Jeremiah Peabody

Age: 54 For the record: Peabody is an all-around folkie with skills in a variety of roots instruments, from the banjo to the button accordion. He has a degree in music theory and composition from Arizona State University and hosts a Cajun/zydeco show called "Tabasco Road" on KXCI (91.3-FM) early every Wednesday, from 4 to 6 a.m. Black Leather Zydeco - named after the tight leather outfits that sultry accordion player Rosie Ledet wears on her album covers - came to be five years ago during an informal jam session at a Tucson house party. That party led to a gig at the Nimbus Brewery, and BLZ has been together since. How did you get interested in music? "My first impulse was toward guitar, and I picked that up in high school. It was pretty much every young man's goal; you play the guitar, you'll get the women - although I don't know if it was as focused as that at the time. I just noticed that people playing guitar were getting attention. "For years, you couldn't convince me the accordion was worth anything. Then, in the mid-'80s, I saw a couple of Celtic players - Jimmy Keane, who was playing with Mick Moloney, and Phil Cunningham with the band Silly Wizard. They both played the piano accordion and played the heck out of it. I said, 'This could be a musical instrument after all.' Since I played other instruments, it was a short hop to play the accordion and get honkin'." Who influences you most in your style? "The big names on the button accordion were John Delafose and his son Geno Delafose. Boozoo Chavis. Beau Jocque. Those are the main guys I started listening to. I also listened to Rosie Ledet. Her music was the first I was able to learn and copy. What was your biggest on-stage nightmare? "We opened for Beausoleil at the Rialto. The night of the gig we came in for sound check, and the guy that hired us said he just found out the day before that they really, really don't like having a zydeco band open up for them. He thought it would be a great idea and suddenly it wasn't, but we were hired, and not only were we hired, but we were supplying the backline equipment that Beausoleil needed to do their show. He couldn't just tell us to go away. Everybody did what they could in an uncomfortable situation, and the evening worked out." What was your biggest onstage success? "We've opened up for Queen Ida when she's been in town in the past. She had a "nice job, boys" type of comment last time around, and that felt good." What is your dream gig? "I'd like to play with any of the big names." Some say zydeco is a dying art form. Are you trying to pass the music on to others? "That's actually what I do for a living, teach music. "I do have one student right now on Cajun accordion. I've been wishing someone would come along and show an interest, and finally somebody did. I'm not the authority on the stuff, but when you consider where it comes from, Louisiana, and then consider Tucson, where we are . . . yeah, I'm it. Now playing - Catch upcoming Black Leather Zydeco showtimes at: members.cox.net/katnsteve1/blzindex.html

 

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