The late Pat Gremillion and Donnie Picou at the Bas Clas Country Club in 1977,

I

Many years ago in a little town called Eunice, Louisiana there lived the Picou families. One Picou was named Skip. When Skip grew up and left home he became all that his mother had hoped he would not be. He moved from place to place and job to job, slept in the day and worked or partied at night, grew his hair long, dressed in tattered clothes and did all the many things that a young man feels most comfortable in doing. One sunny summer afternoon Skip was in Eunice at his mother’s house. On this particular day he was sitting in his mother’s den watching soap operas, smoking cigarettes with his feet propped up on the coffee table. He was wearing his most usual warm weather attire – a sleeveless blue work shirt, cut-off blue jeans (properly frayed at the legs, of course) – when his mother came back home from her bridge club. When she opened the door and saw Skip the first words out of her mouth were “Son, you are so bas clas”.  When Skip next saw his friend Mike Stagg and his cousin Donnie he told them the story. Everyone laughed and on that day the term bas clas entered the lexicon of all three friends.

II

Mike Stagg was living in New Orleans when he found himself in the possession of a very large roast beef that had been given to him by one of his loving aunts. “What can I do with this beef”, he thought. Then he had an idea. He called his friends Skip and Donnie Picou and Alan Moody and invited all to eat at his house. The beef was put into the oven but there was nothing else in the house to eat with the roast. Somehow the friends came up with potato chips, Velveeta and Ro-Tel and made the classic Ro-Tel cheese dip. The chips ran out but plenty of dip remained. When the beef was cooked and set upon the stovetop the four gathered round and began pulling pieces from the roast and eating. Soon they were dipping the meat into the cheese and marveling at the combination. As the four stood in the kitchen eating roast beef and cheese dip, Mike officially named the gathering a Bas Clas Party. Everyone laughed and on that day the first Bas Clas Party was held.

III

On very short notice Mike, Skip and Donnie had to move out of their house on the outskirts of Lafayette. With just weeks to find a new place to live, Skip and Donnie met with Steve Picou’s landlord to see if anything might be available. “As it so happens,” said Steve’s landlord, “someone just approached me about managing a property they are thinking of renting.” The place was in the Judice area off of Ridge Road. Skip and Donnie had hoped to live in town but decided with time being short they would have to at least take a look at the place. The landlord drove down Ridge Road and turned onto a bumpy gravel road and drove about a quarter of a mile. He then turned onto a dirt driveway in the middle of the rice fields and there was the house. The house itself looked like it was modeled after a double-wide trailer but made of plywood. The house had a front porch that ran the full length and in front of that was a swimming pool. Yes, the water was as green as any green you’ve ever seen but it was a swimming pool. Thirty-five feet long and fifteen feet wide and the deep end was about eight feet deep with a diving board and a sliding board. The owner wanted to get a tax write-off so the rent was only $150 a month. The only consultation between Skip and Donnie was a gleeful glance at one another and as one they told the landlord, “We’ll take it”. Everyone laughed and on that day the Bas Clas Country Club was found.

IV

It then came to pass that the swimming pool was cleaned and ready and the summer was approaching. It was decided that a Bas Clas Party was in order and a date in June was set. Mike Stagg came to realize that the date picked was the same date as the discovery of the Watergate break-in (June 17th).  All agreed that it would be good to celebrate the anniversary of the historic event. Mike then remembered that the resignation of Richard Nixon happened on August 8th. The next party would be held on that day. These dates perfectly framed the summer months and everyone agreed that future Bas Clas parties would be held on the Sundays closest to June 17th and August 9th. Everyone laughed and on that day Bas Clas Season was started.

V

Donnie Picou became a member of his first band at age 15. For years he was content to stay in the background and let others take the lead and stand out front. One morning he awoke and decided it was time for him to start his own band and take the lead. His brother Steve asked to join the band but Donnie was reluctant. He did not want to lead his brothers astray by following the path that he had chosen. Steve was persistent and finally Donnie agreed to let his little brother join the band. Donnie then called his friend Pat Gremillion in Baton Rouge and Pat said he would join and brought in Buddy Bowers to round out the group. Everyone gathered at the Bas Clas country club and began to jam and write and grow into a band. When it came time to come up with a name someone came up with “The Ridge Band” because the house was on Ridge Road. The name sucked but everyone agreed to use the name. There then came a time when everyone realized the obvious – the name did indeed suck. Donnie then thought, “Bas Clas would be a good band name. Surely no other band in the world would think of this one.” Donnie then sought the permission of the Bas Clas Committee. The committee consisted of the four attendees of the first Bas Clas Party – Mike Stagg, Alan Moody, Skip and Donnie Picou. The committee gave the matter due consideration and all agreed the band could use the name. Everyone laughed and on that day the band Bas Clas was named.