Meet Dikki Du Carrier

The Carrier family of Louisiana is as synonymous with Zydeco music as beads are with Mardi Gras. Troy Carrier, better known as Dikki Du, marks the third generation of the Carriers to keep the musical tradition alive.

“Zydeco is a family thing. If one plays, everyone plays,” says Carrier.

He picked up the washboard at nine years old, the drums at 13, and traveled the world professionally at 19. But Carrier’s life changed when we decided he wanted a band of his own.

“The big dream was to have your own Zydeco band,” he says. “Years ago I said, ‘Hell, I’m not gonna have a band, I don’t even know how to play accordion.’”

Carrier describes the experience of teaching himself how to play accordion.

“I just stayed in a room and played the accordion for a whole year. I just went away from music because I really wanted it, but it took a whole year to learn it.”

Although Carrier is open about the rigors that come with being a touring musician, he is quick to praise its benefits.

“You meet a lot of great people, and the music is happy music. People that hear it for the first time - they don’t know exactly how to pronounce Zydeco but they will not stop dancing.”

Yet it is the future that gets Carrier the most excited. Zydeco continues to grow as a music genre, including a short-lived category in the Grammys from 2008-2011 that Carrier’s brother Chubby won in 2011.

“That is amazing and what I’ve wanted to see - Zydeco and the Grammys,” says Carrier.

There’s also the memories of the legendary Offshore Lounge in St. Landry Parish, created by Carrier’s father Roy as a haven for Zydeco.

“We would do jam sessions every Thursday night,” says Carrier. “The guys that had dreams of wanting to play Zydeco would come there and study him. That’s where a lot of people got their start. Dad really did a lot for the music.”

In 1972, Dikki Du's father, 25-year-old Roy Carrier, gave up farming and took a job as an offshore oil worker. The job's work schedule was 7 days on the rig, followed by 7 days off, during which time he would practice and play shows with his band. Carrier had saved enough money while working the rigs that in 1980 he was able to buy a small local club in Lawtell, which he named The Offshore Lounge. The club became a place for local Zydeco musicians to meet each other, and practice their skills together in "jam sessions" on Thursdays, which became a regular feature of the club. During this era, Roy used his club to encourage the development of Zydeco music in the area, and was instrumental in the early careers of many later well-known Zydeco musicians.

Dikki Du honors his late father’s memory by holding a festival for him every year and has dedicated an album to him.

Dikki Du and his band play SoWal bars and festivals often, make sure to check the SoWal Events Calendar for upcoming shows.