Cullen Diebold

A Cajun Second Line

Mardi Gras is a statewide tradition in Louisiana, but sometimes towns or cities will have their
own local traditions. Sometimes it comes in the form of crazy clubs that chase bystanders with
sticks. Maybe it comes in the form of people running around town wearing masks, drinking, and
dancing. Houma’s tradition, however, is a group that puts a spin on New Orleans parading.
These guys are known as the Selucrey Sophistocats.

Almost everyone in Houma knows who they are. They have become a beloved local Mardi Gras
icon. Their white tuxedoes with colorful airbrushed designs all over them, their iconic ambulance
carrying a loud sound system, and the way they carry decorated umbrellas and second-line dance
to popular music down the streets in parades all make them recognizable from a mile away.

Parade goers have a good time catching beads and doubloons from float riders, but when they
look down the road and start to see the tops of umbrellas and stacks of speakers on top of a car,
it’s a sign the real party is on its way. As the dancers approach, people begin to dance along with
them. The men pull some people out of the crowd to dance with them, giving them a gift of roses
or beads in return.

Selucrey is an all-men’s second line club from Houma, Louisiana. Though second line clubs are
popular and plentiful in New Orleans, Selucrey is the only one in Houma. Following in the spirit
of New Orleans clubs, they focus on parading and having a good time. They also perform charity
work for their community, which one could possibly say is a nod to the charity aspect of the
social aid and pleasure clubs that gave birth to modern-day second line dancing.

Selucrey was founded in 1985 by a group of men who rode in Krewe of Hercules together.
Feeling that a whole day of partying was not enough, they came up with a clever way to keep the
part going for the rest of the season- form a marching group. This allowed them to be in more
parades.

Their name is Hercules spelled backwards, but with a “y” instead of an “h.” “’Selucreh’ didn’t
sound right. [Selucrey] was the closest we could get [to sounding normal],” says former vice
president “The Real” Matt Boudreaux. The name, as well as the fact it is an all-men’s group,
trace back to their Krewe of Hercules roots (Hercules is an all-men’s parade).

For Selucrey, Mardi Gras is obviously the biggest time of year. They participate in just about
every Mardi Gras parade in Houma. They seem to be very popular among parade organizers.
Whenever a parade gets rescheduled and has to roll behind another parade, both parades would
ask them to participate, but they’re only able to choose one. Selucrey also marches in parades
outside the Mardi Gras season, such as the Krewe Ga Rou Halloween Parade, the Houma Irish-
Italian Parade, and the Houma Christmas Parade.

To make themselves recognizable anywhere, they wear unique clothing- members wear white
tuxedo jackets with artwork airbrushed on them. They chose this look simply because they
wanted originality and wanted to start a unique Mardi Gras dress tradition, according to member
Scott McCubbin. Some members simply have the group’s logo drawn on the back. Others opt for
more complex jackets. These may include unique scenes with their favorite cartoon characters or
gold, purple, and green flames running up the backs and sleeves. Members will also usually wear
colored vests and black hats. They often usually carry feather-lined umbrellas, just like second
line dancers in New Orleans often have. These umbrellas match their tuxedos thanks to the
airbrushed designs on them. Some members also wear tiger tails to represent their mascot.
Members are called Sophistocats, after a cat mascot they came up with to represent their group.
In the past they even had a huge mascot head one member would wear.

Instead of throwing beads and trinkets, the Sophistocats opt to hand throws to parade goers
instead. To them, it’s just better than throwing stuff all over the place. People who dance along
with them are more likely to receive beads. Selucrey members sometimes dance with women in
the crowd and give them roses as a gift. They’ll even give stuffed animals of their mascot to
children.

Some members go by unique personas within the group, often basing them off of their
nicknames. General member Brandon “Bam Bam” Dryden, goes by the nickname Bam Bam
after the character from the Flintstones. He sometimes carries Bam Bam’s caveman club during
parades. “I enjoy the comradery with the brothers- cutting loose and having a good time,” he
says.

