Son Henry

2025-09-24T15:25:00.001+01:00

Had the chance to play with Rochester legend Joe Beard at our Son House Blues night at the Record archive last month. What an honor to share the stage with Mr Beard. He's the real deal, check out his records!

Acoustic re-release

2022-05-25T15:10:00.002+01:00

Hey y'all! I'm taking a bunch of my older solo songs and re-releasing them on CD and streaming platforms! My buddy Eric has been on my case about not putting some of this material out there, and so here we go.

What material? Unreleased radio performances, solo studio work. All good stuff that hasn't generally seen the light of day. Away we go...

Long time quiet

2022-02-10T12:47:00.003+00:00

So, yeah. I haven't really been keeping up with this blog. Is there even an audience for these today? Or is everything devolved to instagram-facebook-twitter-etc? Let's find out.

First, let's get caught up. We packed up everything and left Texas to move north to Upstate NY. The weather is better, the overall situation is more relaxed and it's a good place for a roots musician to be based these days, strategically placed between Boston and Chicago and all points in between. I've got a great new band started which you'll be reading about in the coming months. I'm also finishing up an EP that should be released this summer with a few new songs I'm proud of.

So, good to reconnect! Good to be back. Lets see who read this now....

Somtimes you just say the right thing....

2022-02-10T12:26:00.000+00:00

Somewhere in the middle of a radio interview if you're not fast enough and you leave a gap the guitar player will tell you what's really going on. Bomb dropped...

Day 2: Showing up.

2019-04-02T16:17:00.003+01:00

Day one is easy. The second day is all about showing up. So far I've got 45 minutes of Mandolin and and hour on the guitar along with time to stretch. Moving to the steel guitar now to run some right-hand exercises and then we take a break.

Showing up ready to work. That's the key.

90 Days to Mastery

2019-04-01T15:03:00.002+01:00

I've read that it takes 30 days to make something a habit. What would you do if you had not one month but three that were all yours?

Today starts day 1, a 3-month chance to create some new habits and chase some long-standing goals.

Goal 1: 3 months of lessons and practice on the Pedal Steel. My first lesson is Wednesday, and is 3 hours long. Today I'm setting up the old Sho-Bud steel guitar and getting it read to start working again. Why that one? Because we're going to tackle that damn C6 neck I've been using as an arm rest.

Goal 2: Get my mandolin laying together once and for all. Scales and picking exercises all ready. My target is 30 min/day.

Goal 3: Get my fiddle playing better. Basically take those scales on the mandolin and translate them to the fiddle. Target is again, 30 min per day.

Goal 4: Get back to playing solo gigs. I'm getting a song a day ready. Lap steel, National, Guitar, whatever. One song per day, gig ready.

OK. Done typing for the day. Time to get Old Red set up and get to work. See y'all tomorrow.

2016-12-30T23:30:00.001+00:00

Something to look ahead into the new year. Jon Stork's new CD is getting released soon, might be a tour to follow. The old acoustic lap steel has been out nonstop, there are about five new songs brewing that need air time. An a recording? Hmmm, not sure yet. Watch this space!

All healed up...

2016-12-30T23:26:00.001+00:00

It only took four months. My arm is finally better. It only took four months of not playing much, skipping the coffee. Stretching. Not playing much at all.

In the end, the culprit was the fiddle. Or, a death grip on the fiddle. Learned to play with a lighter touch, and now I'm playing again. Just in time for the new year....

Bring it on, 2017! Let's go!

My life as a sideman

2016-02-28T19:52:00.001+00:00

So, we bring seven months of work to a conclusion as a side man for an up-and-coming Texas songwriter. It's been an interesting experience being part of the support structure for a good band but, in the end, it was time for the experience to draw to a close. I'll miss the guys in the band, miss the gigs that were a look into the real musical heart of Texas. But I learned a few things....

First, I remember just how much I love the sound of the steel guitar. Playing all the parts that pull a song together is one of the best spots on the stage. You can move couples closer together on the dance floor with the right melody lines, support a good singer and make them sound better. And there is nothing on this Earth that sounds as wonderful as a pedal steel. Nothing.

Second, I never would have even considered taking up the violin had it not been for this band. It's another sound that I've fallen in love with, and hopefully soon the sound in me head will match the sound coming out of the instrument. Sandy Mathers was right, it is the devil's instrument. It's not going to take a visit to the crossroads to master this thing, just time and the stress of getting parts ready to play on stage. No fear.

Third, I'm not cut out for sitting in the back.

