Right on the heels of their last large scale concept, Mrs. Henry Presents The Last Waltz,
the band is back with a new 5-song record, honoring the legendary San
Diego Nightclub, The Casbah. Knowing it would be a very special night
the band captured their live performance on the club’s 30th
anniversary celebration. “The Casbah is a magic place,” explains
guitarist, Dan Cervantes. “You can feel the energy in the walls from
all the bands that have spilled their guts on stage. Melvins to The
White Stripes, Charles Bradley to The Alabama Shakes.” The album will
release January 24th, 2020—a year from the date it was recorded.
Mrs.
Henry has been described as “Nitro soul, cosmic rock n’ roll”.
Congregating a cult following, the band has earned an unrivaled
reputation atop their already well-established individual credits
(Howlin’ Rain, The Schizophonics, The Silent Comedy). Formed in 2012 the
band is comprised of Jody Bagley (keyboards, vocals), Dan Cervantes
(guitar, vocals), Blake Dean (bass, vocals), and Chad Lee (drums).
The
band is known for their live shows playing anywhere from a 40 minute
set to 3 hours plus. They can be an explosive tornado one moment to a
delicate whisper the next, while exploring the dynamics of everything in
between. They can mesmerize their audience and never give the same show
twice. Live at the Casbah perfectly captures their cosmic roots sound and creates a snapshot of the band doing what it does best.
Mrs. Henry has released 3 studio albums, (Otay, Mrs. Henry Vol. I, Mrs. Henry Vol. II), a live album (Mrs. Henry Presents The Last Waltz), making Live at the Casbah their second official live release and 5th album. The band also made a 40-minute documentary on the making of their re-creation of The Last Waltz,
which was shown at the Oceanside Film Festival. The band always lets
the night dictate what will happen during their live shows. Songs on
Live at the Casbah vary slightly from the original recordings, mostly
expanded for improvisation.
Kicking
it off with “All I Can Do”, the energy is there from the downbeat. The
song was originally recorded right after the band’s first tour together
in 2015. “The song is a juxtaposition of life altering events, near
death experiences and the helplessness in those moments,” Cervantes
notes. “We’ve been stuck in the middle of a raging flash flood on a
desert highway and have been stalked by a biker playing chicken on the
road at 3 a.m. Sometimes the circumstances around you are out of your
control and so you do your best and that’s about all you can do.”
“Peace”
is one of band’s favorite songs to play live. The song is actually a
part of a bigger piece that will be featured on their next studio
release called, Feel Free. The ending has the classic rock n’
roll boogie with the piano romping and classic chords to solo over.
“Lovin’ You Baby” is a cover of funk and soul artist Charles Bradley and
a song the band aims to play at every live show. Featuring Jody Bagley
on vocals with a voice that fills the room and a talent that is easily
recognized as he sings the first note.
On
“Where Are We Going” the band unleashes their inner Deep Purple with
the organ cranked, guitar and bass soaring and the drums pummeling away.
Side Note: This is a truncated version of the song, the whole epic can
be found as the entire closing side of Mrs. Henry Vol. II.
“The River was written and recorded after Mrs. Henry took on The Last Waltz
concert, taking a nod from The Band’s craft of song. “We worked on
each section spreading the vocal duties together with each member taking
the lead at times,” Cervantes notes. “It’s got all the flows, banks,
rapids and raging waterfalls of a river journey the band has been on.”
There’s
a continuous thread throughout Mrs. Henry’s music of brotherhood. The
ethos that life is much better lived as a tribe than alone. “I’d
describe our music as an experience,” voices Cervantes. “When we play
live we give an offering to who ever is in the audience and to each
other. This band came together with a sensation of happening and
purpose, no coincidence. All the music we make feels like it’s been
there waiting for us to make it. As our drummer, Chad Lee says, ‘It’s
already been written, we just need to do it.’”
For
Mrs. Henry that means a lot more music coming out, a new studio record
in the works and plenty more live shows on the horizon.