The Hippie had the keyboard player and a truly Cajun guy who plays harmonica, banjo and reed accordion (that tinny thing you hear in hillbilly bands). We actually sounded good for a practice. Even I got compliments when we played originals The Hippie and I had worked on four or more years ago. His originals, I cannot write music, or at least I never tried as I have no aspirations of recording a hit.
“Fool’s Gold”, “Where Are You Tonight” and “Cajun Queen”. The sound is really good and we could easily make money at it right away [but it never happened]. Everyone wants more practice first and I’ll go for that, too. I need the money and I need the break from school work. What else did we go over tonight? “Stormy Monday”, “Jambalaya”, “Okie from Muskogee”, “Tom Dooley” and “Year of the Cat”. That cat song is a lounge music special that puts me right to sleep. Message or no message, it is one boring piece of music to me.
I believe the term reed accordion may be Reed accordion, from the name of the man who builds them. The unit in the picture is called "bloodwood". I had a go at learning one of these, but it was too much effort for the variety that the instrument can provide.
[Author’s note: the Cajun guy may very well have been Cowboy Mike, but it is not recorded.]
[Author's note 2015-03-19: it was definitely Cowboy Mike. Years later he turns out to be the only dude in town who plays reed accordion. And I found out those were the only two songs that he knew. Of what we learned that day, only "Jambalaya" is still on my list ten years later.]
[Author's note 2016-03-19: the random calendar landed on this date again in 2016. Cowbody Mike has disappeared. It is covered elsewhere, but chances are he headed with his fifth wheel back to Amelia Island, forever to play those same twelve songs he's played for forty years now. Over and over.]
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