"Out of California's Central Coast comes a band respectfully borrowing traditional sounds of the Bayou and blending them with their own West Coast roots."   Sleepy John Sandidge - KPIG Radio

Listen or Download: this rootsy song  "Aiiee!" 

Visit us on Myspace at www.myspace.com/cachaguaplayboys

The Cachagua Playboys take their name from the remote area of upper Carmel Valley, California, which was a favorite hiding place for the native people of the coast during the Spanish missions period. Formed in December of 1993, their vision is to share the heritage of Louisiana's traditional Cajun and Zydeco musicwith their west coast audience. Being very fond of the music of Clifton Chenier, Beausoleil, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, and Boozoo Chavis, to name but a few, the Cachagua Playboys cover many of these artist's songs. Having honed their skills as musicians playing many other kinds of music, the “Playboys” have created a unique style, best described as Americana, but with the recent release of their second CD "SURF ZYDECO" they are attempting to form a whole new genre of music!

They have appeared at many festivals including the Monterey Bay Blues Festival, The Monterey World Music Festival, the Cotati Accordion Festival, and several times at Galante Vineyards in Cachagua. They have shared the stage with music legends such as Asleep at the Wheel, John Delafose, Danny Pollard, Deke Dickerson, Aaron and Charles Neville, Steven Bruton, Robert Earl Keen, the Iguanas and many others. They have been interviewed on numerous radio stations in Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties, including KPIG, KZSC, KUSP, KKUP and KAZU, and also KKCR in Kaua’i, Hawaii.

In January, 2001 they released their first CD, “The Cachagua Playboys,” containing original songs and cover versions of Jerry Garcia’s “Deal” and Professor Longhair's classic "She Walks Right In".

The Cachagua Playboys are: John Tallon- Drums, Vocals; Rick Chelew- Bass Guitar, Vocals; Mike Eckstrom- Guitar, Rub Board, Vocals; Pat Clark- Fiddle, Guitar, Vocals; Kevin Gould- Accordian, Vocals.

Review from Santa Cruz Metro. Nov-2007

News, music, movies, restaurants & wine culture in Sonoma, Marin and Napa

Mūz 11.07.07

To his great surprise, Garrett Wheeler gets his zydeco on.

By GARRETT WHEELER

Rub-A-Dub-Dub Yee-haw! No, seriously—yee haw. That's what I wanted to shout last Saturday night at Don Quixote's as the Felton venue hosted Monterey's own Cachagua Playboys. Central California eclecticism once again reared its multi-genre head, this time in the form of traditional Louisiana Zydeco music. Zydeco emerged near the turn of the century in Southern Louisiana, a mix of Cajun music and Creole dance tradition. If you're as unfamiliar with Zydeco as I was, you might mistake it for good ol' country western, but with a little less twang. You'd be sorely mistaken. Besides the heavily syncopated rhythms and the undeniable presence of an accordion, there's one very important instrument that is fundamentally unique to the genre: the Zydeco rub-board. The "King of Zydeco" himself, Clifton Chenier, invented the washboard chest-piece, also called a frottoir, in 1946. When it's played right, it adds a clickety-clack percussion sound—perfect for moving to the grooving. And move they did. The Playboys performed for a near-packed house and the dance floor never cleared. It's been a while since I've seen the Electric Slide in action, but the older (than me) crowd line-danced like it was going out—er, coming back in style.  It's no wonder the Cachagua Playboys have earned regular airplay on Santa Cruz's beloved radio station KPIG. With tight instrumental phrasing, hot guitar/fiddle leads by Pat Clark, and five-way vocal harmonies, the Boys shook up Don Quixote's like a James Bond martini. The good tunes kept the crowd up late, or at least late enough for Felton babysitters to earn some extra gas money.

Cachagua Playboys 2004

for booking info please contact us!

john@promotionwest.com

Listen or Download:  "Aiiee!" by The Cachagua Playboys

To Listen:  just click once on the song

To Download:  right click on mouse, then left click on "Save Target As""