A Chat with Diamond J and Horace Trahan about the Ruby Red Christmas In Church Point

Diamond J and the Ruby Red Raindrops with Horace Trahan at Debbie's Lounge Friday night Dec. 19th. It's a Ruby Red Christmas!

The heartbeat of a town can sound like a triple-row accordion, a slow boogie groove, and a street lined with Christmas lights. We sit down with Mayor Spanky, Diamond J, and Horace Trahan to celebrate Church Point’s musical lineage and the new “Steppin’ Out” collaboration that brings generations together on one stage. From family names that taught half the parish to play, to porch jams that turned into touring bands, this is a portrait of how culture survives: by being played, shared, and passed forward.

Horace walks us through his journey from a 16-year-old pro with DL Menard to fronting Ossun Express, sharing why “music is like medicine” and which songs still hit hardest. Diamond J opens up about crafting a soul-first sound shaped by late-night Cajun kitchens, where Clarence Carter sat right beside the waltz. Their joint project adds the texture of the triple-row accordion to a set that dances between slow-burn groove and crowd-lifting rhythm, proving that Acadiana’s genres aren’t walls—they’re bridges.

We also spotlight the Presbytere Museum’s music room revival, a labor of love powered by deep-dive research and community pride. Mayor Spanky lays out how bold civic moves—Candy Cane Lane, the nighttime parade, new parks—create the conditions for scenes to thrive and venues like Debbie’s Lounge to shine. It all comes together at Ruby Red Christmas: dress up, step out, and feel how a small town becomes a sound when everyone brings their part.

If you care about Cajun music, zydeco, blues, swamp pop, or simply love a great hometown story, this one’s for you. Hit play, share it with a friend who loves live music, and leave a review to help more people find the heart of Church Point.

Transcript

Welcome To Town Talk

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to another Town Talk podcast. It is Chris. It is Mayor Spanke, and we got a full studio today. Wow. No doubt. No doubt. Mayor, did you know how many famous people are from the town of Church Point when you when you took over your your mayorship?

SPEAKER_03 0:19

No, the political answer is everybody.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 0:24

On political, they got they got a lot. They got a lot. Let me say that. And I learned more every day.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Now, did you know that the the legend Diamond J claims claims Church Point?

SPEAKER_03 0:37

I'd heard whispers. Huh? I'd heard whisper.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

As his area. Yes. He is with us in studio. That's amazing. It might be. Appreciate y'all having us today.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

It's all graven, man. That's what it has us for. Promoting Church Point. And well, I hear y'all y'all coming on down this way.

Church Point’s Musical Roots

SPEAKER_02 0:54

That's right. We'll have a Ruby Red Christmas over at Debbie's Lounge this Friday night. Probably have somebody at the door by nine. Music no later than 10 p.m.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

You have a special guest with you too, and that is Horace, man. Welcome to the Town Talk Podcast, my man.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Proud to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Good to see you. What the before we get into y'all's connection, what do you know about Church Point, Horace? Where are you originally from? You got any Church Point connection? I know you've been in the music business for years.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Yeah, I'm originally from and still living in Austin in between Scott and Caron Crew. But uh Church Point over the years, I know uh a lot of musicians, Mr. B. Cormier, that family, the Lejeunes, um Diamond J. A lot of a lot of musicians come from right here in Church Point.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

I think there was one time that maybe there was a little push to try to make Church Point the Cajun music capital of the world because we had so many musicians coming out, you know, out of the area, from the legendary Irie Lejeune to uh you know some of some of the newer ones that I mean, dude, you can name from Iri Diamond J. Yeah, even before Iriday. Travis Mott.