Finally, would I do it again? In a heartbeat.

With luck I can still fill a spot with these guys in the future. Always good to make music with your friends...

Gigging again

2016-01-09T03:23:00.001+00:00

Been fighting some kind of a tendon problem in my left arm. Probably comes from trying too hard to learn how to play the fiddle. I'm pretty tough, determined and so with some stretching and a lighter schedule I'm healing up. Still practicing like a fiend, because I'm going to master that 4-stringed monster.

So, tomorrow night, playing with Cody Ray at the Lone Star Saloon, a real Texas roadhouse in Richmond by the train tracks. I'll be playing some guitar, mandolin, pedal and lap steel. If you're in the area, come on out and say hello.

Yeah, I may go back to running my own band someday. Right now I'm content to show up, plug in and wail. I'll let someone else deal with the crappy world of booking gigs and dealing with band members. It may or may not last, but for now it's great to just play. And play.

If by luck you're nearby, come one out- tequila's on me...

So, at long last....

2015-12-28T23:55:00.002+00:00

Lots of news to catch up on!

I'm back playing again. Finally. Not fronting my own band as of just yet. Right now I'm having too much fun playing steel guitar with a couple of Texas Country bands. Kinda nice to sit in the back and lay it on.

I'm also doubling on guitar (of course), mandolin, dobro and lap steel. That's really keeping it interesting- sometimes it's 3 different instruments in 3 different tunings on one song. Not for the faint-hearted.

Still, I miss being home, wandering the beach in the rain with the dogs. Texas is a pretty great place, but it's not Scotland. So, we'll see y'all there again soon...

In this next life

2015-12-28T23:01:00.001+00:00

I am actually learning the fiddle...

Coffee is required.

And we are live...

2013-07-01T18:43:00.003+01:00

Finally.

It's been a few months to get us there, but the record label is in business. The website is up. And we're working on our first formal release, after re-releasing some of the old Front Porch records back catalog.

Live is good. Busy too.

Check it out:

Small Fish Records

A New Record Label

2013-04-28T23:27:00.000+01:00

Well, it had to happen sometime.....

After years of watching from the sidelines, I'm starting my own record label. It's called Small Fish Records, and for now just looks after one very small fish. No physical media, electronic distribution through outlets like Itunes and Amazon only. Perhaps down the road we'll print vinyl and CDs, but for now the important thing is to get the music moving.

It's doing to take me a few more weeks to get the full website up and running- there's a lot to do. So, for know it's enough to be really back in the music business again.

New songs?

2013-02-16T13:53:00.001+00:00

Getting organized to teach the guys the new songs, new CD in the works for fall...

Time to pack...

2013-01-18T19:29:00.000+00:00

Ok! The weekend after next, two great shows at the Moorings Bar in Aberdeen. On Friday February 1st it's a reunion of the old Malpaso Gang- country all the way. And then the Son Henry Band gets back for one gig at the Moorings on Saturday February 2nd.

I can't wait to get home! Started packing today, and trying to decide how best to pack lap steels and guitars into a small suitcase that the airlines can't destroy.

More gigs to follow. I'll be back in the fall for a couple of weeks of gigs in September. In the meantime, get your pirate on at the Moorings with us...

Back in Business...

2013-01-05T14:27:00.001+00:00

In case you didn't see the schedule update, I've got three dates boooked the weekend of February 1st in the UK. I've got a couple more dates open and not afraid to drive, so if interested in talking about a gig please give me a shout!

See everyone soon-

Schedule update

2013-01-05T14:12:00.001+00:00

Ok, gang, here is the current schedule for February:

Friday, February 1st: The Malpaso Gang at the Moorings Bar, Aberdeen

Saturday, February 2nd: The Son Henry Band at the Moorings Bar.

Sunday, February 3rd: TBA

More to follow! See y'all soon.

Friday February 1st at the Moorings Bar, Aberdeen

2013-01-01T21:00:00.001+00:00

Wel folks, it's a one-shot deal this spring, a reunion for my old band at the Moorings in Aberdeen. We're part of a three-band billing, probably on about 10 (but check with the venue first, ok?).

Looking forward to getting back to Aberdeen and hanging with some old friends AND getting a chance to play a bit with Dino and Duncan. More gigs coming this summer now that I'm back in action so stay tuned!

Check the bar out here for the latest news: http://www.themooringsbar.co.uk/

News from the library

2012-09-23T22:09:00.002+01:00

Wow, what a great decision. Taking time to study, I mean. In the last week or so I've been going through Willie Brown's M&O Blues in painful detail. Painful. Detail.

