Interview with Isaac "Big Ike" Martin; Interview with Mel Melton

Accession No.: 
BE2-033

"Big Ike" Martin and Mel Melton:

"Big Ike" Martin:

-00:00 - Background information
-01:00 - Early exposure to music - Aunts were singers at church
-01:45 - Talent show that he won in school
-02:55 - The Episodes, changing name of the band to Lake City Show Band in 1976 - repertoire
-05:00 - Opening for bigger acts - Aretha Franklin, Bobby Blue Bland
-05:45 - Clubs they played at - Paul's Auditorium, Jones' Flying Fox
-06:45 - White clubs
-07:30 - Only sang, never played instruments in his bands
-08:00 - Recordings made with the Lake City Show Band
-09:30 - J.D. and Mark Miller - Mastertrak Studio and Label
-17:20 - Playing casino shows
-19:30 - Magic City Club, The In Crowd Club
-25:00 - Eddie Shuler
-27:00 - Playing Zydeco music - Cacean Ballou, Classie's daughter, plays accordion for Isaac
-27:40 - Plaisance Zydeco Festival - Not being booked for the Festival
-28:15 - Playing with Wayne Toups
-29:20 - Band Lineup - Cacean Ballou, Joe Orsot, Shelton Dixon
-32:20 - Artists he's backed - Bobby Blue Bland, Johnny Taylor, Benny Wright, Buddy East

Mel Melton:

-34:05 - Another interview starts - Unknown person, possibly Mel Melton
-34:38 - Playing for Zachary Richard
-35:00 - Playing in Colorado when Zachary Richard wasn't working
-37:30 - Having trouble learning to play the accordion, sticking with playing the harmonica
-40:00 - Reaction to original material
-41:00 - Quitting "Bayou Rhythm" after getting married
-44:45 - Retiring in Chicago
-47:00 - Returning to playing music
-50:00 - Talking about his new band and new release

Media Type: 
Audio
Collection: 
Benicewicz, Larry
Subject: 
South Louisiana, Music, Swamp Pop, Rhythm and Blues
Creator: 
Larry Benicewicz
Coverage Spatial: 
Lake Charles, LA
Publisher: 
Larry Benicewicz
Rights Usage: 
All rights reserved
Language: 
English
Meta Information
Duration: 
52:09
Digitized Date: 
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Original Format: 
Audio--Cassette--90
Digital Format: 
Audio
Bit Depth: 
16 bit
Sampling Rate: 
44.1k
Storage Location: 
Returned to donor