Brian O’Donnell, fiddle
Brian was born in Chicago area, but has lived in Madison with his wife and three kids (rehearsals for family band have begun and we will begin booking in ten years). Brian caught the Cajun fiddle bug in 1999 at one of the Ashokan Fiddle and Dance camps near Woodstock, New York, became enamored with Dewey Balfa and Dennis McGee, and promptly headed down to Lafayette, Louisiana for six weeks of Cajun music jams and bayou exploration. He also managed to get a Lafayette library card and tape every Cajun record they had on hand, and get some lessons from Cajun fiddlers Courtney Granger and Kevin Wimmer.
John Romano, accordion, vocals
John has been performing folk and roots type music since 1963 on guitar, harmonica, and 5 string banjo, playing folk music, blues and folk-rock. In recent years he has been devoting full time to Cajun music on the button accordion and singing Cajun vocals. John has sat in on accordion with Cajun bands in Louisiana at both Mulates and La Poussiierre in Breaux Bridge, DI’s in Basile, and Charley’s Lounge in Mermentau. He has mentored with a number of Louisiana Cajun accordion players including Jason Fry, Wilson Savoy, Eddie Poullard, Jesse Lege, Dirk Powell, Preston Frank, Jeffrey Broussard, and Tally Miller.
John Fabke, guitar
One of Southern Wisconsin’s finest traditional musicians, John Fabke has been involved with a wide variety of roots music styles for the past 15 years. His interest in traditional music was sparked by a chance opportunity to see Ramblin’ Jack Elliot a number of years ago in Vermont. That experience opened the door to exploring the rich tradition of American music. Fabke played cajun guitar with the Madison-based Grand Chien Cajun band and has also performed with Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys. Along with cajun music, Fabke also plays banjo, guitar and mandolin in blues, bluegrass and old-time country settings.
Karen Holden, t-fer, dance instruction
Karen came to Cajun music through dance—Bharata Natyam as a child in India and contra and Cajun as an adult in Madison. She started playing Cajun music when in about 2001 she stopped dancing to listen to the music. First starting on the accordion, she shifted to rhythm guitar which she plays in jam and practice sessions. She plays t-fer ("little iron") in the band and provides dance instruction. She has taught cajun/zydeco dance through the University of Wisconsin Union mini-course series. She and the band were recently featured in a University of Wisconsin’s weekly paper.
Dave Bacholl, standup bass, sound
Dave joined the Cajun Strangers as a band member in late 2004 when Brian Grondin moved to Milwaukee. He had become an almost-member earlier when he provided sound for Cajun Stranger gigs. Dave has been playing folk and bluegrass music for virtually all his adult life. He plays guitar and is often seen on electric bass.
Colin Bazsali, drums
Colin has been playing music most of his life. Originally a jazz drummer, he set aside percussion for the folk guitar, harmonica, and banjo and began exploring traditional American musical forms, especially old-time banjo. This led circuitously to Cajun and back to the drums, which he has been playing with the Cajun Strangers since early 2005.
(Download a pdf of our bio sheet. Requires a PDF reader, such as Adobe Reader.)