Possibly more of an icon than Selucrey’s clothing and handouts is their unique parade car- a
1966 Cadillac hearse/ambulance combination that has served them for more than 30 years.
Several members bought the car with money out of their own pockets shortly after Selucrey’s
founding. The car is covered in airbrushed artwork and is equipped with features that make it
ideal for parades. It has a generator, a roof rack with an extremely loud sound system for music,
a siren and emergency lights, and a trailer for members to carry beads and drinks on. This car has
become a Houma icon that everybody recognizes when they see it coming.

It doesn’t come without its problems, though. Given the car’s age, it is not uncommon for it to
break down, pushing them back in the parade or forcing them out of the parade altogether.
“We’ve pushed it off the parade route so many times,” says Dryden. “It runs a lot better, though,
now that we’ve rebuilt it.”

As the group grew, they purchased some support vehicles- a bus and a trailer equipped with a
port-a-let to serve as support vehicles in parades. The bus recently had to be retired due to it
costing too much money to maintain, so it was replaced by a second trailer. The custom-built
float-like trailers are just about as well-known as the ambulance.

Selucrey saves the ambulance for the Mardi Gras season, so for most non-Mardi Gras parades,
they load their sound system on one of the trailers and march without the ambulance.
Why did they pick an ambulance as their main vehicle, though? They had several reasons. The
first was size. “We’re a second line club. We didn’t need a big float,” said member Ryan Naquin.

Naquin also said the second reason was that vintage hearses and ambulances had mainstream
appeal in the mid-1980s thanks to Ghostbusters. The hearse/ambulance combination with the
lights and siren resembled the Ghostbuster’s famous car, the Ecto-1, making it a hit among
parade goers at the time it made its debut. Finally, it was fitting to choose a hearse-type vehicle
to go with the group’s theme. “Second lines originated from walking and dancing behind a
funeral procession, so the hearse kinda goes with that,” says Dryden.

Yes, second lines did in fact originate from burial ceremonies. According to New Orleans
Online, they trace their roots all the way back to Africa. African tribal people were dedicated to
making sure every tribe member who died received a proper burial ceremony. In these
ceremonies, everybody would put in resources to help with the process and serve as an early
version of burial insurance. Death was celebrated in these cultures- not because they were happy
someone was gone, but because the person’s life was something to celebrate.

The French Quarter’s website says that when slaves came to America, they brought their unique
burial traditions with them. In the mid-18th Century, American brass bands began to enter the
popular scene. African-Americans began incorporating the brass band into their burial
ceremonies. Traditionally, the band would play a slow, sad song on the way to the cemetery as
the mourners followed their beloved dead and laid him or her to rest. After the burial, the band
would start playing happy, upbeat jazz music as mourners, some carrying umbrellas, began
dancing their way back in celebration of the deceased person's life.

After the Civil War ended and slaves were freed, the tradition of people putting in resources for
burials morphed into an industry. People began to form clubs that would provide social aid as
well as insurance and burial services. To advertise their services, they would hold impromptu
parades in neighborhoods around the city, marching and dancing to jazz music the same way
they would on the way back from the cemetery.

Over time, larger and more mainstream social aid organizations became available to people.
These smaller clubs didn't have much of a purpose anymore, so their purpose shifted from being
social aid clubs to being fraternal clubs focused on parading and having a good time. They would
adopt unique names such as the Jolly Bunch, Sidewalk Steppers, or Money Wasters. The dark
clothing of the jazz funerals was replaced with colorful clothing. As a second line club would
parade by, anyone who passed by was allowed to step in and join the fun.

Today, second line clubs in New Orleans still host impromptu parades around neighborhoods.
These parades are not part of a holiday or any special event- people decide to hold them on
regular days and party around town. Dozens of them take place per year. Recently, however,
festivals have started organizing second lines to go kick things off. Every August, the Satchmo
Summerfest holds a large parade through the French Quarter. The popular French Quarter
festival always begins with a second line parade.
Despite evolving branching off into clubs, traditional jazz funerals are still around and very
popular today. As the casket leaves the church or funeral home and gets loaded into the hearse,
the brass band plays a sad song. As the hearse makes its way to the cemetery, the band begins
playing is famous upbeat jazz people as the mourners dancing and following. These parades are
often held to celebrate the lives of famous people in New Orleans. For example, a second line
was recently held for Saints founder Tom Benson.

The term "second line" refers to all the general participants in the parade. The first line includes
the band and parade hosts (these include the family of the deceased and the hearse in the case of
a funeral). Everyone following behind makes up the second line.

