INTERVIEW: Mrs. Henry band members celebrate legacy of ‘Last Waltz’
Photo: Mrs. Henry, from San Diego, recently celebrated The Band’s famous concert The Last Waltz with their own live concert and recording. Photo courtesy of the band / Provided by KG Music Press with permission.
San Diego rock band Mrs. Henry have given fans of The Band a wonderful reason to celebrate. This past summer the group released a three-LP set of their own recording of The Last Waltz, inspired by the legendary concert from more than four decades ago.
The 1976 gig by The Band was held at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco and captured live on video by none other than director Martin Scorsese. The resulting footage, which found The Band jamming with the likes of Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Joni Mitchell, quickly entered legendary status.
Now Mrs. Henry are honoring that past with their new release from Blind Owl Records, dubbed Mrs. Henry Presents The Last Waltz. The recording captures the San Diego band at The Belly Up tavern, along with a wide variety of guests, including members of The Schizophonics, Sacri Monti and Louise XIV.
Mrs. Henry consists of Jody Bagley on keyboards and vocals, Dan Cervantes on guitar and vocals, Blake Dean on bass on vocals, and Chad Lee on drums. Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Cervantes about the new album. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Where did the idea come from to celebrate The Last Waltz?
The idea to celebrate The Last Waltz came from The Belly Up tavern. The talent buyer approached the band backstage right before we went on stage about doing the show; we immediately said yes. Felt like we had to do it, like it was something the band was suppose to do. Part of the story.
I’ve been a fan since my early 20s. It was Jeff McElroy, the bassist in Howlin Rain, who turned me on to The Last Waltz and subsequently The Band. I was at his house recording guitar, and he said something along the lines of, ‘Play it like Robbie Robertson.’ And I was completely unaware of the reference. We stopped immediately, pulled ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ up on YouTube, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
I remember my dad playing the film on Thanksgiving when I was a kid, but it just didn’t get click then. Once I started playing guitar as a teenager, I dove into all this music from Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and at some point those pillars of music cross paths with The Band.
From the original Last Waltz concert, ‘Helpless’ has got to be my favorite moment, and it sure was a highlight of the night we did it. That version of ‘Helpless’ is my go-to ‘Helpless’ when I wanna hear that song, more than the original CSNY [Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young] version. I remember when we were thinking about people to do Neil [Young]; Justin Rodriguez was the only person that came to mind. He knows this music deeper then I do. I first met Justin at a venue he booked Mrs. Henry at called the Tin Can, and he immediately got The Band connection. We hit it off, have been friends since, and now we play in a group together called Creature and the Woods.
How difficult was the performing of these songs?
It was as difficult as it sounded! Remembering 30+ songs and lyrics was very difficult. We were used to doing long shows, nights where we played every cover and original we knew, but this was different. We want to channel The Band as much as we could stylistically, almost a method acting approach to playing the music. Chad listened meticulously to Levon’s style over and over again as did Blake with Danko. I played pinched harmonics ala Robbie the entire evening and covered all Levon vocal duties while Jody had to learn two players’ parts with his two hands covering both Garth Hudson and Richard Manual.
How did you find all these guests to perform with you as well?
All these guests who performed were friends we had made playing music. Some we grew up with in San Diego, some we met along our journey in rock ‘n’ roll. Only a couple people we had never shared the stage with, and afterwards we stayed connected. This show brought a lot of people together,
Does San Diego have a strong music scene?
San Diego has the strongest I’ve ever been a part of. I lived in LA for six years and never encountered the level of passion and heart-spilling guts that this town has. I started a label called Blind Owl to bring bands together that were giving it their all night after night for the love and passion of music — incredible talent in San Diego. We hope this record sheds some light on it.
What’s the future for the band beyond this release?
The future of the band is moving forward into the future. Before we did this crazy night and recorded it, we had a full-length record already ready for release. Now that this one is out we want to move on and release that record finally and get the band on the road again. The live album took about two years to mix and master, and the documentary will be worked on up until the day it’s premiered most likely!
Like The Band said, ‘This living off of the road is getting pretty old.’ We can’t wait to get back on the road and play everywhere and anywhere we can — tell our stories and make more to tell.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Mrs. Henry Presents The Last Waltz is now available from Blind Owl Records. Click here for more information.
