-box or a french-accordeon. Since 2000 I have taken lessons from Wim Nagtegaal and I have been a member of the DownTown Cajun Band.I also have come to know and appreciate Willem Versloot, spiritual father of this site. Because Willem thought that the site was getting too much for him, I have taken over doing that work for him.During the last couple of years I have also learnt about zydeco and I love to hear and dance on it, but I prefer traditional cajun

Willem Versloot,
waiting for Cajun Jack.

I've made contact with cajun en zydeco through the workshops and lessons for accordeon that I took: via Stichting Mokum Folk (teacher Willem Schot), I came on Schiermonnikoog at the workshop "Music has no boundaries" to Irish music; there I saw and heard Kevin Wimmers and Danny Poulard: they gave workshops, to which also all the members of the dutch cajun band Cajun Company took part. By the magic sounds of the fiddle, accordeon and 'tit fer (triangel) in combination with a nasal, high pitched singing, I became in a kind of a trance........and I knew on that moment: This is what I want, even when it takes me years to learn..... Now I took some steps: I have bought a Bon Tee accordeon from Larry Miller (Iota, Louisiana), took lessons from Wim Nagtegaal (member of the dutch cajun band AcadiA ), and now I'm practising, listening to CD's, and try to learn the songs. And sing (a big word......). In march 2000 I have visited Louisiana and took part in the Mardi gras (carnaval) ........fantastic! Compared to Holland I liked the less quantity of people: no big crowds, you can have a chat with the musicians. And the people, creole and cajun, are very willing to help you as stranger!