Buckwheat Zydeco

It can certainly be said that Stanley "Buckwheat" Doral Jr. grew up in his hometown of Lafeyette, La., inundated with the zydeco tradition. But it cannot be said that he liked it very much, which seems strange for a man who adopted the sounds of zydeco at a relatively late stage in life and went on to form the highly praised group Buckwheat Zydeco, which will perform Saturday at the Trump Marina. Doral - "You can call me Buck, you can call me Stanley, you can call me anything you want" - even learned to play the accordion, a key instrument in the zydeco sound.

"I wish my dad had hit me up side my head a few times, when I was a kid and refused to play the accordion. " So muses Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr., leader of the powerhouse Buckwheat Zydeco band performing Sunday night at TLA. "Only years later did I get some sense knocked into me. " Growing up in Lafayette, La. (and nicknamed against his will after the "Our Gang" character), the now-41-year-old Dural went through a period of rejecting his family's Creole culture. He snubbed his father's beloved accordion and the "French-style" parties where zydeco music was played.

Society Hill's hippest nightspot, Revival, might do well to adopt a new promotional slogan: The Buckwheat Stops Here. At their Philadelphia debut in February, and two shows last night, Lafayette, Louisiana's, Buckwheat Zydeco drew enthusiastic, packed houses. In a city where a rinky-dink ukulele rendition of "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" is prized as swinging traditional music, the zesty Acadian hootenanny of Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural and his eight-man band brings the townsfolk out in droves.

Buckwheat Zydeco was only 9 when he slipped in the back entrance of a Lafayette, La., nightclub to watch Fats Domino perform in the summer of 1957. The youngster, born Stanley Joseph Dural Jr., says he knew from that evening that he'd be a professional musician himself someday and ideally one who, like Fats, could mesmerize a crowd. "If people don't get up and dance at one of my shows, I know something's wrong," says the 59-year-old Louisiana-based musician, who launches the Stockton Goes to the Beach summer concert series in Ocean City on July 2. "Music brings people together - to me, that's the reward.

8 tonight CHANNEL 12 Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr. (right) and his band, Buckwheat Zydeco, are the pre-eminent ambassadors of Louisiana zydeco music. Dural's energy and talent are on display at this gig at Sellersville Theater 1894 in Bucks County.

Payton Faries, 5, cools her feet in the water at Penn's Landing during the 13th annual Jam on the River. Tonight, blues singers Koko Taylor and Ruth Brown will be featured, along with the music of Buckwheat Zydeco to welcome summer to the city.

The 13th annual Jam on the River was in full swing over the weekend. Tonight, blues singers Koko Taylor and Ruth Brown will be featured, along with the New Orleans-bred music of Buckwheat Zydeco.

They came, clapped, foot-tapped and got a little wet as the fifth annual Jambalaya Jam was launched yesterday at Penn's Landing. Billed as an all- weather event, the show did go on with some of the biggest performers in zydeco and New Orleans rhythm and blues music. Food with a Louisiana touch also is part of the program. The festival continues today from 1 to 10 p.m. and tomorrow from 1 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $9 at the gate for adults, $1 for children 2-12. Among today's acts: Olympia Brass Band, Buckwheat Zydeco, Irma Thomas, Beausoleil, Pete Fountain, Heavenly Blend and the Treme Brass Band.

What do B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, Elvin Bishop, Charles Brown, James Cotton and Buckwheat Zydeco have in common? They're among the 20 acts, both national and local, scheduled to perform at the city's fourth annual RiverBlues festival at Penn's Landing next weekend. Besides the nonstop music, there will be blues workshops, jam sessions, a cruise on the Delaware River, an exhibition of photographs of blues artists and, of course, lots of food. Tickets, good for any one day, cost $10 for adults in advance through July 26, $14 day of show.

With Mardi Gras just around the corner, it's fitting that some of Louisiana's hottest musical exponents are visiting the area. The biggest name is Buckwheat Zydeco, a.k.a. Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr., who will get the party atmosphere going with his band Saturday night at Warmdaddy's. Dural's relentlessly propulsive music, blended with strains of contemporary rock and R&B, brought zydeco its greatest exposure. The singer-accordionist's commercial fortunes may have ebbed, but he remains a popular and dynamic live performer.

