LOUISIANA LEGENDS LIL’ BAND O’ GOLD BRING SWAMP-POP TO NZ
Bayou rhythms, rockin’ accordions, heartbreaking voices and great southern storytelling: New Zealand will get a taste of Louisiana’s best musical recipe when swamp-pop supergroup Lil’ Band O’ Gold tours this September.
Lil’ Band O’ Gold was born in Lafayette, Louisiana in the late ‘90s when rising young guns C.C. Adcock andSteve Riley recruited legendary swamp-pop singer and drummer Warren Storm for a new venture. Once Storm joined the fold, the Lil’ Band O’ Gold ranks expanded to include a who’s-who of master Louisiana musicians that boasted more than a century of hard-earned blues, rock, R&B, Cajun, swamp pop and jazz chops. The band and its self-titled 2000 debut album earned rave reviews from The New York Times to the Austin Chronicle.
As the group’s eight musicians juggled solo careers and other musical commitments, sporadic Lil’ Band O’ Gold gigs kept the magic alive as members continued to write songs for the band’s second album. In 2006, Tarka Cordell (son of producer Denny Cordell) started filming a documentary on the band.
Meanwhile Robert Plant chose Lil’ Band O’ Gold to be his backing band for ‘It Keeps Rainin’,
a track for the album Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino. One legendary night,
Plant also joined the band onstage at Tipitina’s in New Orleans for a mini-set, including a bayou groove version of ‘Whole Lotta Love’…
Last year guitarist and founder C.C. Adcock hit rock radio in the US with his song ‘Bleed To Feed’, commissioned for the soundtrack of the HBO TV series True Blood, which is set in rural Louisiana. You might also have caught him in episode 10 of the first series onstage in Merlotte’s bar, where the character Sookie Stackhouse works.
A flurry of activity as the decade came to a close has yielded the album roots-music aficionados have been waiting for: The Promised Land. With 14 brand new tracks, the album also serves as a companion soundtrack for The Promised Land film documentary. The 90-minute movie on Lil’ Band O’ Gold debuted in 2009, screening at The Cannes Film Festival and SXSW ’09 Film Festival.
In addition to headlining at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Li’l Band o’ Gold made its Australian debut this March playing the Byron Bay Bluesfest and the Apollo Bay Music Festival..
LIL’ BAND O’ GOLD IS:
Warren Storm (drums, vocals);
C.C. Adcock (guitar, vocals);
Steve Riley (accordion, vocals);
David Egan (piano, vocals);
Dave Ranson (bass);
Pat Breaux (saxophone);
Dickie Landry (saxophone);
Richard Comeaux (pedal steel guitar).
LIL’ BAND O’ GOLD – INDIVIDUAL BIOGRAPHIES:
C.C. Adcock – Lafayette-born C.C. Adcock, a musician of meteoric talent, has packed a lot of living into his 35 years with long stints slinging guitar with Bo Diddley and Buckwheat Zydeco, two highly acclaimed solo records, two feature film scores, album productions and thousands of live shows worldwide. For many years C.C. has had a complete command of the influences of his region, bringing together old and young to nurture and further the true sounds of Acadiana. Considered a genius by many including legendary record producer Jack Nietzsche, C.C. has played and recorded with the best of them and is without doubt one of the Souths brightest rising stars. C.C. is the founding member of Lil’ Band O’ Gold.
Warren Storm – Born in Vermillion Parish, Louisiana in 1937, Warren Storm is considered the “Godfather of Swamp Pop”. At the age of 68, his voice is still second to none. Warren has been responsible for dozens of national and regional hit records since he first broke the US charts in 1958 with ‘The Prisoner Song’, selling 250,000 copies. Working at the legendary Jay Miller studios in Crowley, Louisiana, Warren was also hired as the “in house” drummer, playing on numerous Blues hits for the likes of Lightning Slim, Slim Harpo, Lonesome Sundown, Lazy Lester, Carol Fran and many others. Warren is indeed a living legend and holds places in the Louisiana Hall of Fame and Gulf Coast Hall of Fame. He sings and plays drums for Lil’ Band O’ Gold.
Steve Riley grew up in the prairie town of Mamou, Louisiana, where French is spoken on the street; the national holiday is Mardi Gras and a poor family is one without a fiddler or accordion player.
By the age of 12, Steve was considered an accordion prodigy and by 13 he had been snapped up by Cajun legend Dewy Balfa for his band. In 1991, Steve started his own band, Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys, who have recorded seven albums, won countless awards and been nominated for three Grammy Awards. Steve is widely considered one of the world’s premier accordion players. He sings and plays the accordion for Lil’ Band O’ Gold.
“Dickie” Landry plays his “own kind” of sax. When Dickie has to play he has to play and people such as Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, The Phillip Glass Ensemble, Laurie Anderson and The Talking Heads have reaped the rewards of his unique styling. He is also considered a pioneer of conceptual art and installations, having worked with Richard Serra, Gordon Matte-Clark and Rauschenberg in the early 60s. Born in Cecelia, Louisiana, Dickie is still revered there as the man who can do it all and fix any problem. At 68 years old he is rarely seen on any given night without his sax, wandering the Lafayette streets and sitting in with everyone. He plays saxophone for Lil’ Band O’ Gold.
David Egan is one of America’s premier song writers, having written songs for Percy Sledge, Joe Cocker, Etta James, Johnny Adams, Mavis Staples, Irma Thomas, Marcia Ball, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and many others. David now writes songs, plays piano and sings with Lil’ Band O’ Gold.
Pat Breaux has long been considered one of the greatest saxophonists forged from the South Louisiana Cajun honky-tonk scene. Pat has toured and performed with the likes of BeauSoleil, Red Beans & Rice and C.C. Adcock. He is the grandson of Cajun music pioneer Amade Breaux, who has been credited with writing Louisianas unofficial state anthem ‘Jolie Blon’.
Pat plays saxophone and accordion for Lil’ Band O’ Gold.
Richard Comeaux is flat out the best pedal-steel player in Louisiana and is currently signed to Capital Records with his band River Road. Richard plays pedal steel for Lil’ Band O’ Gold. “Comeaux’s pedal-steel playing, rarely heard in Louisiana acts these days outside of country bands, straddles those melodies like a graceful tightrope walker”, says the Austin American Statesman.
David Ranson has long been known as one of the top bass players in Louisiana.
For much for the past 25 years he has played with John Hiatt and Sonny Landreth. His home is a houseboat in the swamps.
The Promised Land CD available now through Rhythmethod
