Album Notes

The New Riverside Ramblers are:
Eric Mohring: Fiddle and Vocals
Bob Nelson: Cajun Accordion
Karen Kleinspehn: Rhythm Guitar
Doug Lohman: Bass
Paul Loughridge: percussion

The New Riverside Ramblers' second recording, "Les Grands Bois" (Big Woods), serves up another generous helping of high-energy Louisiana Cajun dance music – on fiddle, accordion, guitar, bass, percussion, and French vocals.

With Les Grands Bois, the band returns to the roots of their discovery of, and fascination with, Cajun music. Five of the cuts come from the tradition of the late Dewey Balfa and his brothers. “We can’t help it – for a lot of us who have been captivated by this music, it was our first influence, and we keep returning to it” says fiddler Eric Mohring. “But there are lots of other influences too…”, he adds.

As well as a handful of timeless dance-hall chesnuts, the CD has a collection of way-cool songs and tunes collected from the Balfas, Nathan Abshire, Walter Mouton, Wade Frugé, Varise Conner, and other great Cajun musicians of our time and of times past. ALL are played with flair, enthusiasm, and expressive abandon.

The members of the band have been immersed in Cajun music for over 20 years, and have studied, performed and recorded with some of the greatest names in the music.

“Really enjoying your new CD. Solid rhythm section and a lot of Dewey in that fiddle.”
- Ray Abshire, Lafayette, Louisiana

“Perhaps one of the best traditional Cajun music bands in Cajun music today... If I did not know better, I would think they were from Kaplan and Mamou!"
- Pete Bergeron, KRVS radio, Lafayette, Louisiana.

"I'd gladly hitch-hike to Minneapolis to play with them."
- Marc Savoy, Eunice, Louisiana.