Vorance Barzas: The Voice and Beat of the Original Mamou Playboys

Vorance Barzas was born on July 19, 1938 in the farming community of Duralde, just north of Eunice, Louisiana to the parents of Maurice Barzas and Armide Odom Barzas. He was the 2nd of two boys born to Maurice and Armide, but his older brother Frank passed away from poor health two weeks after he was born, leaving Vorance as the only child. Vorance grew up in a happy enviroment with loving parents. Growing up on a farm, Vorance was taught a great work ethic but also the enjoyment of life. Being the only son, he spent much of his time accompanying his father in the field and performing whatever daily task that presented itself. He was also fortunate enough to have a father who was musically inclined. Maurice was considered a very talented accordion player in the region therefore exposing Vorance to Cajun music at a very young age. By the age of 9, while working in the fields, whether it was picking cotton, hoeing or planting, Vorance always sang while he worked. He practically would sing every chance he would get. By this time, Cajun music had started to grow so much that it was prominent on the regional radio broadcast, which he would listen to as often as he could. He learned the melodies and vocals by listening to two of his favorites, Iry Lejuene and Lawrence Walker. Vorance's father Maurice saw his continued interest and bought him an acoustic guitar. This was a great opportunity for the father and son to further bond. Maurice would break out his old Monarch accordion and play old Cajun tunes while Vorance would strum along.

This practice would establish a musical base that would last a lifetime for the young son, while also keeping Maurice sharp with his playing. The practice of introducing their kids to playing music was not really the norm for a lot of musicians back in that era. For most, the kids were not allowed to touch their father's instruments or at least not without them being present, due to the high cost to repair. For one, many couldn't afford for their instruments to be broken or out of tune. Another is simply kids weren't particularly encouraged to play any instrument at all. Some parents felt their children's time was best spent at school, then chores. In particular, some of their mothers didn't want their kids exposed to the lifestyle that often came with it. But that was not the case for this musical family. By the late 1940's, it had been several years since W.W.II had ended, and Cajun music had started gaining popularity, particularly with the accordion. One afternoon three brothers from the area had approached Maurice with the idea to form a band. Their names were Will, Dewy, and Harry Balfa. They came from a prominent musical family from Mamou that grew up playing together. Maurice agreed to playing with the brothers and they started out by performing at a dancehall called the Dixie Club in Eunice. Eventually, the members of the group joined up with Elise Deshotel, a guitar player from Basile with his wife on drums, Dewy on fiddle, Rodney on guitar and Maurice on accordion. They went on to cut six recordings for Khourey records out of Lake Charles and they played in the Lake Charles and Creole area in Cameron Parish. During this period Maurice formed his own band, Maurice Barzas and the Mamou Playboys. The original lineup featured Maurice (accordion), Clinus Isreal (fiddle and vocals), and Wilford Aucoin (drums). All through that time period, young Vorance rarely left his father's presence, as he would accompany him at many of the dances. He would soak in the music and observe each of the band member's playing. Particularly of interest to Vorance was the drum playing of Wilfred Aucoin. Wilfred became a role model of sorts for young Vorance and took special notice of Wilford's preferred drum playing method of using brushes compared to sticks. He particularly liked the sound and the rhythm of the drums. Wilfred would let Vorance sit in during sessions, which came in extremely handy when one day Wilford suddenly quit the band. Maurice in a pinch, went out and bought a drum set on a Saturday afternoon and that night Vorance played his first dance. Not only was he the bands new drummer, he became the lead singer for the Mamou Playboys. For Vorance, he was living his dream, to be like his Dad as a musician. He also knew it was a good way to make money. Maurice taught Vorance the ends and outs of the music entertainment business. Even to the point of grooming. Many a day, Vorance would set on a stool on his parents front porch while Maurice would neatly trim his hair and give him a clean close shave. The two worked hard and played hard together. Several other musicians played with them including fiddlers Roy Fontenot, Lee Manuel, Will Balfa and Allen Ardion. Guitar players included Lee Manel, and Allen West. During their heyday the Mamou Playboys played every night of the week. There were only a handful of Cajun bands that performed in that area during that time period. Saturday afternoon would start with a live radio show at KVPI in Ville Platte from 4:00pm -5:00 pm, then Saturday night at Snook's in Ville Platte from 8:00 pm until midnight. They would leave there and play at The Wagon Wheel in L'anse au Paille from 1:00 am - 4:00 am. Sunday afternoon they were at the Avalon Club and that night at the Rainbow Club in Basile. They played in Mamou on Wednesday nights at the French Casino and in Oakdale on Monday nights. By the mid 1950's, due to the increase in bands in the area, the bands gigs were reduced four nights a week. They also played at other venue's such as Manuel's Bar in Mamou , Etleys and Blue Goose in Eunice. All this while Vorance still managed to attend school from elementary