File: albertjoe06-oh-musichome_lent_frolics_M.wav
Speakers
KP: curator Ken Perlman
JA: Joe Albert
IA: Ivan Albert
IA: Me and Joe's brothers but we got 12 brothers between us, between the two of us 10 others and we got 12 sisters. And we got 18 livin', and pretty much all could play, even Marie can play a little bit.
KP: What was a typical night like; would there be music after dinner?
IA: Supper, yeah. Oh, yeah.
KP: How many fiddles were there in the house.
IA: There was only one fiddle at Joe's. At our place at the old place – he stayed at me grandfather's most of the time - there was always two or three guitars at our place and we'd get singin' and talkin' and jokin'.
KP: Joe, was there music at your grandfather's house
1:42:50
JA: He had his fiddle there all the time. He was playin' that a little bit, but that's when he hurt his finger he couldn't play any more. So when I was small, I took it over, I tried to play anyway. I was lockin' myself in a room and tried to play. It took a little while, but then when I tried to play, there was always a bunch at our place B four or five fiddlers come there every night.
KP: Did they play together?
JA: Yeah they played together. There was a Proveau used to come over to out place, and Joe Goudon we used to call him "Joe Bubblegum," and Art or Dan or Jimmy, it was a music house, like.
IA: We used to call it the Mardi Gras. There was a month before Lent, two to three weeks before it came she was wide open. There was music every night, every day, and it didn't matter what time you were around with the music goin' on. That's the way we got along. Now you don't hear that any more.
JA: They used to make a frolic. A fellow'd buy a piece of wood and there might be 15 or 20 go over there, and have them cut the wood. They'd have a great big supper and had a dance after.
KP: Were there other kinds of frolic or just the wood cutting?
JA: Just the wood.
IA: You know every fellow passin' by, you'd go cut Joe's [wood] then you go move to another fellow's. There was always…
KP: Always a party.
JA: Always…
IA: But we had some good times, very good times.
KP: Was there a word in French for "frolic."
IA: Not that I know, we just always called it a "frolic." They called it a wood choppin' frolic. It's quite a change from now till then. Holy God, them times!
