Randy Carpenter has been a part of the community of drummers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana from an early age. In fact, he was in 5th grade when he received his first Ludwig snare drum. By the time he was in a high school, Randy had an entire drum set by getting a part of the drum kit each Christmas. Randy was soon awarded a music scholarship at Loyola University in New Orleans where he played Timpani. While LeRoux had always been an inspiration to Randy, his musical career began not with a rock group but with one of the cutting edge Christian acts that changed the way music transcended in
liturgical services.

 

The Dameans were a group of musicians who rose to prominence in the folk music era of the 1970s. They began as seminarians at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. Their music soon dominated contemporary Catholic liturgical music around the globe, and Randy was their drummer. While Christian music gave Randy a head start in playing professionally and in the studio, Randy quickly adapted to a different scene. He played several years with Swamp Pop King GiGi Shinn. He played on the last recording of New Orleans' famed trumpet player Al Hirt. From there the list of who Randy has performed with gets to be astounding: Waylon Jennings, Charlie McClain, Big Luther Kent, Charly McClain, and John Fred and the Playboy Band, just to name a few. Randy claims that it was his gig with John Fred, famous for his hit "Judy in Disguise" that helped Randy hone in his skills at recording. More recently, Randy has had a longstanding stint with Grammy award winning Cajun accordionist Jo-El Sonnier. Throughout his career, Randy has played on more than 75 recordings and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry on television. While so very accomplished and playing with some formidable acts, Randy says that playing with Louisiana's LeRoux is a dream come true.