through high school and on the farm. What a true testament of his dedication to playing! The band continued through the 1970's when the Cajun dancehall scene began to wane. Vorance was blessed to also possess a gifted singing voice. He was known to have one of the best, authentic sounding voices in Cajun music. Many that witnessed him sing or listened to his recordings still feel that way today. On November 29, 1958 at the age of 20, Vorance married the love of his life, the beautiful Alice Wynell Fontenot Barzas. They would together have 5 children. Kevin Frank Barzas, Virginia "Jennie" K. Barzas Simar, Tessie M. Barzas Manuel, John Paul Barzas, and Rechell Reni Barzas. Vorance continued with his music career while picking up a day job initially driving a truck for Johnson's Furniture out of Eunice. He eventually would parlay that into a full-time job as a furniture salesman for years at Johnson's then Jerry's Furniture in Eunice, all the while still managing to find time to assist Maurice on his farm. As the years went by Vorance would go on to teach his oldest son Kevin how to play the acoustic guitar and drums, just like he started out when he was a young boy. When Kevin had became old enough, he joined grandfather Maurice, Vorance and Roy Fontenot in their band. The Mamou Playboys became a family affair of sorts up into the 1980's and continued to draw crowds at dancehalls and various festivals throughout the Mamou/Ville Platte/Eunice region. They continued to play at Snook's every Saturday night and every major holiday for 36 years straight (got to be some sort of record?) until the passing of their band leader Maurice on July 23, 1985, at the age of 76. Maurice's death was a major blow to the region's Cajun music and to the people that loved it. His death was extremely hard on Vorance and it became hard for him to continue playing afterwards. He all but had given it up as he lost his passion, but his love of the music and culture overcame all, and in February of 1986, it was none other than Dewy Balfa who talked a reluctant Vorance into playing again. The two enjoyed playing together with other notable musicians for several years until Dewey's passing in 1992. During that time frame in the late 1980's, a very talented young rising star accordion player from the Mamou area by the name of Steve Riley had formed a band consisting of David Greely (fiddle), Mike "Chop" Chapman (drums), Kevin Barzas (guitar) and with Vorance's blessing took over the band name Mamou Playboys, which subsequently became known as Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys. (Steve and his band with different members would go on to continue to perform and gain huge notoriety and popularity even today). Then tragically, Vorance lost his wife of almost 35 years, Alice, to breast cancer a year later in 1993. He would remain a widower the rest of his life. Vorance would announce that he had quit playing for good. His son Kevin would eventually leave the Mamou Playboys also. In his later years, Vorance enjoyed a little hunting and fishing to pass the time, but his favorite pass time was spending time with his children and grandchildren when he wasn't working at the furniture store. He especially loved to cook for them, typical of many Cajun men. He enriched their lives with much love and shared with them his passion for his Cajun culture. Even though Vorance claimed he was content with not playing music anymore, his many fans and music friends simply wouldn't let him. He continued to play but not at a full time capacity. He played with Paul Daigle and Cajun Gold for a spell and sat in many gigs with performers such as Wade Fruge, Angelas Manuel, Ken Smith,Glen Richard, Jason Frey, Dick Richard, Mike Tate, Jaimie Berzas, Tina Pilione, Preston Manuel, and many others. In 2004, Vorance was honored at the Cajun Music Festival in Mamou. He embodied everything the festival stands for, "Preserving our Culture through our Music". In 2007, Vorance graciously alowed Tina Pilione of Savoy Music Center to copy some of his old original live cassette recordings of Maurice Barzas and the Original Mamou Playboys, along with some of the bands sessions from 1984, which she had recorded. The tapes were then converted into a two CD set with the help of Joel Savoy. Sadly and unexpected Vorance , who was still working and enjoying life with his family had contracted Covid 19 during the pandemic and after a two week struggle, succumbed to the virus on 11-22-2020 at the age of 82. His death was a blow to Cajun music, the culture and also to his home town of Eunice. Gone was a playing career that spanned 70 years. Those in Cajun Music and those who enjoy Cajun music owe Vorance and the Barzas family a debt of gratitude. He may be gone from this Earth but his memory will live on. **** NOTE: November 2022, the CFMA Lake Charles Chapter inducted Vorance into it's Cajun Music Hall of Fame. A very well deserved honor and what also made it special is that he was joined with his father Maurice in the same class of inductees. Once again I would like to thank those responsible for my research and contributions to this article. Eunice News archives, The Evangeline News archives, The Daily World of Opelousas archives, Bonnes Nouvelle magazine of Ville Platte, Tina Pilione, Flat Town records Floyd Soileau, Khourey Records, Wade Falcon, Lyle Ferbrache, Ron Yule, Jerry Devillier, Rhonda Istre ( Head of the CFMA LC Chapter Hall of Fame) and to various friends and the family of Vorance for sharing their personal stories. **** NOTE: Dedicated to the surviving children, many grandchildren of Vorance Barzas. One can ony imagine that he is lending his beautiful voice in heaven. Maybe even helping to keep the beat. Composed by Neal P Granger