Some reviews from our trip to the Frozen North East

Rave Reviews from their tour last January

The band was phenomenal. Musically I saw/heard something I’ve never seen before, the interplay between Sammy on accordion and Al on guitar … In Cajun you see the dynamic between accordion and fiddle all the time. But when they shifted gears into the Zydeco groove with Al on guitar, his interplay with Sammy on accordion was fabulous. Yeah, we’ve all seen guitar solos in Zydeco, but Al’s guitar work was not just a solo, but a lock-in dynamic with Sammy on accordion. They lock you in and whip it good. – Bruce Handelman

From Host of “Somebody Scream NY” at Eagles Hall in Ossining NY (1/10/09 Show)

We hosted Sammy Naquin and Al Berard for our dance last Sat. I really enjoyed the mix of music - everything from Zydeco to traditional Cajun. Having heard many bands over the years, I often am wary of me-too, sound alike. However, this band had some fresh takes on songs. Sammy Naquin played single and triple row accordions. Al Berard switched between fiddle and electric guitar. I really enjoyed when Sam and
Al played off each other with, whether fiddle & accordion with the Cajun, or Guitar and & triple row with Zydeco. They were whipping it up. – Jeremy Rice


Feedback from Boston Zydeco (1/11/09)
“The dance with Sammy and Al last night was wildly successful! The weather cooperated, and we managed to get almost 120 dancers, a huge amount for a Sunday afternoon. The Zydeco God's were with us for sure … The crowd was wild for Sammy Naquin and Al Berard! This event gave Boston Zydeco a much needed jolt of energy.”

Rave Reviews from Abilene (1/13/09)

“The band featuring Al Berard and Sammy Naquin tore it up Tuesday night at Abilene. Al switched off from fiddle to guitar as they moved between Cajun and zydeco music. It's fun, danceable, and they play with great energy and soul. The superb rhythm section features Sammy's regular bass player (Troy), and RedLine Zydeco's own Paul Mastriani on drums. A must-see event, this Saturday at the Harmony House”

“I was at Abilene's Tuesday night. Sammy Naquin & the Zydeco Whips were fantastic! They are fantastic! I'd heard they were a bit different from what we're accustomed at Harmony House. It's almost like rock 'n roll meets zydeco, but still with that true Zydeco spirit & extremely easy to dance to! The energy, spirit & personality of the musicians comes right through. And, most of all, they are having so much fun. It makes the whole experience with them even more positive as a result. Want to have fun? Come to Harmony House this Saturday night. Don't worry about the cold. The place will be heated up with music and energy.”

Bruce - First, we now (as of ten minutes ago!) have Erie Railbender in stock! Second, and most important, thank you … for a great night with Sammy & the Whips, great music and great people … the room is always open to you…and last night was truly a blast. Please let Sammy and the guys know how appreciative I am ... They rocked this little 'ole house. thanks again,
Danny Deutsch ~~~ Humble saloon owner
A shout out from Silver Spring, MD at Los Arrieros (1/15/09)
YEAH YOU RIGHT! Boy, were you right about Sammy and Al. They brought out the biggest crowd I've seen at Los Arrieros (the dance floor was packed), Sammy & Al were on fire, and the audience went wild over them!

Live at Connolly's & NYC, New York

To all my fans, I had a great time in the North East. The people I meet each time I go up there are wonderful. The musicians were on their toes and playing the music with pride. I could not ask for more from them. This is the second time we play Abilene’s and for the second time we had a packed house. What a wonderful place Danny. (Great Person). We then went to Philly and played at the TK Club for Ginny. Ginny had called me a week before and told me that the economy was bad over there, and the crowds were down to about half. She told me if I wanted to cancel, she was ok with it. My remarks to her were if we are going to catch some shrimp, we need to drop the nets. I was going to be at the TK Club rain, shine, or snowing. I want to tell you that every one had a blast. The club had nothing but heads on the dance floor including Ginny. What a wonderful place. The folks that put up half of the band had food for us when we arrived in town and danced all night with us. It was a success although it rained going there, it snowed going back to Webster and when we got close to Syracuse, the sun was shining at its best. Along the way some of our fans invited us to a B-B-Q, Cannot thank them enough.

We had just enough time to set up in Webster and play. As always the Rochester Zydeco Network were great to us. Always a packed house at the Harmony House. We are really blessed to have a friend like Bruce Handelman. My friend Cindy is the best. She stayed up until 2:30 am waiting for us at her home and then fixed us something to eat and gave us all warm beds to sleep in. After our showers, she had Coffee and Cinnamon Bread for us at 6:00 am. No one else would do this for us. Thank you Cindy.

We arrived in Manhattan and you guessed it, traffic everywhere. Time Square was everything anybody imagines it to be. My daughter was with me and we acted like tourists, taking pictures and looking at all the bright lights in the big city. Laura was glamorous, and so was Whitney.

From the first note, to the last everybody had fun dancing and cutting up at Connelly’s in the heart of Manhattan. It was nice seeing new faces. I would like to say to Gordon, it was nice meeting you. The stories Peter told me about you are very interesting and I would love to do some work with you. We had so much fun with everyone at the end with Big Dog Little Dog that the band has agreed to continue doing this at the end of every show.

 Finally yet importantly, Thank you Ron Berard, I know you are a friend for life, but to the world you are a wonderful photographer for Time Magazine and the pictures you took of us are great and will help in promoting the Zydeco Whips. (See pics here)

Thanks again,
Sammy