SPEAKER_02 2:07

I mean, dude, it's the the list goes on and on. And other guys for years, I mean, Mr. B cultivated a beautiful crowd of musicians, and the Church Point Playboys with Reggie Mod and Mr. Jimmy Venable, Jason Fry played with him a while, Mr. Mark Lachelet, his son Blanco. But then out in Point Noir way on the edge, you had Tomas Mott, Reggie Mod, uh old Wilson Tet Leger, Paul Paul Degg learned from. Paul Degg still ripping. Yeah, you got so many in this town, and then you talked about the Carmier family over on Happy Hill side, which was uh Mr. B, I believe. The connection is Mr. B's daddy and Mr. Nolan's grandfather were brothers. I think is the uh is the connection. But you had Nolan Carmier, Andrew Carmier, and you had his boys who taught a lot of cats around here. Um Mitchell and Chad Carmier. Chad is who I learned from. But I mean, so many people were coming at that time, even that are playing now. Jason Bajron that plays with everyone he was learning from Chad. Mary Tweedell was our age, she rips, uh, poor Matt Carmier, Mr. Barry's son. We had so many, and that's just in our lifetime. And then Jognoville Road had the Brasso family, Adrian and Trinity, their daddy, Mr. Byron. Yeah, so many, man.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

We had a uh recording studio here with Lenora Records and uh the Sound Shop, if my memory serves me right, was the the music store that that Mr. Lee had. Mr.

Names, Lineages, And Local Legends

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Shirley and his daddy, Al Faye. They had the veteran playboys, but they started. It's funny, I got a picture framed up uh back when we did that Cajun Day revival. Back in Church Point 2015, 2016. Uh we made a big poster. They were all in graduating high school. It was Mr. B. Carmier, Shirley Ray Bajron, and uh Lee Laverne of Lanor Records, all senior class graduating together. Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:57

That's a Mount Rushmore uh Cajun musician.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Yep. Mayor, you have man, I'm trying to think how many years now that you revamped the Presbyterian Museum. What was that in 22?

SPEAKER_03 4:09

No? Probably about four years. Okay. 21, 22, somewhere in that area.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

And and you do have uh different rooms, you have different themes in there as well. You have a Church Point music room.

SPEAKER_03 4:20

We're under uh construction right now. We're we're getting a lot of information, and I myself been doing some deep dives on getting information there. I mean, some information, like one is Boozoo Chavis was from the Point Noir area, and that the only way you'll know that is in the obituary in the New York uh Times. And I mean, nobody knew that until I I just stumbled upon it. It's a very rewarding thing when you go in these deep dives and you start piecing things together and seeing how it it all came together.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

It's they have a lot. It's a lot. I I know you dropped a lot of names, Diamond Jay. Did you look up to anybody around the area when when you were growing up?

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Yeah, every single one of them names, including this man sitting next to me. Yep. I mean, he was a huge hero of mine since I was a kid. There's a bunch of great musicians in Louisiana, but not many that span all of its genres, you know. Horse is awesome blues record we still listen to on repeat. And when he started doing the Zodico thing, blues thing, swamp thing, he hits all of it at at its heights. I think it's like the most general article of the anime that our state has.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

So give us a little background on you, Horace, for some people that may not know when you got into music, how you got into music.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

I've been loving music all my life, but I started playing the accordion uh professionally when I was 16 years old. And I started playing with uh Mr. DL Menard, and he took me all over, all over the world. Summer Olympics in Atlanta, '96, France, Canada. Me, him, and Mr. Leo Apshaw on the fiddle. Then uh uh played with the Mammu Prairie band, Bob Reed and them, for a few years. Then I started my own band, Austin Express. And I'm uh 49, so I've been having Austin Express probably early 2000s, probably 25, almost 30 years, something like that. Been playing and recording. And then uh my wife Chantel and I got married in 2010. And I had a bunch of songs that I had written but not recorded yet. So we asked when we started the trilogy, keep walking all the way until the end. I did a Christmas EP and by special request. One day I got the call from Diamond Jay from the man right there. Stepping out. So and I'm proud to be on that that project with them fellas. Yeah, we really put a hell of a show on.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Let's talk about the album, Steppin' Out. How how did the both of you get connected to to work on that album?

SPEAKER_02 6:55

I wrote the song Nothing Left But Love for Horace, thinking this would be a perfect song for his band as I get older. Really, is write the song. And so I wrote it for Horace. And he listened to it. He said, Uh, how about we do it with your band? I said, we can do that too. I had some others from the batch that worked out, and we ended up recording five songs. Uh the last of which is I Hope You Get It. I Hope You Get What You Want for Christmas this year. Yeah. And so we uh we're having this show this Friday night to celebrate that, have a little ruby red Christmas, asking everybody to address their Christmas best, you know? Right there at Debbie's Lounge, right in the center of our beautiful town. And uh really appreciative y'all got the Candy Cane Lane set up right here. So if people want to come early, they can walk, walk the lights.

