In the late 1970s a rock and roll band was founded in Lafayette, Louisiana by brothers Donnie & Steve Picou. The Cajun insult, “Bas Clas” which means “low class,” was chosen. The name story is a long one involving Watergate, Nixon’s resignation, a series of parties and a wonderful, somewhat remote house with a large swimming pool that Donnie was renting, the “Bas Clas Countryclub,” where the band was born.

The original Bas Clas  lineup included Baton Rouge natives Buddy Bowers (drums/vocals) and Pat Gremillion (guitar/vocals). The group debuted without a bassist in 1976 at a Chimes Street biker bar on the LSU campus. and, after being joined by Al Abshire on bass, as a full band at a concert on the LSU Parade Grounds. In subsequent weeks, the band began performing at the Brass Rail on Fridays, taking advantage of the crowd that gathered for the regular 25¢ bourbon special that ended a couple of hours before showtime. Needless to say, much of the Brass Rail audience was quite drunk, which meant they loved the band. Abshire left and Donnie moved to bass. Then Bas Clas released a 45 rpm single on their own label, Toe Up Records. The 2 sides, “Chasing a Mad Dog” and “All in Your Mind,” garnered enough airplay to generate a little more than $3 in radio royalties, but no retail sales due to the band’s lack of management.

In 1978, Bowers and Gremillion quit the group, which now included multi-instrumentalist, Gary Graeff, formerly of Po Boy Rufus and the Sostan Band ("Opelousas Sostan"). Bassist Geoff Thistlethwaite and drummer Ted Cobena joined Bas Clas and the group continued to forge ahead. In 1981, the band, now minus Graeff, produced and recorded another single on their new label, Serfdom Records. The two songs, “Serfin' USA” and “Physical World,” were better distributed. Press coverage in alternative music magazines and a “Recommended” listing in the music journal Billboard helped garner airplay on college radio in 27 states, ultimately resulting in sales of more than 1000 copies. Nevertheless, the band did not secure the much-desired recording agreement with a bigger label.

In the early 80s, legendary record producer, the late John Hammond, tipped by fellow Grammy-winning producer (and influential author) Samuel Charters, took an interest in Bas Clas. In a letter to the band, Hammond noted, “it takes quite a lot to impress me. Suffice to say, I’m impressed.” From that moment forward, the band knew that, no matter how bad things could be, the endorsement of John Hammond, the most influential producer in the history of music, meant Bas Clas was no flash in the pan. For nearly 2 years, Hammond, and his assistant Mikie Harris (producer of “The Boy From New York City”) shopped the band to major labels. There were no takers.

Plugging on, the band went through changes in drummers. Ted Cobena left and was replaced by New Orleans native John Boissiere. In 1985 the band released another 45rpm single with the songs “She Can’t Say No” and “La Ti Da” (a Cajun-tinged rocker) but in a limited run of only 500 copies.

During the mid-80s, Louisiana saw a major downturn in the oil industry and Bas Clas, along with tens of thousands of Louisiana residents, moved to Atlanta. While in Atlanta, heavy metal producer Tom Werman became an enthusiastic proponent and pitched the band to major labels. Again, no deals were secured. Boissiere left and North Carolina native David Baker contributed his solid rock style for the band for the remainder of its run .

Mega-promoter John Scher and his management head Rob Kos signed Bas Clas to a management agreement and helped produce a demo at Butch Trucks’ (of the Allman Brothers) now-defunct studio in Tallahassee with producer/musician Pete Solley. The demo was well-received and nearly secured the band a major publishing deal with EMI Music. But the deal got tied-up during a merger of EMI and SBK meaning the band got F-ed.

As 1991 rolled around, Bas Clas was struggling to survive. The band played SXSW at the legendary Liberty Lunch, and then played its first gig at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which proved to be the band’s last show. Bassist Geoff Thistlethwaite moved back to Opelousas and drummer David Baker began a career as a live sound engineer for several major artists. Steve moved to New Orleans and ended up working for the Louisiana Music Commission for the following 13 years.

In 2002 Bas Clas was asked to reunite at Grant Street Dancehall  for the annual Medicine Show benefit for the Dr. Tommy Comeaux Endowed Chair in Traditional Music at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. Re-joined by Ted Cobena and featuring special guests Dickie Landry on sax, Eric Adcock on B-3 and brother Mike Picou (the first time all 3 Picou brothers ever performed together), the band once again rocked Cajun country. This time, however, the Bas Clas also rocked around the world via the Internet stream of radio station KRVS, reaching fans who couldn’t attend.

In 2003 the band again reunited for one show at Grant Street Dancehall. There have been no gatherings since then. Members continue to work together on recordings, thanks to digital technology.

Currently, members of the Bas Clas are scattered around the South. Donnie Picou is in Atlanta, continues to write songs and is working for AmericasMart. Steve Picou is in New Orleans where he worked at the Louisiana Music Commission from 1992-2005, lost his home in the flood--and most of Bas Clas’ history-- embarked on a real estate career and now works for the LSU AgCenter doing outreach with an emphasis on hurricane-ready, energy efficiency/green re-building. Geoff Thistlethwaite lives in Opelousas and is working as a sound engineer. Ted Cobena is in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida and is an in-demand drummer and percussionist. David Baker is also in Atlanta, owns a recording studio and still hits the road as an audio engineer. And John Boissiere is in Atlanta raising his family and occasionally surprising us by posting Bas Clas clips on YouTube, as has Mike Stagg.

The band released a CD in 2008, Vol. 1 The Early Years features the band’s 3 45rpm singles plus more than a dozen early demos recorded between 1977-86 A live performance from Nov. 1, 2008 can be viewed via SyncLive.com.

More soon!