Five years after he died of lung cancer, the spirit of Scott “Texas” Gann lives on. His accordion is still around too. When Mo’ Mojo Mama performs at the Barking Spider tonight, check out Jen Maurer’s squeezebox. It’s the very same one Gann played when he fronted the Akron-based zydeco group. “When Texas was alive, we were close to getting our sound, but it was never quite right,” says Maurer. “There was always something a little off, and he knew it. We’re just finally getting the sound he wanted.”
The quintet formed in 1995, playing bayou tunes by Cajun faves like Steve Riley, Chris Ardoin, and C.J. Chenier. Next year, the band has an Australian tour lined up. In the meantime, Maurer hosts a foot-stomping zydeco radio show every Wednesday on WAPS-FM 91.3. “There are times when I wonder, ‘What the hell am I playing zydeco in Cleveland and Akron for?’” laughs Maurer. “But it’d be kind of sad to stop, because this is the band that I want to be in.”
Fri., March 16, 10 p.m.
This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2007.