SPEAKER_03 7:49

Candy Kane Lane is open that night from five to midnight. Free of charge, and we got probably 25,000 lights in there. Yeah, it's awesome. It's uh it's a big thing, and you know, it's all coming together. You know, um I look back, I send it to Chris the other night. About 10 years ago, there was no lights down Main Street. There was no, it was just darkness, you know. And I said, if ever I become dispositioned, that'll never happen again. And uh I can tell you, you drive down Main Street tonight, you're gonna see some lights.

Horace’s Journey And Austin Express

SPEAKER_02 8:27

And that's why we won and we thought where to do a Christmas show. I said, Man, I'd love to do it in Churchbourne. You know, we did the um the album release out at the American Legion and had an awesome night. And and uh and I love what y'all did here right here in the center of town with the candy cane lane. I said, well, these two young people, uh Jenna Voltro and her partner is a Carrie, it's TC Carey's granddaughter. She got a Voltro and a Carey, some old church part names. They just uh the papers just come in final. They own that bar.

SPEAKER_03 8:59

So it's their groundbreaking event.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Yeah, it's there, it's their kind of like celebration for themselves, you know. But they humble, they they're not trying to make it about themselves, but I am here uh to celebrate them. When they ask me, I say, yeah, I would love to. And I I asked Horace and he was in too. I said, Well, let's go. Merry Christmas.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

Oh, that's what I'm talking about. Bringing Christmas in the point.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

You know, Mayor, I'm I'm gonna say uh again, great job on Candy Cane Lane. You know, I commend you a lot on this Town Talk podcast, man. And I want to say thank you again on behalf of the town of Church Point because that that Candy Cane Lane just keeps getting bigger and and better every year. It's been four years, or is this year five?

SPEAKER_03 9:43

This is year five. Okay, but we started in humble little.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

So my my man right here, he steps out on ideas early. And sometimes he'll get a couple black eyes all the time, right? But but then all of his ideas start trickling down to the Acadiana area. You got Kington doing uh pickleball court, you got Crowley doing uh dog park, you brought back the nighttime Christmas parade. Now everybody's doing a nighttime parade, and and that's fine. I'm not saying anything, but it's like you know, you you're on the forefront of a lot of ideas, and and those are are taken around Acadiana, which which I think is great.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

And the good thing about it is the more the merrier, you know, this area can build up. I'm just the one that's crazy enough to do them and crazy enough to do it first. Yeah, and you know the park idea.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

You know what I mean?

Writing And Recording “Steppin’ Out”

SPEAKER_03 10:44

And you know, every idea that comes up when you try to change something, you're gonna take a beating. And but you gotta be able to take it, move on, and know that it's the best thing for it, and then it's actually complimentary to me when somebody else does it to make it bigger, and you know, I can always say I I did a little piece.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

Yeah, you have that conviction you know what you're doing is right, none of the other stuff matters, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:11

That's uh and that's what uh what I try to do.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Diamond J with with you, I mean your your music style, right, and what you're doing now, and obviously it's it's an art to you, but but also feel it it's a little different, it it's a little vintage, it's it's kind of bringing some stuff back. Was that something you felt maybe you you stepped out a little bit on, trying to put that style out there? Did you think people would gravitate towards that?

SPEAKER_02 11:38

No, I never I never could have uh guessed that people would have responded as as much as they did. I mean, it's really beautiful that they like it so much, but I grew up in a cage of music world. Whenever the cage of musicians and and their families and they all cooking and it's late night and they drinking, it's Clarence Carter on the rail. It's so shredding. These types of like uh sounds that to me are as local as the local music, you know what I mean? And so when I started doing it, I guess the message was uh everybody love everybody sort of thing. Like everyone deserves love and to love and to be love and to receive love is a beautiful thing. So we we talk about why do you think people like this in the way that they do? And I think it's and why are the shows so much fun, but I think it's because the message of the program gives everyone a license to be themselves, judgment free, you know, wide open because everybody loves everybody. Is is there a a genre where where you put that music? I don't know about genres, you know, those are tricky, uh tricky words, but I think it's just soul music. You know, it's like uh uh rhythm and blues, like anything else.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Were you excited, Horace, to get the opportunity to team up with Diamond J and have him what write some songs? Y'all recording some songs?