In Concert 2126 The Highway, Wilmington; 302-475-3126. www.ardenclub.com . Animus. $18. 5/21. 8 pm. 251 Beach Ave., Cape May; 888-944-1816. www.congresshall.com . Ann Oswald Band. 5/20. 8 pm. Darin MacDonald. 5/21. 8 pm. 1853 Wrightstown Rd., Washington Crossing; 215-493-6500. www.crossingvineyards.com . All That Jazz. $20. 5/20. 421 N. Seventh St.; 215-569-9400. www.livenation.com . The Cars. $49.75 advance; $52.75 day of show. 5/22.

8 tonight CHANNEL 12 Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr. (right) and his band, Buckwheat Zydeco, are the pre-eminent ambassadors of Louisiana zydeco music. Dural's energy and talent are on display at this gig at Sellersville Theater 1894 in Bucks County.

Buckwheat Zydeco was only 9 when he slipped in the back entrance of a Lafayette, La., nightclub to watch Fats Domino perform in the summer of 1957. The youngster, born Stanley Joseph Dural Jr., says he knew from that evening that he'd be a professional musician himself someday and ideally one who, like Fats, could mesmerize a crowd. "If people don't get up and dance at one of my shows, I know something's wrong," says the 59-year-old Louisiana-based musician, who launches the Stockton Goes to the Beach summer concert series in Ocean City on July 2. "Music brings people together - to me, that's the reward.

With Mardi Gras just around the corner, it's fitting that some of Louisiana's hottest musical exponents are visiting the area. The biggest name is Buckwheat Zydeco, a.k.a. Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr., who will get the party atmosphere going with his band Saturday night at Warmdaddy's. Dural's relentlessly propulsive music, blended with strains of contemporary rock and R&B, brought zydeco its greatest exposure. The singer-accordionist's commercial fortunes may have ebbed, but he remains a popular and dynamic live performer.

It's 2:45 a.m. - do you know where your culture is? At this particular moment in the Kimmel Center, it depends on which culture you mean. A seven-member comedy troupe in Verizon Hall is making clever mincemeat of the English language, and in an intimate room upstairs, a small collection of thespians is threatening to go through the complete Shakespeare sonnets - in pajamas. Down on the plaza, a fortune teller warns a stout woman with wiry hair about being too nice ("I see you've always had a strong ear for listening; I think this is gonna hurt you," she says)

Philadelphia summers won't be dead anymore, thanks to the first full Kimmel Center slate of hot attractions. Beginning with a 12-hour Summer Solstice marathon on June 21, the calendar will present four themed weekend festivals in July, Wednesday night dance parties and both free and ticketed events. Evenings of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd films, played to live orchestral backing, plus plenty of jazz, hip-hop, classical and pop attractions should wake up Broad Street until the fall season kicks in. Kimmel president Janice Price and programming director Mervon Mehta, announcing the events yesterday at the Perelman Theater's rooftop garden, listed visits by Harry Belafonte, Judy Collins, the Neville Brothers, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Lang Lang among many others.

It can certainly be said that Stanley "Buckwheat" Doral Jr. grew up in his hometown of Lafeyette, La., inundated with the zydeco tradition. But it cannot be said that he liked it very much, which seems strange for a man who adopted the sounds of zydeco at a relatively late stage in life and went on to form the highly praised group Buckwheat Zydeco, which will perform Saturday at the Trump Marina. Doral - "You can call me Buck, you can call me Stanley, you can call me anything you want" - even learned to play the accordion, a key instrument in the zydeco sound.

The 13th annual Jam on the River was in full swing over the weekend. Tonight, blues singers Koko Taylor and Ruth Brown will be featured, along with the New Orleans-bred music of Buckwheat Zydeco.

Payton Faries, 5, cools her feet in the water at Penn's Landing during the 13th annual Jam on the River. Tonight, blues singers Koko Taylor and Ruth Brown will be featured, along with the music of Buckwheat Zydeco to welcome summer to the city.

It wasn't Raffi or Disney that Peter Himmelman was reaching for when he put his rock-and-roll career on momentary pause and sat down to write a children's record. He was thinking about the soulfulness of Shel Silverstein's poetry and the fanciful macabre of Roald Dahl tales. As the father of four children under 7, he'd heard enough purple songwriting to last a lifetime. "There is such a paucity of good stuff for human beings of low chronological age," says Himmelman, whose My Best Friend Is a Salamander (Baby Music Boom)