“Louisiana is the only place in the world you can knock on your heroes’ doors and they receive you with open arms. … Sometimes you can even start bands with them.”– C.C. Adcock
Fresh off a tour that took his swamp-pop supergroup Lil’ Band o’ Gold to the Australian outback, guitarist C.C. Adcock is the featured guest for Ponderosa Stomp Friday at the Louisiana State Museum from 5:30 to 8 p.m – this April 8th, 2010.
Adcock will be showcasing “The Promised Land,” a fascinating documentary film on the Lafayette band that has been called a “bayou version of the Traveling Wilburys.” The film has been shown at such prestigious venues as the SXSW, Cannes, Tribeca, Melbourne, and World Music Expo festivals. Lil’ Band o’ Gold also just released a companion soundtrack — its sophomore album and first new CD in a decade — on Australia’s Dust Devil Music label.
Delivering an up-close look at Louisiana’s diverse music cultures, “The Promised Land” follows Adcock through the swamps and prairies to profile each band member, starting with perennial Ponderosa Stomp favorite Warren Storm, the septuagenarian legend who was coaxed back behind the drum kit to anchor the all-star aggregation.
Rounding out the group is a roll call of Acadiana’s finest players, each a master in his own right: Grammy-winning songwriter and pianist David Egan; Cajun accordion virtuoso Steve Riley; saxophonists Dickie Landry and Pat Breaux; steel-guitar wizard Richard Comeaux; and bassist Dave Ranson. Also appearing are guitar ace Paul “Lil Buck” Sinegal, angel-voiced Tommy McClain of “Sweet Dreams” fame, and Monroe multi-instrumentalist Kenny Bill Stinson.
Lil’ Band o’ Gold’s members have been tapped to play with an astonishing array of music icons: Robert Plant, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bo Diddley, Philip Glass, the Talking Heads, Clifton Chenier, John Hiatt, Slim Harpo, Lazy Lester, Nick Lowe, BeauSoleil, and Eric Clapton, to name just a few. Come check out “The Promised Land” to learn why.
“For those who wonder how it is that so much great music seems to emanate like mist from the swamps of Louisiana, ‘The Promised Land’ provides a convincing, amusing and sometimes moving cinematic treatise on the subject,” says “Gettysburg” director Ron Maxwell. “Films about making music must, by definition, include performance. Watching the sometimes casual, sometimes intense creative process of these ragin’ Cajuns is nothing less than captivating. This is a film you don’t want to end. In fact, where’s their next gig? I’ll fly, I’ll drive, I’ll walk.”
“The Promised Land” was directed by Matthew Wilkinson and co-produced by C.C. Adcock and the late Tarka Cordell. Barney Cordell served as executive producer. The film features original music by Lil’ Band o’ Gold as well as songs from recently deceased Cajun songwriting legend Bobby Charles. The late Donald “Uncle D” Sinegal, the unforgettable 6-foot-7 MC for countless Acadiana bands, also appears in the movie.