Selucrey doesn’t host impromptu, anyone-can-join parades like clubs do in New Orleans. They
are an organized club that requires membership. These things, however, don’t stop them from
bringing a good time to the streets of Houma. They like to do things their own way. The jazz
music is replaced with a wide range of music, particularly rock and pop songs, though they’ll
often throw some zydeco in there to bring a Cajun spin to second lines.

Any man 21 years old or older is welcome to become a Sophistocat. “We’re not an elite club.
Anyone can join as long as they’re in good standing with other members,” says Matt Boudreaux.
An existing member becomes the potential member’s sponsor and ensures that person is good to
join.

Given Selucrey’s crazy nature, one can expect that they’ll have crazy experiences while
parading. One Mardi Gras they held a contest for new members- whoever kissed the ugliest
woman was the winner. Dryden recounted that one member ran up to an old woman, hugged her
and gave her a huge kiss, only for her false teeth to fall out in his face.

People have mixed views about the Sophistocats. Some say they’re a bunch of crazy men who
drink too much. Others say they’re family friendly and bring a good time to any parade.

It is true that members get drunk during parades. However, this is typical of any Mardi Gras
parade participants. Members make it clear they’re not alcoholics. “We’re not alcoholics. We’re
just drunk,” says president Keith Adams. “Most of us are just social drinkers,” says Dryden.
“We’re not alcoholics who drink all the time. We have several members who don’t drink at all.”
They make sure to never do anything that could give them a bad reputation. Dryden says they’ve
never been kicked out of a parade for misbehaving.

Members also make it clear that Selucrey is a family-friendly group. Dryden says they host an
annual family day at the Evergreen Cajun center in Gray. Members and their families enjoy a
day full of fun-filled activities together.

Selucrey’s members are dedicated to helping their community in a variety of ways. They host
and attends a multitude of charity-related events throughout the year.

They attend Relay for Life of Terrebonne Parish as a charity team. Their method of raising
money? A wooden jail. For a donation of $10, anybody can request they “arrest” someone at the
event. The person gets hunted down and locked in the jail and cannot leave until somebody else
makes another $10 donation. Basically, it’s a fun way to mess with people.

Many of the members are friends with bikers. Selucrey works closely with Bikers Against Child
Abuse to help their friends raise funds to ensure every child is able to live in a safe home. A
handful of members are also United Stated Marine Corps veterans. Selucrey has held Marine
Corps League fundraisers in the past. They have also raised money for sick people to receive
medical treatment.

Boudreaux says other events they’ve hosted in the past include chili cook-offs, a telethon for
cerebral palsy, dart tournaments, and bowling tournaments.

They even try to give back during parades whenever possible. Randy Hawthorne is friends with a
few members, and he likes what they do for their community. “I’ve seen them dance with
developmentally disabled kids and adults,” he says. “I think they’re a great example of a service-
based charity organization with Louisiana flare.” Even if it’s just bringing a smile to someone’s
face, anything they do counts.

Selucrey’s appeal has recently spread statewide, as they sometimes get invited to march in
parades outside Houma. They have been marching in the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival
Parade for several years now. Even the members are unsure what led a parade in a town an hour
and a half away to invite them.

If Ponchatoula isn’t far enough, though, Selucrey brings the party to north Louisiana for the
Krewe of Centaur parade all the way up in Shreveport. “A friend of ours moved to Shreveport
and knew the people who put on that parade,” says Dryden. That friend was able to get them in,
and since then they have been making the long drive every second-to-last Saturday before Mardi
Gras for their annual appearance there. In the past they have also been in the Baton Rouge
Halloween Parade and the Thibodaux Firemen’s Fair parade. Dryden says they’re interested in
finding more out-of-town parades to do.

Overall, though, Houma is where they mainly give back and have fun. Whether it’s dancing in a
parade or hosting some kind of fundraiser tournament, Selucrey is always ready to use a good
time to help others.
Members dancing through downtown Ponchatoula in the Strawberry Festival parade

Selucrey’s famous ambulance.

Dancing down Park Avenue in a night parade.

Secondary sources:
http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturaltraditions/jazzfuneral.h
tml

http://www.frenchquarter.com/secondline/