Blues Blast magazine says...

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...

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.

This could be it....

With Nina due any day now, this could be the last Malpaso Gang gig with the whole band. Friday November 18 at the Globe Inn in downtown Aberdeen. We kick off at 9:30 and go till we drop! It'll be old country and rockabilly, lots of originals. And the most fun you can have in Aberdeen on a Friday... It's also my last performance there for the year and what may be a very long time. So, it's a great chance to say goodbye and catch one of the final performances of this award winning band before the first phase passes into the history books!

Last solo gig in Aberdeen tonight...

Well, we're counting down pretty quickly. Tonight is my last solo gig in Aberdeen before I pack up and move. It's a solo gig opening for the Lyndon Anderson Band, one of my favorites. Lyndon is a great harp player and the band is rock solid. Like I said, a favorite.

The big leaving-blast is December 9th at the Moorings. It's a double header with the Malpaso Gang opening the show- both my bands on one bill, I don't think that's ever happened before!

So, sad to go, but a few parties along the way.....

The incredible shrinking trio

Yeah, its true, I did in fact play drums the other night.

I got a wild hair about it after watching Homer Henderson on youtube. Seemed like a great idea. And so "hmmm", I thought, "could you combine that idea with the Black Keys or the White Stripes and really strip it down?"

The answer is yes- with help from Mike Oxley on bass we played an hour or so as the worlds only 2-man trio. I rigged the drums up so I could play with my feet, play the guitar and sing. It was pretty primal and of course not as sophisticated as having a real drummer.

You do learn something doing a gig like that, and its something that a drummer or a guitar player alone don't always'get'- that's that a good groove is a mix of the right amount of each instrument in the right place. And in putting together the material for this gig we had to be really careful to find ways to use the instruments to make things rhythmically interesting where EACH instrument (including the vocals) is really a member of the rhythm section.

Oh, this was a great workout. I'm thinking of setting up an aerobics class like this; sing and play drums. Cool, huh?

But in the end it was fun enough that we'll do it again at the Moorings on December 9th. The Malpaso Gang will open the show. Mark your diaries- it's my last show in Aberdeen.

So, been busy lately...

But I did get time to finish my Coodercaster- it's a modified tele named after Ry Cooder who had a habit of dropping supro lap steel pickups into fender guitars. I'll post pictures...

I started with a cheap Squier Telecaster that I got from the Aberdeen Music forum. Cheap as chips, nice guitar. Cheap. And then dropped in a Supro pickup, complete with the big metal baseplate. Took an hour or so to wire it all up and adjust the intonation. 

Hows it sound? Really good, actually. Lap steel pickups pack a lot of punch, and they're a little darker sounding than a normal guitar pickup so it takes some of the high end off the guitar. It's a great sounding slide guitar, although the big baseplate is really ugly. So, close your eyes and don't look there.

Like I said, pics to follow....

British Blues Awards, 2011

OK, so the dust is settling in life, and the award is sinking in.

Thanks to all of you that took the time to organize the awards, and all of you that voted. It was a great event this year, and an impressive collection of talented artists from across the blues in Britain. As you can imaging, it's an honor just to be included in this group, but to have won this award for the second time is really great.

So, getting down to work the rest of the year, one or two remaining gigs on the diary and a few more being penciled in now that my shoulder is back in working order. Its seemed like forever since I've been able to play an acoustic guitar, but those days look to be over. And so, with this new band of mine we'll plan on a tour of England next year, and a run of gigs on the continent next year as well. In the meantime, it's off to Texas for a couple of weeks in October to hang with some old friends, do some playing and a little recording.

And, that my friends, is the news from here. Stay tuned, things are gonna start moving faster now...

 

 

Thanks to all!

Just saw the twitter comments from the Newark Blues Festival and the British Bues Awards. Thanks to all that voted! Its an honor to have won the Instrumentalist category again. More later when I calm down....

Carter 12 Pedal steel for sale. Sacred steel tuning. 1500£

24 strings later....

All day spent restringing a stringmaster. 24 strings on 3 necks. So it's C6 on teeter neck, A6 on the middle and the Don Helms E13 on the inner neck. The outer two are nothing new, but I'm hooked on the Don Helms tuning, all those Hank Williams tunes fall right into place. And the Miller Sisters song we play with the Malpaso Gang? Well, that works better as well. Can't wait to try this out at the next rehearsal.

And then it was over.

Yes folks, it's true. The Son Henry Band is done. Off. To something new.

It was a great run in Aberdeen, almost 6 years with some good local players. And years and years before that too. But I'm going to play a few solo gigs, play some steel guitar with the Malpaso Gang and work up something new, blues-ier than before.

Watch this space.

2011 British Blues Awards!

Hey- A big round of thanks to all of you that voted in the nomination process for the British Blues Awards! The list of nominees is now official, and thanks to you I'm on the list! And it's a great list of nominees this year, and an honor to be included on the list of such talented people. Thanks!

Voting now runs through July 31st. To vote for your favorites, you go to:

http://www.britishbluesawards.com

You'll find a complete list of all the nominees and a chance to vote on-line. You know we appreciate your taking a couple of minutes to vote!

