Is it okay to be a legend at age 25? Cajun musician Kevin Naquin of Lafayette is working hard to fill that bill.

With more than a dozen awards under his belt and his fifth CD now in record stores, Naquin is well on his way to becoming a young legend. But Naquin lives true to the title of his new CD Never Satisified.

“All I want to do is be recognized 50 years down the road as a pioneer and a band that provided Cajun music,” said Naquin. “I want to be like Belton [Richard] and looked at like Iry LeJeune, Nathan Abshire and the rest.

“I wanted people to say Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys provided great Cajun music for a long time.”

Naquin aims to add to his stature with his new release, published on Swallow Records of Ville Platte. The disc includes originals, like “La Dernier Demande” (The Last Request) written by renowned Cajun songwriter and swamp pop legend Johnnie Allan and “Jai Envie De Fair L’Amour” (I Feel Like Making Love).

The CD’s title song and a cover of Rockin’ Sidney’s “No Good Woman” features swamp pop spice with the saxophone of “Willie Tee” Trahan.

The disc follows Naquin’s “Bayou Groove” recording, which became a darling of the Cajun French Music Association. The CD helped Naquin and the Playboys capture six of eight Le Cajun honors, Grammy-style trophies awarded by the CFMA, in August at the 16th annual Le Cajun Music Awards and Festival at Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette.

The band won Best Accordionist, Best Fiddler (Louis Dronet), Best Female Vocalist (Ashley Hayes) and Band of the Year. Bayou Groove, Naquin’s self-published CD, won Best Recording of the Year.

The disc yielded the Song of the Year, “C’est Trop Tard (It’s Too Late),” written by Naquin and Hayes.

The only other Le Cajun winners were Ray Abshire and Friends, who won Best First Recording of the Year honors for Pour Les Bons Vieux Temps (For Old Times Sake), and Belton Richard, who claimed Best Male Vocalist honors, the first of Richard’s legendary career. (Most of Richard’s work was recorded before the CFMA was formed in 1984.)

At the awards ceremony, each Naquin victory was met with cheers and screams from friends, family and fans scattered throughout the coliseum. Naquin has now won 14 Le Cajun honors since 2000. He has claimed Best Accordionist, Best Album and Band of the Year awards three times each, along with two Song of the Year awards.

Naquin is pleased with the hardware and the fan support it represents.

“It’s good to know there’s that many people who love what we’re doing,” said Naquin. “We’re just trying to strive for excellence. This is a great honor from the CFMA, all our fans and all of the radio stations that support Cajun music. We just want to keep putting out good Cajun music.”

Naquin said the band’s success is a team effort, which includes fiddler Louis Dronet, drummer Dwayne Lavergne and bass player Chevy Foreman. But one of those team members is already leaving to pursue solo dreams after two years of success in Naquin’s band.

Guitarist Ashley Hayes, 18, originally broke from the band to start college at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette this fall. But the Henderson native and 2004 valedictorian at Cecilia High School wants to record a solo rock project before returning to college in the spring.

Hayes joined the Ossun Playboys after six years as a founding member of FeuFollet, a popular children’s Cajun band who won fans locally and across Canada. Hayes’ singing and guitar talent blended well with her FeuFollet bandmates. She was also fluent in French after nine years in French Immersion, a public school program that allows students to learn their subjects in French and English.

Naquin said Hayes’ bilingual skills were a great asset to his band.

“Ashley was a very inspiring person to have in the band,” said Naquin. “She helped me a lot in my French. She was always there to correct me and help me understand the language better.

“She helped me write a lot of songs. She helped me pronounce my French words, which made me a lot better.”

Hayes said she enjoyed her time in Naquin’s band. But she now wants to try to follow in the footsteps of some of guitar idols.

“Sheryl Crow rocks,” said Hayes. “John Mayer is the best. He’s so laid back, but I really like his music.”

“He’s got me slapping the guitar like he does. You can see it’s having an effect on me,” added Hayes, revealing deep scratches just below her right thumb.

“I’ve been writing songs for a while and there’s some rock songs I’d like to record. I’d just like to expand a little bit. It’s the typical love-hate songs that you hear. But it’s something I’d like to try.”

But Hayes doesn’t plan to wander far from her roots. “I’m always going to be Cajun. I’m from Henderson. I’ll always have the thickest accent. I’ll always play Cajun music.”

Naquin plans to keep on playing at home and on the road. In October, he will tour Colorado for three days, followed by a three-day tour of New York. He will also spend time with his new wife, Rachael, who became his bride on July 24.

 

OTHER LE CAJUN WINNERS

Besides its eight major awards, the CFMA also recognized other musicians with numerous honors at its annual ceremony. The 2004 Plaque Award winners, given to musicians who have helped preserve and promote Cajun music, included:

Leo Abshire (Pioneer Award): Leader of the Old Tymers Cajun Band, Abshire has played Cajun music for more than 60 years, performing before such notables as the Queen of England, Princess Di and President Bill Clinton.

Al Berard (Award of Excellence): Praised as a musician’s musician, this fiddler for the Basin Brothers was a key player in the band’s Grammy-nominated recording, Let’s Get Cajun.

Camey Doucet (Continuing Contribution to Cajun Music). Author of the 1979 hit, “Mom, I’m Still Your Little Boy,” Doucet has promoted Cajun music for decades as a singer, songwriter, musicians and radio personality.

Charles “Charlo” Guilbeau, Jr. (Heritage Award): Guilbeau reigns as a talented songwriter who penned more than 60 tunes for such artists as Johnnie Allan, Charles Mann, Warren Storm, Rod Bernard and others.

Frank Randol (Appreciation Award): Randol is the owner of Randol’s Restaurant in Lafayette, which features live Cajun music seven nights a week and hosts the Cajun dancing TV show, Live from Randol’s.

Ed Gary and Jimmy C. Newman, a south Louisiana native and country music legend, were inducted into the CFMA’s Hall of Fame. The New Riverside Ramblers of Minneapolis, Minnesota received the Prix Dehors de Nous honor, which recognizes outstanding Cajun bands outside of Louisiana. The Ramblers are headed by fiddler and vocalist Eric Mohring, a 20-year Cajun music veteran who performed previously with the Bone Tones.

Runners-up for Prix Dehors de Nous were Bal de Maison of France and the Hackney Ramblers of England.

New Dawn Awards, given to promising young musicians, were awarded to Kyle Huval, Trevor Kade, Justin Cormier, Bobby Foret, Taylor Maltba and Tia Marie Faul. President’s Awards went to Bercie Alleman, Janie Booty and Milton Mire.

Contact Herman Fuselier at [email protected].