Similar Artists:
Don Messer,
Murray Reams
- Active: '70s
- Genres: Cajun
- Instrument: Engineer, Mastering, Mastering Engineer
Biography
A steel construction worker from Vermont, Rod Fuller plays the bones on a pair of '70s recordings featuring Acadian fiddler Louis Beaudoin and his highly musically inclined family. Some listeners might think the previous sentence would make more sense if the subjects were reversed, making Fuller a bones construction worker who plays the steel in his spare time. The so-called "bones" are an actual musical instrument, however, even if they aren't always actually bones. Fuller, who learned this musical skill from his parents, utilized a pair of carved ebony pieces for his bones. While wood such as this is considered more resonant and thus better able to cut through a loud Cajun ensemble than real bones, the shape of said organic material is still desirable; thus the ebony percussion instrument is carved in order to resemble a couple of loose beef ribs. An elaborate set of wrist maneuvers causes the pieces to slap against each other in various rhythmic configurations.Fuller stands out on these recordings not only because of the attractive sound of the bones, but because his name is not Beaudoin. The latter family descended from some of the many French Canadian settlers who headed south looking for employment in latter part of the 19th century. Brothers Louis and Willy Beaudoin learned the art of fiddle music from their father. Based out of Burlington, VT, Louis Beaudoin became a world-class fiddler and his brother his main accompanist as well as a jazz guitarist with his own combo on the side. Other performing family members included pianist Sylvia Beaudoin, tap-dancing Lisa Beaudoin, harmonica-blowing Robert Beaudoin, vocalist Julie Beaudoin, and Fred Beaudoin, whose speciality is dance calls. Why such a talented family needed to go outside its ranks for a bones player is a bit of a mystery; but perhaps the Beaudoin family is one of the very few that has no skeletons in its closet. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
