For over 45 years the native New Orleanian guitarist Camile Baudoin has laid down the groove and elevated audiences as lead guitarist for the epic New Orleans rock band The Radiators, defining that Crescent City sound known as “fishhead music” with his funk-driven rhythms, powerful slide work, and incendiary solos. His success is marked by a slew of accolades, including a Big Easy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement Award, and induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Baudoin first picked up a guitar when he was five. As a teen, Camile gigged from Bourbon Street to backroom dancehalls in bands like The Other Side and the Souls of the Slain, and, in the late 1970s, the Rhapsodizers. The Rhapsodizers morphed into the Radiators in 1978.
In 2011, when the Rads stepped back from their relentless touring, Camile stepped to center stage with his own semi-acoustic group, the Living Rumors, with which he put out “Old Bayou Blues,” a tribute to his Cajun heritage. His live shows now offer a danceable, fan-friendly mix of acoustic and rock energies, flavored with New Orleans funk and blues.
Baudoin’s latest release, “This Old House,” celebrates the New Orleans dance party that is a Camile Baudoin show: fresh sounds seasoned with old jukebox favorites, all delivered in the guitarist’s bluesy, impeccable style. Radiators band mates Frank Bua and Reggie Scanlan bring the rhythm, while pros like Sonny Landreth, John Fohl, and Josh Paxton bring the sparkle.
He gigs prolifically with a slew of New Orleans musicians (John Papa Gros, Papa Mali, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes), with the Minneapolis-based Butanes and Kung Fu Hippies, and as a member of several Rads spin-offs, including Raw Oyster Cult, Fishhead Stew, The Cosmic Fishheads, and The Gatorators.
Past side projects have included the acoustic blues band The Back Porch Rockers (with legendary bluesmen Dave “Snaker” Ray and Tony Glover), a stint in Zigaboo Modeliste’s Funk Revue, a founding member of the cutting-edge classical/street funk Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra, and the acoustic Bayou Brothers, with Radiators’ band mate Dave Malone (and on occasion the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir).
Camile has played with some of the most influential talents of modern American music: Professor Longhair, Earl King, Eddie Bo, Taj Mahal, Jaco Pastorius, Steve Cropper, Dr. John, Travis Tritt, David Bromberg, Warren Haynes, George Porter, Jr., Little Feat, Greg Allman, Derek Trucks, the Tower of Power Horns, the Memphis Horns, David Hidalgo, Jim Dickinson, John Popper (Blues Traveler), and Levon Helm; and with Hollywood favorites such as Dan Aykroyd, Bruce Willis, and Harry Shearer. He has appeared on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” served in the house band for the nationally-televised “Comic Relief,” and been featured in both seasons of HBO’s “Treme.”
