Let there be Mardi Gras: K. Jones & The Benzie Playboyz go into Cajun Overdrive

Feb. 2, 2005

For Mark “Big Dog” Stoltz and his bandmates in K Jones & The Benzie Playboyz, Mardi Gras is a special time. The eight-piece band is all about Cajun, Creole and Zydeco music and this time of the year they are very much in demand, playing at five Mardi Gras celebrations around the region. But what really pleases the “Big Dog” and those passionate of the Louisiana sound is that the popularity of the music is becoming a year-round affair for not only the band but for others in the area.
“Sure Mardi Gras is a lot like St. Patrick’s Day; a lot of people celebrate Irish music and traditions for the day, but Irish music, dance and food is great all the time and the same can be said about the music, food and traditions of Louisiana,” said Stoltz. “We are starting to see the passion for this just in our own bookings. In fact we are just about fully booked for this summer.”
After kicking off the Mardi Gras season this Friday, Feb. 4 at the Cabbage Shed in Elberta the band plays the next night at the Leelanau Sands Casino where Stoltz will offer a dance clinic prior to the show. Then on February 8, or Fat Tuesday, the Boyz head to Union Street Station for a big Mardi Gras celebration, winding up February 11 & 12 at the Sail Inn in Benzonia that will include a dance workshop and a Mardi Gras dinner on Friday night and a Winterfest celebration on Saturday. Afterwards the band takes a three-month Spring Break.

BEES TO FLORIDA
“Well Kurt Jones (Sleeping Bear Farms) is a beekeeper and he takes his bees to Florida for the winter months,” said Stoltz. “Myself and a few others will head to New Orleans and catch some of the post Mardi Gras happenings. We are all back around May 1 and will resume our schedule.”
When he’s not performing with the Playboyz, Stoltz is researching music for his Saturday show, “Louisiana Sound” heard each week on WNMC. Stoltz is in his fifth year of hosting the show (he shares hosting duties with David Stalcup) and became hooked on the music when he heard Steve Riley perform at a festival nearly 20 years ago.
“The music just drew me in and I just started dancing and moving closer to the stage,” said Stoltz. “I have been a fan ever since.”
Stoltz decided to explore his passion further and began attending Zydeco/Cajun/Creole dance workshops all over the country.
“I have studied with just about every major instructor in the country,” said Stoltz. “I think there is only one guy in Texas that I haven’t attended his workshop. It is addicting music to dance to that’s for sure.”
He shares his passion by often offering a dance workshop prior to the band performing and even offers private dance lessons. Stoltz believes anyone can learn to dance.

TOUGH CUSTOMERS
“I have had a few tough customers, usually some guys whose wives have dragged them out, but anyone who feels the rhythm of the music can learn to dance to it. It really is hard not to dance to it. In fact BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet will be out at Interlochen in February and I called the box office to make sure it is okay to dance along the side. You just can’t sit and listen to this type of music.”
Another aspect that adds to his passion is the culture behind the music.
“The Cajuns and the Creoles are very friendly and they take complete strangers like myself into their homes and will feed you and give you a room for a night,” said Stoltz. “A few years ago I was invited to a costume party and they gave me an authentic mask to keep because I was without a costume. When I returned the next year they had made a full costume which I will wear on stage when we perform these upcoming shows.”
He adds that the food and beer is pretty good as well.
“They certainly do drink a lot and I am not sure the food is always the healthiest but it is sure good. I am not sure that any of them know what a tossed salad is, but this is their culture and it is the way it has been for years,” said Stoltz. “The dialect also changes from community to community or as they say, parish to parish, and that takes a little getting use to. But there isn’t a night that doesn’t go by when there isn’t dancing somewhere – sometimes there is even dancing at breakfast.”

BUSY MAN
It is hard to believe that Stoltz has time for a day job. He makes the 45-minute one-way commute daily to the end of the Old Mission Peninsula where he is the postmaster. At night he returns to his Benzie County home and puts on zydeco CDs and practices his washboard playing, an instrument he took up a few years ago as the band started to come together. He uses his vacation time to travel to New Orleans and to dance workshops around the country.
Music has always been a part of his life since growing up listening to the Detroit music scene of the late sixties and early seventies. He even has a famous musician brother, Walkin’ Jim Stoltz, who is well known on the folk circuit and performed in northern Michigan a couple of years ago.
For additional information on K Jones & The Benzie Playboyz visit their website, www.benzieplayboyz.com where a complete listing of all their Mardi Gras celebrations exists. To get in touch with Mark Stoltz, tune into WNMC on Saturday mornings from 11 am to 1 pm or for information on dance lessons, call Stoltz at (231) 275-6710.