New free downloads available!

Hey- as a small thank you for your support in the British Blues Awards this year, I've put three songs out on my website that you can download for free! They're great if you need some driving songs, or need music for radio- whatever! Enjoy.

 

You can find them here:

http://www.sonhenry.com/music.htm

 

Cheers!

 

Son

 

 

 

 

Just one last week-

to get yoyr nominations in

Always looking for another Magnatone Lap steel

Call me if you have one for sale!

Keighley Blues Club

Photos: Idris Richards


Well, it's settled. We can mix the acoustic and electric souls into one performance. Keighley approved.

Thanks to Paul Lester and Dino we held court at the Keighley Blues Club this weekend. What a great night, wonderful people and a fantastic room. Stuart did a great job with the live sound that opened the doors for us to really stretch out. If you missed it, well, shame on ya!

You can read more here:


Keighley Reviews

Thanks John and all the wonderful folks that made for such a memorable night! See you again soon-

Don't Forget! Still time for Brit Blues Award Nominations!

www.britishbluesawards.com is the link!

 

It's that time of year when we all get to nominate our favourite blues artists for theBritish Blues Awards. The process is easy and if you follow that link that's the first step. Consider this a shameless request for your support in the 'Other' instrument category- Lap Steel Players need all the help we can get!

 

Thanks!

 

Son

 

 

British Blues Award Nominations!

Hey gang- It's time once again for the British Blues Award nominations! There's a lot of very talented people around, so please be sure and get your vote in before March 31 so that it counts!

Here's what to do, start here:

www.britishbluesawards.com

Then go to the nominations tab. From there you can vote for your favorite artists.

As always, I'd appreciate your vote in the 'other instrument' category!

Thanks!

Best of the rest, again in 2011!

http://www.aberdeen-music.com/forums/fudgenet/63688-best-rest-2011-fudge-musi...

 

It's a win, for the second year in a row! Thanks to all of you that voted, the band won 'Best o the rest' in the Aberdeen Fudge Music Awards. We're stoked (which translates to psyched, chuffed, wowed, etc) Thanks to all of you that voted! 

MALPASO GANG WINS!!!!

http://themalpasogang.posterous.com/the-malpaso-gang-wins-best-indie-band-in-the

 

Wow. What a great night. Too bad about all the van problems and other misadventures  that kept me from getting there....

Son Henry with the T. Rogers Blues Band - Let Me Lay My Head Down

Son Henry with the T. Rogers Blues Band : Can't Be Satisfied

Son Henry with the T. Rogers Blues Band - Richer Than A Sheik

Selling off some of my old gear..

It's true. The things that don't gig are all going, and this is the last of it. Yeah, ok, I'm a packrat and I've been dragging this stuff around for years. It all needs a new home now. Follow the link, and apologies for the photos- great photographer I am not. But you'll get the idea.

details here: http://vintageguitarsuk.blogspot.com/

 

And don't be shy, give me a shout if you have questions about some of this stuff. Some of it you won't ever see in the UK again, so this might be your only chance to own some of this old stuff!

as tour of the 1959 Fender factory anyone?

Oh. My. Lord. 

Stringmaster around 4:45....

Ah, if this were normal, bands would be better-

 

Oh my lord, that's rock and roll right there-

Cafe Musa this saturday with the Malpaso's

 

Hey all-

Gonna be a great weekend! I'm gigging with the Malpaso Gang on Saturday night at Cafe Musa. The band starts around 8=9, and I'm going to start things off with a solo set. Yeah, I know I said that the gig I played at the Clubhouse was my last one ever. But this is different.

And stay tuned, the following weekend it's really back to work, with the Son Henry Band kicking off the new year at the Globe Inn (Friday the 28th) and the Moorings Bar (Saturday the 29th). 

 

More later. Pictures even....

A gig well played!

And there is the proof. Country music at a metal bar and they have Lone Star beer! Thanks Graham!

Now on Twitter too

Hey, you can also follow the drama on Twitter- look for me by name or 'son_henry'...

 

Moorings Bar tonight, live with the Malpaso Gang-

Hey! I really am back to work, tonight with the Malpaso Gang at the Moorings Bar in Aberdeen. It's the first gig of the year, with the Country/Americana that picked up a nomination in the Aberdeen 'Fudge' Music Awards. I'm playing the steel guitar tonight with a little lap steel thrown in for good measure. Show starts around 11 pm, and is a mix of iriginals and old covers. It's a great band, and some great original songs.

 

Next gig after this is the Globe Inn, with the Son Henry Band. Fingers crossed, see you soon.

 

lots to tell, but it's time to get back to work-

Yeah, it's my birthday tomorrow. And it's time to get back to work. Look for us to be on the road more in 2011, not playing locally as much. And, well, there is one great long story to tell!

Well, ok. Time to get back to work.

I'm back. The time off was great.

Here's where we're going. I've trimmed the size of my band back to a trio again. I've been writing songs that fit the trio format, but lean pretty heavily on the lap steel/pedal steel playing that I've been doing the last few weeks. No surprises there.