SPEAKER_00 13:01

I didn't write any of the songs. Okay. Diamond Jay wrote the songs. We got together. Him and his guys got together. They already knew the songs. I went over there and rehearsed them with him, and I just learned the songs that they put on a show.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

You play the accordion with him? What do you do? What's your part whenever y'all are teamed up on stage?

Ruby Red Christmas At Debbie’s Lounge

SPEAKER_00 13:16

I get up on stage, they got plenty of music, original music that they do themselves. Then whenever he calls me up, I bring my accord in and I play the song that we recorded on Steppin Out with Horace. Nice. And then I get off, I I play a couple of songs from the Austin Express with the group. People you are not a party, same knife, stuff like that. Then I get off Diamond J, they come out and they finish the show out for the evening.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Uh, are you still playing that butt thing? Yep. Yeah. Or you still playing the high school breakdown? Yep. Yeah. That that's still some staples, right? And in in your set.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

We're gonna play it uh Friday night.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Because in that high school breakdown, if I remember right, you throw Church Point in there, right? Yeah, all that. Yeah. Good memory. I remember when that song came out was huge. I mean, I look, I I still play that butt thing at some wedding receptions today. You know what I mean? Like it's just one of those classic staple songs of this area, man. Like, yeah, you you you have a classic with that one. What's one of the favorite songs that that you do, man? Like, if you had to pick one of your own songs.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

One of my favorites.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

One of your favorite songs that you wrote.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

I'd have to say keep walking.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

It's not Cajun, it's not Zodical, it's actually more like a reggae beat. Our kids were small. Cannon and Leah, they were small when they were singing. We did that in 2010. Okay. 18 and 22 now. That's my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Such a long career for you. Do you do you get tired of it, man? Do you do you get tired of playing music at all? No, no.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Even whenever uh COVID hit, we couldn't play anymore. Yeah. Like in public, I'd play in the kitchen. In the six pack and just sit in the kitchen and put my card in at night. Music is like medicine.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Where can people get music? Where they where can they consume music? Whether it's your Austin Express, uh, Horace, or stronghold.com.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Okay.com.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

And then what about you, Diamond Jay?

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Yeah, we don't, you know, we don't really have a whole lot out. In 2022, we put out Diamond Jay's Greatest Hit, Slow Boogie Volume Number One, and that's everywhere. It's all over on the internet. And then I put out a single um the next year, 2023. I put out Happy Birthday to Me. This is a connection for us too. So I wrote that on my birthday, uh, just the vocal as I'm driving in my truck, is when I write a lot of these songs. Because I don't put the radio on and I just cry. And uh I just wrote the vocal into a microphone, sung it into a microphone, I sent it to Dylan. Within one hour, this man sent me back all the instruments. Okay, like everything. He played guitar, bass, drums, keys, have made a whole track to it within an hour. And I I mentioned the connection because uh Dylan is actually Horace's uh cousin.

SPEAKER_00 15:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

He plays keys with I met him through Diamond J. Come to Find Out is my cousin. Now he plays keyboards with Austin Express, but he's a roundabout musician.

Mayor’s Vision And Community Projects

SPEAKER_02 16:07

He plays all Oh yeah, he's got his own band, Scenic World, and then uh he's in a a number of other bands, Kid Charleroi and uh Radwagon, and all of these different genres styles, and he writes and he records all the young people uh around Lafayette out of his house, and the guy's a a magician.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

I know we talked about it at the beginning and talked a little bit about Church Point, but man, talent-wise in in the area when it comes to music, I I mean we're we're we're we're we're we're second to none, man. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:37

You don't realize until you leave this place, you know. I went to school in New Orleans, which there was a bunch there, but then all of all of my buddies in college were from the northeast. Summers or you know, breaks, I'd go travel with them and meet their families. And man, you leave this place and it's just like a thousand miles of strip mall with like no discernible identity, you know, and people little pockets of cool people doing cool things, you know, but uh nothing deep like this. Nothing. Food, the music, the culture, the people, the traditions, the parties.

