Abbeville influences musician - Eric Adcock

Abbeville resident Eric Adcock has been rocking alongside Roddie Romero for over 20 years. A self taught New Orleans style piano player and blues, funk, and soul organ player; Eric funnels the inspiration he receives from living in Abbeville into his songwriting and performances.
Although he is originally from Lafayette, Eric Adcock claims Abbeville as home. “Abbeville is important to me. I’ve been here for twelve years. I pay taxes here. I believe in this town. It is a beautiful and enchanting place to live,” Eric reveals, “it has soul.”
Adcock is a 1992 St. Thomas More High graduate, and he holds a degree in psychology from UL. His passion is music, but he doesn’t feel as though he chose to be a musician. He explains, “I was always a musician. It is not omething that I chose, it chose me. My grandfather had a great piece of advice for me about vocation. He said, ‘Don’t ever confuse who you are with what you do.’ I grew up by that guidance. So I separate everything and music. Music is who I am; it is not what I do.”
Eric began playing the piano at the age of five, and continues to hone his natural talent. “To this day, it takes every bit of effort and hard work and inspiration I have to continue to get better on that instrument. It’s a real beast!” he says. Adcock also proficiently plays the Hammond B-3 Organ. He does dabble with the piano accordion from time to time, but claims to be an awful player.
In addition to playing the piano and organ, Eric is also an accomplished songwriter and producer. He cites many great Louisiana musicians and songwriters as his professional inspiration including Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, Clifton Chenier, and Bobby Charles. “One of the greatest songwriters in history was Bobby Charles Guidry who was from Abbeville. In fact, his sister lives around the corner from my house. I draw a lot of inspiration from him; he is definitely one of my songwriting muses. I feel a connection to him and his work. Living in the town where he was from makes choosing to reside here just that much cooler for me.”
By the age of 16, Eric was the house blues pianist for Poets in Lafayette. When he first met Roddie Romero, the accordion player was already touring internationally. In 1993, Adcock became a foundational member of Roddie’s band. Eric says the musical attraction between the two was instantly apparent, and Roddie Romero summarizes their relationship best in his quote, “…we are like rice and gravy.” Adcock divulges, “Roddie and I were both young musicians, digging on the same stuff. We were both playing professionally from a young age. He was already touring and I was playing with Clifton Chenier’s legendary guitarist, Lil’ Buck Senegal. It just made sense that we would hook up, because our tastes were very similar. We had a mutual respect for each other’s musicianship, which still continues today.”
With Eric as their pianist and principal songwriter, Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars ventured into creating their own identity. Over the next two decades, the band would tour internationally, with particularly meaningful performances in Canada. “We go up to Canada probably twice a year, which is interesting. Because of our Acadian ancestry and roots, the people up there really appreciate who we are. They are very aware of their Acadian brothers and sisters down here. It’s always very special to play up there. It’s amazing to see the love and support that Canadians have for Louisiana artists. They very much understand the common brotherhood of culture and language that we have between South Louisiana and Acadie.”
The most memorable venue for Eric was playing at the legendary Hollywood Bowl. “My favorite gig ever was the Hollywood Bowl, which is a beautiful amphitheater built by Lloyd Wright. It’s nestled right in the Hollywood Hills, and it was a surreal experience because so many greats have graced that stage - from Ella Fitzgerald to Jimmy Hendrix. Even the Beatles recorded an album there. What was so cool was that the crowd really had an appreciation for Louisiana music; thanks mainly to Clifton Chenier who toured the west coast extensively decades ago spreading our culture and music.”
Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars were nominated for a 2007 Grammy for their last album The La Louisianne Sessions. “It was a real treat to do something so grassroots and have it recognized on that level by your peers,” Eric comments.
The band’s second album, still unnamed, will be released during the first quarter of 2016. Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars teamed up with producer John Porter from England, who has produced many great musicians including BB King and Eric Clapton. “The majority of my songwriting inspiration comes from Louisiana and living in Abbeville. One of the songs of which I am most proud is called Gulf Stream, and it will be on this record. One hundred percent of my inspiration for that song came from Black’s Oyster Bar, the City of Abbeville, “Black” Bourque and his son Brian – the original owners of the legacy restaurant.”
“Playing piano, organ, and writing songs for Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars has been my life’s work, thus far. It is extremely rewarding. I’ve had the opportunity to travel all over the world with those guys. We take a lot of pride in representing where we’re from, when we travel. We try to bring South Louisiana – Vermilion Parish and Lafayette Parish – to people all over the world.”
Out of all the venues he has played – with Roddie Romero, but also with other musicians such as Lil Buck Sinegal and Zachary Richard – being able to play in his hometown remains closest to his heart. “We love to bring our culture to other people, but there is nothing quite as enjoyable as playing for your hometown folks. I had an opportunity to do so recently at Sounds on the Square, which is an incredible music series under the live oaks at Magdalen Square. It’s a very enchanting experience to play underneath those lit up live oaks for lots of good people from Abbeville and surrounding towns. I was very honored that they wanted to have me and my band play. It’s neat playing in your own town, just a few blocks from where you live and feeling the mutual exchange of pride between the bandstand and the audience.” Sounds on the Square is a free outdoor concert series that takes place at Magdalen Square in Historic Downtown Abbeville on Thursdays from 5:30-9:00 pm.
“I draw a lot of inspiration from being in Abbeville. It’s a soulful place with a lot of depth, history, charm, and magic. I do my best everyday to open my ears to it, to try and catch it. It is here – the history, the people, the music, the food. I can’t imagine living anywhere else, because this place is such a rich source of inspiration for me. Abbeville is such a significant part of American musical history because of Bobby Charles. It’s arguable that he invented rock and roll. He was definitely one of the founding architects with his songs, and Abbeville as the launch pad.”
When asked if he ever plans to retire from the industry, Adcock candidly remarks, “I don’t think musicians ever retire. It goes back to my grandfather’s concept, ‘Don’t confuse who you are with what you do.’ Artists and musicians can’t not be who they are; they are that until their light dims.”
Eric and his wife of 13 years, Jenn, reside in Abbeville with their dog, Atticus. Although his wife is not a musician, she is an avid music lover and unwavering supporter of Eric’s lifestyle. He cites his wife as being a source of encouragement, but also as having a better record collection than him – a factor that he jokes contributed to his decision to marry her. “I didn’t marry her just for her record collection, but it was a perk!” Adcock chuckles, “She is wonderful. Our love grows stronger every single day. She’s got a lot of soul.”