Really, I should have done this years ago.

Someone recently hit me with 'but you'll be off everyone's radar screen!" So, what? I got started playing music years ago because I loved the music. Performing is secondary and I know I'll get back to it when the time is right. In the meantime I've got detail to mine in these old songs.

The fun part is translating the detail between guitars. Its great to be able to play this on an old resonator. It's even better knowing that I can take it to a gig on an electric guitar as well- potential band material down the line, or something to play along with my drum set. I like keeping my options open and knowing that the techniques, the nuances, all the detail and an even deeper level of understanding is adaptable as live moves forward.

Peace. Once more Willie Brown side and then it's off to Son House...

And so the Sabbatical begins

2012-09-16T18:32:00.001+01:00

Man, I've been at this or 30 or more years without a break. Gigging constantly, and very little time to work on my own playing like I did back when I was a puppy- you know, playing for hours at a time, working on technique, etc.

And so, after agonizing about this, I'm formally taking a sabbatical. Starting today. For a full year.

I'll keep you posted how I do, but I'm going to focus on two very simple things the pre-war blues catalog and my acoustic lap steel playing.

Why the pre-war catalog? Because it's neglected, its music that I love, and it's not often played well. Sure there are players at festivals playing the songs, but the energy, the detail isn't there. Time to see how close to right I can get it.

And then, the acoustic lap steel playing? Yeah, because the pre-war stuff adapts pretty well. So it overlaps.

Goal? Mastery. Mastery of instruments, mastery of a genre. In a year. Oh, and I'm keeping notes that might end up in a book someday, or in the trash, depending.

This means you won't see me much on Facebook, or Myspace or whatever. I'm focused, full stop.

Off we go, time to get started, the first mountain to climb is Robert Johnson's 'Terraplane Blues'. yeah,I've got the basics, but the nuances ain't there....

Time to re-engage...

2012-09-02T14:50:00.003+01:00

It's been a long few months I must admit, but dis-engaging from the world of social media has been good for me. Time to get back to it.

So, what did I learn?

Well, that I don't bounce anymore. After going too fast and riding a bike into the pavement, well, I've learned something that should have been obvious- it takes longer to heal up as you get older. So, my ribs are finally better, I can use that left hand again.

Lesson learned.

the view from my window

2012-08-04T15:04:00.003+01:00

Been an interesting few months. Things may start changing a bit over the next few months, if only by a little.

As you know I've been on a much-needed break for the last several months to look after some family issues. Still more to come, but at least I'm at a point where the guitar is back out and getting some play-time on a regular basis.

Almost as a form of therapy I got my studio set up (well, some of it at least) so I could work on some steel guitar tracks for the new Bob Hall cd. It was good therapy sitting in the middle of this pile of junk and boxes and getting some tracks into the computer. Bob's reviewing some of the roughs right now. So that's close to done.

Next step? Well, stay tuned. I did say the studio was working, and I've got some dobro tracks to record for another cd. And, from the comfort of this studio chair I'm working on setting up a podcast.....

Blues Blast magazine says...

2011-11-20T18:46:00.000+00:00

Steel guitars come in many forms – six string, eight string and ten-string – some with double necks, some with pedals and electronic gizmos (pedal steel guitars are the core of 20th century country music). There are some ace players around: Robert Randolph and Darrick Campbell of course; Aubrey Ghent and Sonny Treadway; the winner of this year’s Blues Foundation Award for the Instrumentalist (other) Sonny Rhodes; and the winner of last year’s British Blues Award also for Instrumentalist, Alaskan born Son Henry. All these musicians bring a special, and very welcome sound to the blues, for the instrument is capable of great subtlety and in skilful hands, much “Make-the-hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-stand-up” passion and emotionality.

Cool. People are paying attention!

And so it ends...

2011-11-20T16:23:00.001+00:00

Well, with Nina off on maternity leave and me packing to move it's the end of the first incarnation of the Malpaso Gang. We won a few awards and played some great gigs. But, beyond that, this band gave me a good reason to strap on a guitar and play. Play for the love of it, and not worry about other people expectations or demands. Play for the joy working out some new runs in a strange tuning. Rekindling my love of old country and rockabilly, and playing again.

Truth be told, with everything going on over the last year, this was a refuge for an old soul to eddy out and heal, shaking off the years of frustration of working with a parade of players that have no connection to their roots. It's been a thing of joy to go back to square one.

Once again everything fits. Time to start over.