SPEAKER_00 17:08

We got it, we spoiled where we have.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

It's really a special place. But the last uh we didn't mention the EP we recorded is uh called Steppin Out With Horse, Diamond J and the Ruby Red Raindrop Steppin Out With a Horse, and it's also out there uh on every Spotify. All the platforms. Yes, sir. I don't have a website, you know, but uh I've an Instagram. I don't know if you've heard of this.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Instagram I've heard of Instagram. Uh you got the Snapchat too? No, no, no, no. Just Instagram. Just the Instagram. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 17:36

I tried the uh the TikTok, but I couldn't I couldn't make it.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

You didn't figure it out. No. You tried MySpace? No.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

MySpace, yeah. We uh I need a makeup MySpace. But no, Instagram is uh silks only. That's the uh at silks only is where you can find Diamond J. Raint Drops, yeah. If you want to find uh any information about shows, Instagram is where you should and I'll make little things for the band silks only.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

Mayor, I I think we're gonna have some Diamond J stuff at the Presbytery in the in the music room coming soon.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

Yeah, we'll talk about that right before we went on there. You know, like I said, I'm I'm I'm trying to get that thing open for about March. Um, but I still got quite a bit of work to do. Um so it's it's coming, and there'll be a major announcement, and I'm sure another podcast on it uh when it's time to go and keep everybody informed.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

We got this, we got the Facebook page, we got the website, we got our our text notifications too. So there's a lot of different ways to stay connected with what's happening in the town of Church Point. Friday night. Friday night, Debbie's Lounge. Uh huh.

SPEAKER_02 18:51

Uh dress your Christmas best. We're having a Ruby Red Christmas. Dominic in the Aruby Red raindrops featuring the great horror strong hall on a triple row accordion. And man, the texture of that thing. It just adds so much color to our music, you know. And we'd never we never had had a an accordion in the band, but I feel like it's just a it's a small half step from what we were already doing, you know. It's a little more dancy. That that first record we call it, the slow boogie, you know? Yeah.

Diamond J’s Style And Soul Message

SPEAKER_01 19:19

Um so this is a little more rhythm than maybe what y'all started out with. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

This got a bit more of a uh a little dance beat. Yeah. Feels good.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

Now, having the triple row, does that does that give a different vibe than a classic Cajun accordion?

SPEAKER_02 19:36

Yeah, the textures are softer, I find.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

You know, it it still rips and it's got a lot of power. Triple note and the single note and or the piano note, I guess is how you play it too. That's true. Because you can make it, you can make it talk. I agree with them. I like the way that that triple note sound with the music that we did that we put together. I want to uh just remind everybody y'all come out Friday. You're gonna see a show.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

It's gonna be a show.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

Dress your best.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

They're dressed a little bit better than us, man.

SPEAKER_03 19:59

That's right. We're we're a little casual today. I'm used to being the voice, not scene. But when I pulled up, I did. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

But you're not in anything different than you normally are. You got your short pants on. And that's how you got elected. So everybody is uh is you're known for the short pants. So you're gonna be surprised.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

Let me say that.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

But fellas, thank you so much. Joining the Town Talk podcast. Thank you. Man, such a great connection to the town of Church Point, Diamond J, you, Horace. I mean, I know uh Austin, right down the road, you know, kind of on the outskirts of Church Point, man, and and and you know a lot about the area. But uh thank you so much, Mayor. Anything you want to add?

SPEAKER_03 20:41

Yeah, thank y'all for including Church Point in this. And like I said, that vision that I have for Christmas, I appreciate that y'all seeing what what's going on. Yeah, thank you all.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

Thank y'all for having us and thank you for doing all that you're doing for the town. It's beautiful to see in my lifetime, you know.

SPEAKER_03 20:58

Thank you. And thank y'all for coming and including me. That's an awesome thing.