New Iberians play in the street during Gresham Art Walk July 18

Portland band has musical roots in Chicago and New Orleans

By Rob Cullivan

The Gresham Outlook, Jul 1, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Contributed photo

The New Iberians will play from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 18, during the Gresham Art Walk.

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Evan Shlaes hopes the cops don’t show up for his gig at the Gresham Art Walk on Saturday, July 18.

“The zydeco police hate us,” Shlaes says with a laugh. “But that’s because they haven’t listened to us.”

See, he plays accordion in this somewhat heretical band, The New Iberians, named after the Louisiana coastal town of New Iberia. While the group loves zydeco – high-energy music that originated in Creole country – they mix it up with blues and Northwest rock ‘n’ roll. And Shlaes has no problem with bands that add hip-hop and other trendy elements to zydeco.

Zydeco is mutable, he says.

“It’s not a static thing,” Shlaes says. “It’s absorbing influences from outside Louisiana. Traditionally it’s music that’s very rhythmic and energetic and lends itself to partying and dancing.”

Chicago, Chicago

Shlaes was raised in a Polish-Irish-Jewish neighborhood in Chicago, and caught the accordion bug early.

“There was a lot of accordion,” he said, noting the preponderance of ethnic music.

He heard a lot of blues as well in the Windy City, which is why he feels he’s so open to mixing things up musically.

The mix is evident on the band’s new CD “Bon Temps Rouge,” which features such covers as Fats Domino’s “Hello Josephine,” as well as originals like “Goin’ to the Levee,” about Portland’s 1996 flood.

Lovers of American roots music have taken to the band for years now, Shlaes says, so he’s optimistic the CD will do well. The band has received airplay around the country on such shows as “The Midnight Special,” a syndicated program.

“As far as whatever market is out there for blues zydeco bands we’re in it,” he says with a chuckle.

Dancin’ fools

The New Iberians are:

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