Heat wave

Zydeco star Leeroy Thomas visits the Ranch

by Bob Gulla

Leeroy Thomas

We're pretty lucky here in New England to have a relatively active cajun-zydeco scene despite our distance from southwestern Louisiana. You can pretty much find two-steppers all along the coast of yankee country anxious for a chance to kick it and spin to the buttons and keys of accordion sound. There must be something about us hardy yanks that empathizes but good with the down-home bons temps of the Creole culture.

Well, the cajun-zydeco scene gets a little luckier this week with the rare appearance of up and coming zydeco star Leeroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners at Stepping Stone Ranch this Friday. The show, the first presented by Eric Fahey and EJ Productions, will also be the first winter show to take place indoors at the ranch. The steamy dance fest is sure to be the perfect curative for a frosty December eve.

Thomas, son of regional legend Leo Thomas (who drums for his son's band), played the Ranch this summer at the ill-fated Snap Bean Fest and was one of the weekend's hands-down highlights. He heads up an incredibly soulful band that combines the heady power of great zydeco, the deeply potent passion of blues, and the swing of jazz in creating one of those sublime sound experiences. Thomas's dad, an ex-rock and blues drummer, could quite possibly be zydeco's best-kept secret, keeping time and pushing the band the way John Bonham did with Led Zeppelin. (OK, maybe that's a stretch.) Put it this way, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section's got nothing on Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners.

"My dad wanted to play drums more," says Thomas from his new home in Houston, Texas, "and it took a long time for him to leave rock 'n' roll. But I keep saying that a lot of rock 'n' roll is zydeco and when you hear us you can figure that out."

Thomas, 34, began life as a drummer before picking up the accordion. "I love it now," he says, "but when I was smaller, they didn't have many young accordion players. I was actually ashamed to play it because the girls thought [the instrument] was for old men. I didn't care to mess with it. I didn't even want to speak French."

Right now, Thomas speaks the universal language, not to mention possessing a working knowledge of the bastardized French of real Creole. As a kid he'd been listening to guys like John Delafose and the Eunice Playboys, Willis Prudhomme, and Clifton Chenier. He grew up in Elton, Louisiana, population 2000, and until recently worked on one of the area's rice farms. At home, he and his brother -- thanks to dad's drumming influence -- would pound on five-gallon buckets so hard they'd break their drumsticks. "I believe we did make a racket back then," laughs Thomas.

Thomas played in a band called Bad Weather for a few years before busting out on his own eight months ago. Since that time he's risen like a pressurized cork freed from a bottle of bad champagne. "It's growing really good," Thomas admits, with a little hubris. "Since I put the band in my name, I've gone from driving a Lincoln to a brand new '99 Suburban -- all black -- with a matching trailer. And we've upgraded our equipment from little rundown stuff to the big equipment our sound needs. I'm looking at the future to be real good."

And so does the immediate future for fans of great sound. Thomas and company play the kind of music that should appeal not only to old-school dancers but to young blues and rock fans as well. If you ever thought an accordion-led band was for the gray-around-the-temples set, you ain't heard exhilaratingly soulful bands like Leeroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners.

The show starts at 8 p.m. To get to the Ranch, take 95 North or South, to exit 5A (Route 102 South). Go right at intersection with Route 3. Go one mile to right at Route 165, then five miles to right on Escoheag Hill Road. The Ranch is two miles on the right. Proceeds from the show -- tickets are $13 -- will help benefit the family of recently deceased zydeco giant Beau Jocque.

WANDERING EYE. Entrain consists of an adventurous bunch of locals that have it going on in the way of expando-world-jazz excursions. They don't make it out enough, but when they do -- they own the Met tonight (Thursday, 2) -- they rustle up a seriously good time. Recommended for musician-types and musical explorers alike. Also on Friday night (December 3), Herbal Nation brings their funk jams to Lupo's, opening for Maceo Parker. The band's been drawing increasingly larger crows, with recent shows in Boston and Vermont leaving folks sweaty and satisfied. If you're going to see the Luna show next Wednesday (December 8), and you should, get there early to hear the profound psychedelic folk of Wales' own Gorky's Zygotic Mynci.