Shawn Saucier is one of only a small group of Cajun musicians born in Lake Charles that still plays on a regular basis in the Lake Area. He has been doing it for quite sometime now. He was born on February 3rd, 1965, to parents J.B. Saucier originally from Mamou and Doris Marie (Guillory) Saucier originally from Mansura. J.B. was a dancehall and night club owner when Shawn was born before belonging to union local pipe fitters in Lake Charles until his retirement. Shawn was 1st introduced to the Cajun accordion at the age of 12 by a local Cajun barber and musician by the name of Ed Granger, when Shawn’s father took him along to purchase chickens from Ed. While there, Ed encouraged young Shawn to play around with his accordion while him and J.B were rounding up the Rooster. Initially, Shawn asked his Dad for one but was told it was “too expensive “. Shawn continued to listen to all the great Cajun programs on the weekends. On his 13th birthday his parents surprised him with a beautiful accordion made by local builder and musician Sidney Brown. At the time Sidney was only building them at a rate of one a month, so Shawn’s Dad had to be persuasive to get Sidney to rush to complete it in time. It cost J.B. an equivalent to a whole week’s pay at $475 and a bottle of quality whiskey. J.B. never regretted it as he told Shawn to learn three songs: the Mardi Gras, the Kaplan Waltz, and Pine Grove Blues, all favorites by J.B’s friend and musician Nathan Abshire, who used to perform at The Shamrock Club off Hwy 171 in Lake Charles, which Shawn’s Dad had owned. For several years Shawn would visit Nathan in Basile as often as he could. Sometimes at the Bearcat Lounge on Tuesday nights and sometimes at Nathan’s little house behind it. Nathan til this day remains Shawn’s biggest musical influence. J.B. on occasion would also bring him to visit Mr. Eunice Dartez, who would show him a few tunes. In later years, Shawn gained an appreciation for the music of Wayne Toups and Zachary Richard as well as many other Cajun artists. In the early 1980’s, during and upon graduating from Sam Houston High School in Moss Bluff,(Go Broncs) Shawn started his 1st band, The Sauce Piquante Playboys along with Allen Breaux (drums), Michael Saucier (guitar) then replaced by Bill Kegley, Jimmy Trahan (Steel), Jason Breaux and Joe Young alternating on Bass, as well as Mitch Viator. They had their 1st recording on LANOR record label “Sauce Piquante two step” and “Bon Temps Pierre has got the Blues”. On that same record label they recorded their 45 rpm record “Cajun Achey Breaky Heart” and “The tracks of my buggy “. Sauce Piquante Two Step was also released in France on the ZANE record label. Shawn was one of just a handful of accordion players around his age group playing Cajun music in the Lake Charles area including Tim Savoy, Pat Savant, Homer Lejuene, and Bobby Benoit. Shawn being the youngest. In the 1990’s/2000’s Shawn teamed up with EJ Rogers and formed the Calcasieu Cajun band and recorded two full CD’s “Calcasieu Cajun Style “ and “ Cajun’s on the Geaux” on LANOR record label which included many original tunes. 2005, Shawn played accordion for Big Ed Jardel’s group “Louisiana Scramble Band” as they performed many shows across Louisiana and Texas. Big Ed relinquished the band name to Shawn before he passed away. In 2018, they recorded at Dockside studio Shawn’s original composition “Big Bayou” in English as well as in French. It was nominated in two categories for the JOSIE Music Awards, held annually in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Shawn took a hiatus of sort’s from music between 2002-2012 to run a nightclub he owned. He sold the establishment and once again took to playing. He played in many venues throughout Louisiana, all the Gulf Coast States, along with Wisconsin, Carolinas, and Las Vegas, Nevada. He had the honor of performing with such greats as : Nathan Abshire, Leo Abshire, Joe Simon, Ed Gary, Garland Domingue, Daryl Higginbothem, Lesa Cormier, Fred Charlie, Jerry Devillier, just to name a few, as Shawn’s playing career has spanned over 45 years. Him and his band plays regularly at Linda’s Lounge in Lake Charles and he plays at various area jam sessions including DI’s Restaurant in Basile and Jeanne’s BBQ in Westlake. Thanks Shawn for the interview. Composed by Neal P Granger
