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Excerpt from the Bay Runner: "Bay Oaks Boogie: Doug Ardoin's Louisiana Boogie, that is, doing a mini-Cajun festival in Bay Oaks Park to celebrate the opening of the swimming pool. Parents dismissed their children to the pool and partook of Cajun dishes and the great Swamp Pop and R&B sounds of this blue-ribbon band. Guitar master Ardoin opened the set I saw with "Gatemouth" Brown's timeless instrumental, "Okie Dokie Stomp". Ardoin also did a good job vocally on B.B. King's "Sweet Little Angel" and his guitar ride was killer. The great Charlie Greenway - the little man with the huge voice - came to sing. His treatment of "Try A Little Tenderness" had the ladies fanning themselves. Louisiana Boogie has one of the best sax duos in the business - Dale Gothia on alto and Ralph Rifon on tenor. When Greenway did "I Feel Good" they sounded so sweet they earned spontaneous mid-song applause. Wow! Bassist Robert Gonzales and drummer Ozzie Hart were in the tight groove all day. Hart also did a nifty rendition of "Whole Lot of Shakin". Song of the show was Greenway's oh-so-soulful "New Orleans Ladies"." - by Jim Shortt, The SCENE, June 2004 Excerpt from the Bay Runner: "Boogie City: Louisiana Boogie, that is, puttin' down classic R&B sounds in Brook Forest's Haven Park Pavilion. Man, they had every person in the park smiling big time. Charlie Greenway's rendition of the Bobby Bland classic "Two Steps From The Blues" was as good as it gets. Doug Ardoin kept the mood laid back with a fine take on Ivory Joe Hunter's sentimental classic, "Since I Met You, Baby". Staying with the feel, bassist Julio Bynum did a good job on Bill Wither's melancholy, "Ain't No Sunshine", while keeping the pocket tight with drummer Ozzie Hart. Dale Gothia's alto/baritone saxophones and Jim Darnell's tenor were a special pleasure all afternoon. What a super Sunday in the park!" - by Jim Shortt, Shortt Features, Bay Runner, July 2002 Excerpt from the Bay Runner: "DA GULF COAST BOOGIE: Last month I said that Louisiana Boogie is a super talented Gulf Coast Swamp Pop, R&B, and blues band. Co-founder Doug Ardoin, already in the Louisiana Hall of Fame, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Division of the Museum of the Gulf Coast January 20th. On the daytime scene, Doug is a manager in the Shuttle Program for NASA. Hmmm... sounds like a feature article to me. So, I caught up with Doug and he graciously agreed to chat with me. You can read that conversation in Shortt Features." - by Jim Shortt, Shortt Notes, Bay Runner, January 2001 Email from John Bockelman, CityKings leader, after Oct. 15 benefit at the Cross-eyed Seagull: "...the main topic of conversation with the CityKings since the benefit has been the Louisiana Boogie band. You guys are excellent. Every single song was top-notch, man. All of the subtleties and rhythmic dynamics came out in your music, and the arrangements and choice of material was superb. My drummer and bass player kept asking me, "Who ARE these guys? Do you know these guys? Where do they come from? What's the story on them?" And so on. I told 'em I knew you from other benefits and a banner thing we did earlier this year. They are all profoundly impressed with y'all's music. It's beautiful music, man. Ain't nobody doing it like that anymore, and it sounds hot as a red pepper." Excerpt from the Bay Runner: "LOUISIANA BOOGIE: These guys opened with Gatemouth Brown's "Okie Dokie Stomp", the song that set the standard for R&B instrumentals for an entire era. The crowd's reaction was a prolonged ovation. Moving into the blues, they did outstanding versions of Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Further On Up The Road" and B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone". Dale Gothia's alto ride on "Thrill" brought the entire house to its feet applauding. Next came Harry Choates' National Anthem of Louisiana, "Jole Blon", and the driving Cajun standard, "Opelousas Sostan". Bobby Thomas sang both tunes in French and also played Cajun accordion. Jim Darnell played rub board and Gothia played guiro, a serrated gourd played by scraping it with a stick. The crowd positively ate it up. Me, too. FYI: Louisiana Boogie is lead vocalist Thomas who also plays keyboards, Gothia, tenor saxophonist Darnell, guitarist/vocalist Doug Ardoin, singing bassist Julio Bynum, and drummer Ozzie Hart." - by Jim Shortt, Shortt Features, Bay Runner, June 2001 Excerpt from the Bay Runner: "BIRTHDAY CHILLUN BOOGIE: That's what Louisiana Boogie laid