HOME GROWN
Linzay Young and Joel Savoy, buddies since their pre-teens, team up on this Valcour Records Artist Series release of effortlessly laid back authentic Cajun tunes, packed with twin fiddle workouts sketching out dusty waltzes, starry heights, drained bottles and the historical pipe-tube re-imagined through the present-past. To hell with Pro-Tools and spending nine months in a studio mercilessly squeezing all the energy out of an album, Joel and Linzay knocked these 13 songs out in only one day of recording. They therein testify to the inherent magic and power of music, as well as the vibrancy of Cajun culture, when it isn’t hopelessly overly dependent on the whipping post of technology. Don’t drink plastic from a jar; instead buy this record at Johnson’s Boucaniere or online at Valcourrecords.com . — Dege Legg
FLOW WITH THE UNIVERSE
“Relax. Open your nostrils wide. Begin to take in pure beautiful oxygen through deep breaths. Follow my breath.” That is how Broussard native Penny Meaux Edwards begins to lead you on the path to healing energy. Known to her friends as Pennimo, Edwards has been studying yoga for 36 years. While she says she will never cease being a student of the universe, she has become a teacher, offering yoga classes and releasing an instructional meditation CD called Universal Flow. Edwards’ calming voice talks meditation devotees through a journey deep into a pristine rainforest on the wings of a butterfly. Says one of her students, Gerry Weaver, wife of late actor/ecologist Dennis Weaver, “She’s one of my favorite people of all my many lives.” Order the CD, $16.50 from her Web site, www.pennimo.com . — Mary Tutwiler
SWEET, PINK AND SALTY
Nothing says summer more than watermelon. Chef Holly Goetting at Charley G’s takes notice, featuring Louisiana’s Sugartown melons on the restaurant’s summer menu. She skewers blackened mahi mahi over a salad so simple and sensational it’s a wonder it hasn’t turned up more frequently around town. Watermelon and feta cheese salad combines a sweet juicy crunch of blazingly pink melon with the dense saltiness of feta cheese. Add a wipe of basil mint pesto to the plate and you’ve got a dinner item that is working in every direction. It’s a flavorful, beautiful plate that’s easy on the pocketbook, $16, and on the waistline as well. Check out the entire summer menu at www.charleygs.com , or call 981-0108 for more info. — MT