Arin Thompson
Daily Egyptian
It was the year 1989, and two guys from St. Louis, Matt and Miguel, decided to start a band, or something like it anyway.
"We were calling ourselves a band but not really being a band," said Miguel Figueras, guitarist for Secret Cajun Band.
In the beginning, the band went through multiple influences and was sometimes described as a twisted mix between They Might Be Giants and Weird Al Yankovic. Since the early days, the band discovered the musical styling of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and The Specials, thus emerging as a ska band.
"The songs took on a life of their own," Figueras said. "We used to have goofy lyrics. We'd take a song and change the words. Later we got a little more serious and were writing better songs."
The ska nerve now running through this band was picked up here at SIUC.
"Our instrumentation fit that of ska band, horns, drums, guitar, etc., and our former trumpet/washboard player, Swamp Daddy (SIUC class of 1994) got us into ska," Figueras said.
The band is composed of six guys, some of who didn't particularly know how to play instruments in the beginning. Since 1989, the guys have gotten much better at being musicians.
"When we started, we weren't very good, and only half the band could really claim to play their instruments decently," Figueras said. "The sound has definitely gotten better with time."
Charlie plays the trombone, Nick plays the trumpet, Josh is the bass player and lead singer, John mans the drums and Miguel plays the guitar.
Secret Cajun Band has shared the stage with bands like MU 330 and the Blue Meanies.
"We pretty much grew up with those guys [Blue Meanies]," Figueras said. "But all of our sounds are really different."
In 1996, the ska scene exploded, and Secret Cajun Band was right there in the middle.
"There was all this division among the ranks, but we've always had a really big cult following," Figueras said.
However, the band has its own sound, unique to the ska scene, Figueras said.
"I guess there is an East Coast sound and a West Coast sound and even a Midwest sound. We sort of have all three at times," Figueras said. "People either really like us or hate us."
In their more than 10 years on the road, the band's members have spun off to work on personal projects as well. Charlie is currently a college student, Nick is in real estate, and John is a drum instructor. Josh runs a restaurant/bar, and Miguel is a second grade teacher and also teaches water polo. Some members have also started families, and through it all they have stuck side by side.
"The thing that keeps us together is the fact that we're all friends," Figueras said.
Reporter Arin Thompson can be reached at athompson@dailyegyptian.com.
Secret Cajun Band, a ska band, will play Shryock Auditorium. at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 11. For more information and sample tunes, visit www.secrectcajunband.com
click http://www.secrectcajunband.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