down for father and daughter Calvin and Debby Vossler on their shared April birthday. He celebrated 75, she 50. They got Quarters to open their big room, invited everybody in town, and the party was on! Louisiana Boogie hit the stage blazing - I mean in the groove, baby - and the crowd hit the door ready to Par-tay! The result was an absolute blast! The dance floor stayed packed all night as super singer Bob Thomas did all those fantastic Louisiana honky-tonk tunes of the 60s. His version of James Brown's "Try Me" kindled more than one romance, I guarantee. To the delight of all present, Bob also did some real Louisiana French music on his Cajun accordion. Dale Gothia's alto sax ride on B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone" was incredible. The band closed with "Gatemouth" Brown's instrumental classic "Okie Dokie Stomp". That song's tough for the entire band. Drummer Ozzie Hart and bassist Julio Bynum kept the pocket tight through the changes, no mean feat. Gothia and tenor saxophonist Jim Darnell had the horn parts wired, Bob Thomas' big organ was right on, and guitarist Doug Ardoin nailed the lead. Whew! What a finish." - by Jim Shortt, Shortt Notes, Bay Runner, May 2001 Excerpt from the Bay Runner review of performance at Knothead's on November 17th: "...Knothead's, that's where I caught the Swamp Pop blues of Louisiana Boogie on an appropriately soggy Friday night. When I walked in they were doing Bobby Blue Bland's classic, "Cry, Cry, Cry". They followed that with "St James Infirmary". Dale Gothia's alto and Baritone and Jim Darnell's tenor, combined with Bobby Thomas's big organ and vocals, spoke a musical language you don't hear every day. Then they played my personal, hands down favorite instrumental, Gatemouth Brown's Okie Dokie Stomp featuring Doug Ardoin on lead guitar. The changes in that song are tough for the rhythm section and the horns to get right. They nailed it. So I was grinnin' and groovin' when Knothead's Jan (Watson) Yglesias came over all excited and said, "I just love this band! They're terrific!" You got it, Jan. Not surprisingly, this band's excellent reputation is spreading fast. From their dress code to their stage presence to every note they play, they're consummate professionals. Catch 'em while you can. FYI: Drummer Ozzie Hart and bassist Julio Bynum are Louisiana Boogie's rhythm section. As his schedule allows, top flight tenor player Mike Pollard (Boogie Kings) of Mansura, LA. also gigs with the band. Louisiana Boogie returns to Knothead's (281-523-0004) December 15." - by Jim Shortt, Shortt Notes, Bay Runner, December 2000 Excerpt from the Bay Runner review of the "All Star Benefit" held at the Cross-eyed Seagull on October 15th: "...it was definitely time to boogie, chillun! So true to their name that's exactly what Louisiana Boogie did - laid out their exceptional arrangement of John Lee Hooker's Boogie Chillun! (FYI: many music historians credit that song as the first R&R tune ever recorded.) Well, who better to give you that classic Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast Boogie than this super group? From Cookie & the Cupcakes' "Mathilda", to Doug Ardoin's signature licks on "Johnny B. Goode" to Bobby Thomas' Cajun Accordion on traditional Cajun waltzes, they did it right. The wildly enthusiastically audience reaction, fellow musicians included, said it all. CityKings leader John Bockelman's comment typified listeners' reactions: "To a man the CityKings were in awe of Louisiana Boogie. My drummer and bass player kept asking me, "Who ARE these guys? Where do they come from? What's the story on them?" Hmm... I believe Louisiana Boogie served notice there's a new band in town..." - by Jim Shortt, Shortt Notes, Bay Runner, November 2000 Excerpt from Bay Runner review of the "All Star Benefit" at the Cross-eyed Seagull: "Doug Ardoin founded the storied Boogie Kings and now he's done it again with Louisiana Boogie. They played a great mix of Swamp Pop, blues, and classic R&B. Singer Bobby Thomas has an excellent voice. Thomas, a veteran of the Boogie Kings, is also a skilled keyboard and Cajun accordion player. His rendition of a traditional Cajun waltz was a big crowd pleaser. Ardoin displayed his classic, hot guitar chops and vocals on 'Johnny B. Good'. The crowd absolutely loved it. You'll be hearing more about this group too." - by Jim Shortt, Shortt Notes, Bay Runner, July 2000

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Doug Ardoin (281-480-2929)

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