File: arsenaultrobert-oh-joebibiennefamily_M.mp3
Speakers
RA: Robert Arsenault
KP: Curator Ken Perlman
RA I never saw my grandfather play too much. But he's sort of still like known like his name was Joe Bibienne -- his name was Joe Bibienne -- because there was a whole bunch them -- many Joes around , right, Joe Arsenaults. So to distinguish one Joe from the other they either call them Joe To...
KP the father's name?
RA ...the father's name or the wife's name. So, his wife was Bibienne and they called him Joe Bibiene.
KP Oh, I see.
RA And the Joe Bibienne family is sort of like recognized, I guess, or perceived to be a major traditional music family that has music in their blood. And it's true that many of the, I guess, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Joe Bibienne are good musicians, and sort of have this feel or this drive for the dance music. Because really what it was in those days, is they were the local musicians that entertained people and made people feel great. That's what it was and they got people dancing really. And it's sort of like there's a spirit, there's a mood. Just like the word flamenco means a feeling, blues means a feeling, this type of traditional music is as well a feeling. It's a different type of feeling. It's a very high energy kind of feeling. It's a feeling there is a, I don't know, it makes you feel, it makes you, it lifts the spirits. And it makes you want to tap your feet and get up and dance because it's a very light-hearted feeling. But it is a feeling in that sense once the party gets going it's a very electrifying kind of thing. It's a very high, charismatic kind of feeling. In the sense of how you get a mob, mob reacting. You got a get... It's a very positive feeling, I think, as well. Many people have called it a devilish feeling like they get -- my memories of my family and that and myself like -- people who say "Oh, you got the devil in you!" And this kind of thing. But what it does is you can drive the feeling up to a point where it gets to a near trance-like thing.
