Ambrose Thibodeaux:

-First accordion bought second-hand by picking wild coffee in the rice (fields?) to get the money to buy it around age 15 years;
-Father or mother had to decide what was bought. Ambrose's father wanted to see the accordion to see if it was worth it. The guy selling the accordion brought it over for Ambrose's father to check out and Ambrose was surprised to see his father start playing accordion;
-Ambrose knew his father played fiddle, but he didn't know he played accordion;
-He bought the accordion for Ambrose. A "Lester" brand. Ambrose doesn't remember if Monarchs were out yet;
-Ambrose got a Monarch when he was 18-19 years old. He needed a better accordion to play dances;
-He had an accordion in between his Monarch and his Lester, but he doesn't remember the brand name. Back then, you were happy to get the accordion. You didn't' care about what brand it was;
-Monarch and Sterling accordions were the best sounding and longest lasting accordions around at the time;
-Blue Steel Reeds no longer available after the world wars because the metal was needed for more important things;
-His current accordion he bought 12 years ago from an old accordion player who had quit playing. His niece wanted to buy it for her husband and Ambrose got it from him. He sold it to Ambrose because the singer of the band couldn't sing with a D accordion. They sold it for a C accordion. Ambrose was driving a school bus delivering bread every two days. One Friday morning, Ambrose told the guy who had a boutique for the guy selling the accordion to come meet him at his shop. $150 for the Monarch. Ambrose got it Saturday morning and it was better than Ambrose expected. Ambrose would've given him more for it if he had known how good it was;

-D Accordion bought 6 years before he retired;
-Only 12 years Ambrose has picked up playing the accordion again;
-38 years without playing. He sold the accordion when he got married and started working. You couldn't wear out the team of horses working in the fields all day and staying gone all night. There wasn't much money in playing dances back then. 50 cents from playing a dance was a lot;

Courtship practices:
-Ambrose quit going to the dances, until his 4 daughters were old enough to go to the dance. Then, he'd have to bring them and wait in the car until they were ready to go home;
-Forgetting all the old songs he used to play;
-Giving his daughters the chance to enjoy their youth. Back then, boys could go by themselves, but girls couldn't. And boys didn't come pick up girls and bring them to the dance. If a boy wanted to see a girl, it was at a dance or on a Sunday afternoon at home, not outside without any supervision;
-Now girls go pick up the boys;
-Raising a family by working. Ambrose had to work hard to support a wife and kids;
-La vie d'un musicien à voyager pour faire de l'argent. Ambrose traveling to Washington (D.C.) and Virginia;
-La vie d'un musicien. Bringing your family on the road with you?;
-Ambrose had the mindset of working in the fields from sunup to sundown if one wanted to make it in life;
-Jouer des bals dans le temps. He started learning at 15 years old. He started playing dances at 17. 4-hour dances and playing for himself;
-Ambrose wanted to go to a dance with girls, not sit in with the band and play music. There weren't as many musicians as there are now;
-He played many dances;
-Leaving music for marriage and starting again 38 years later;
-Marital troubles, jealousy associated with being a musician;
-Ambrose bought a Sterling Accordion in 1940 and sold it not long after because he wasn't interested in playing music too much;
-Revon Reed's radio program in Eunice? on Saturday mornings. Ambrose decided he would go on that program because a lot of them weren't professionals;

Relearning songs;
-Ambrose played on Revon's program all by himself. Sometimes there was a fiddler or a triangle player to back you up;
-Ambrose had never played with a fiddle or guitar before. Always accordion by itself or with spoons/triangle backing up;
-Merlin Fontenot was the first fiddler to play with Ambrose;
-First record with Rachou at La Louisianne Records;
-They couldn't practice too much because Merlin was living in Florida at that time (in the service). He would come once a year on vacation;
-Recording with Preston (Manuel?) and Merlin on a Tuesday. Revon and Preston came on Monday to practice 8 songs with Ambrose before going record;
-Rehearsing the day of recording;
-La Valse du Grand Marais was the first song recorded. After they finished recording, Rachou came out and asked for 12 songs like they just played to make an album;
-"La valse qu'a cassé la glace.";
-Albums sold better than singles according to Rachou;
-Royalties and all the albums he wanted for his family. Talking about it his daughter and with Merlin;
-12 songs vs just 2;
-Ambrose didn't have to pay anything. He's still getting royalties from it;
-Making other albums. 2 are already made and the fourth hasn't been pressed yet because the last album Ambrose released was still selling too well;
-Young people buying records;
-Ambrose getting royalties from across the country and even outside of the country (France);
-There 6 years he's retired and he quit playing dances, but he's still called to play festivals;

Popularity of Cajun music at festivals:
-Chicago, Washington (D.C.), Virginia, Florida (television);
-Ambrose enjoys traveling and people appreciating Cajun music;
-Mindset of only Cajuns liking Cajun music. Americans like Cajun music too;
-All kinds of different music at these festivals;
-Article of Ambrose in the paper?;
-People followed Ambrose;
-Different bands playing on different stages at the same time;
-Musicians play better music when people appreciate their music;

Appreciation of style and timing and the importance for dancing:
-Ambrose was one of the best/easiest musicians to dance to;
-Telling a difference and making more people dance after he let someone sit in on accordion;
-Importance of timing for dancers;
-Young people coming to learn Ambrose's style;
-Seconding is list a watch/clock. Equal time between notes/beats;
-Dancers can't dance to musicians who don't keep time. Ambrose learned that while dancing;
-People not using their bass box. Ambrose can't play without playing his bass box because that's what keeps time and fills the sound/makes better music;
-Barry notes Ambrose plays with good timing and shows it by looks too;
-Ambrose would sometimes play accordion on/behind his head before he got married. Showing what he could do without messing up the dancers. It was a show and you had to practice it. Had to know how to play accordion before he could do the show part;
-Tour de force when he was a young musician. He can't do that anymore, he'll be 72 years old the 18th of October (35:57);
-Playing 4 hours, songs one after the other. Ambrose likes to play music;
-Playing at Crowley High School and "Old Folks" home;
-Georgia, Pennsylvania (2 places), Virginia. He can't go because he won't have Merlin and he won't go for just any amount of money (all expenses paid with $150 a musician);
-Ambrose had the right to collect 25% since he was the manager of the band. $600 for 4 musicians, each one got $150;
-Spending $1 his first trip to Washington for a coke;
-Ambrose got the highest price. The following year, the booking agent wanted Ambrose back for a lower price, but Ambrose wouldn't lower it because of the precedent. He didn't want his musicians thinking he was taking a cut of their pay;
-Another booking agent trying to get Ambrose to go play;
-People think a lot of Ambrose. Ambrose said he shouldn't hesitate to pay what Ambrose was asking for then;
-Not having a permit for one of the festival;
-Not going without Merlin because Merlin's too busy playing music;
-Merlin didn't go with Ambrose to St. Petersburg or Chicago (Dewey Balfa went to Chicago with him);
-Ambrose likes the way Dewey plays;
-The current state of music--festivals;

Ambrose Thibodeaux (72)

***Possible Copy on AN1-255?***