We had the good fortune of connecting with Eric Hancock and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
Finding the right musicians/people to work with. When I was trying to make it as a musician in my younger days, you sometimes found yourself working with someone that may be talented, but hard to deal with in other ways.

I’ve been in bands that fell apart right when it was time to gig and contact record companies! After we put in all the time to write and record and “gel” as a band.

I’m not looking for a record deal now that I am older – now it is purely for the joy of music. With that in mind, you have to have not only good musicians and good people – you have to have the right chemistry. You have be able to work and play well with others! The guys in the band get along well – but we’re also mature enough to take constructive criticism and not let our ego’s get in the way. We like each other also, and that goes a long way.

Another thing about our band is that we work hard to be good at it – we rehearse every week, and we want to knock people out when they see us! We take pride in the music we make, but the audience is just as integral to a great show. We can feel it when they feel it, and that energy goes back and forth between Us and Them (Pink Floyd reference!)

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We play classic rock – Cool classic rock! We are not a tribute band, so we play a variety of songs that include Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Tom Petty, David Bowie, Dwight Yoakam, Paul Simon, ZZ Top, The Commodores, Chris Stapleton, Motown, Prince, Bill Withers and more.

What we hear from folks a lot is they like the songs we play. We don’t always play the big hits, but songs WE like from our favorite artists, and they like hearing those songs too.

The other thing we like to do is put our own spin on these songs – we put our own “flavor” into them and try to make them our own. Here are a few examples of songs we play a little different than the record:

Fly Like an Eagle
I shot the Sheriff
Superstition
Call me the Breeze
Let’s go Crazy
Rocketman
Smooth
Margaritaville
Easy (like Sunday morning)
Fast as You
Taking it to the Streets
Aint no sunshine

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Lola’s Depot – best dive bar of all time

La Carafe – oldest bar in Houston, and there is a ghost there also!

Caps Piano Bar

Eighteen Ten Ojeman – hippie bar with great live music

T-Bone Toms in Kemah – great food great live bands (we play there!)

Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar

Restaurants:
Jonathon’s the Rub
Spaghetti Western
Juarez Mexican Restaurant

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife Kaci! She is our biggest fan and supporter, and she encouraged me to do this after not having been in a band in over 10 years! In fact, she really didn’t know that I could play – I almost never picked up my guitar while we were dating and even 5 years into our marriage! it wouldn’t mean the same without her support.

My guitar teacher Glen Ackerman has helped immeasurably also. Check out his new album everywhere and on glenackerman.com

My mom and dad were my first supporters – they encouraged me to pursue my dreams when I was younger, and the come out and see the band play to this day!

Finally, Greg Sherman and I started the Reverb Cartel about 5 years ago, and he has weathered some personnel changes along with me. He’s steady as a rock. We have a great singer in Matthew Day and our bass player, Robbie Espinor might be the best musician in the band! The gee-tar player can hang.

Instagram: thereverbcartel

Facebook: The Reverb Cartel

Youtube: The Reverb Cartel

Image Credits
Eric Hancock Greg Sherman Robbie Espinor Matthew Day

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutHTX is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.