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STREET
BEAT: Regional Artist Profile…
by
Ernie Thomas
“My goal has always
been to be an ‘entertainer’,” he crowed after returning from an
Indianapolis performance at the Indiana State Fair, where his band
represented the Calumet Region in the “State
Finals” of the “2003
Colgate Country Showdown.”
“There’s a lot of
great music and great singers around, but there’s not a lot of great
entertainers in country music today,” he said.
Like his personal idol, Garth Brooks, Henrich has drawn his
inspiration not from country artists, but from theatrical rock ‘n’
roll acts like Kiss and Alice Cooper.
That strong rock
connection even bleeds over to the group’s name –– Jimmy Henrich & Western Haze –– a deliberate and seemingly
natural take off on the legendary Jimi Hendrix & Purple Haze.
It was Henrich’s
energized guitar-slinging and singing that ultimately won his group the
top spot in both preliminary “local rounds,” which allowed them to
go downstate to this past summer, where they finished in third place
overall.
The current Western
Haze line-up has been together less than a year and logged in only a
dozen of so public performances as a unit.
Guitarist P.J.
McLin of Merrillville has played off and on with Henrich for years
in past projects. Last summer, she became the first full time Western Haze
member, followed shortly after by keyboardist Allan
Evitt of Valparaiso. Drummer
Mark Price and bassist Curtis
Durham, respectively of Chesterton and Portage, have each been on
board less than three months. All
members, save for Price, provide back-up vocals.
“He may not sing,
but Mark’s a wiz with anything electrical,” laughed Henrich.
“From the lighting rig to the sound gear, Mark can make things
work. He runs our sound
from the stage at club shows.”
Henrich has been
surrounded by music his whole life.
“For as far back as I can remember, my mom was always playing
piano and my dad was always singing around the house,” he said. “I picked up piano from my mom when I was little.
One day, I found an old trumpet that she used to play and started
taking lessons on that too.”
Henrich has since
become quite prolific on both the piano and guitar, while teaching
himself to play bass and violin as well.
The performer spent
his four years at Elston High School in Michigan City, gigging in no
less than two bands. “I
played with older guys in a square dance band and at the same time, had
a ‘50s and ‘60s band,” he recalled.
“I was playing all the time.”
As a field medic in
the Army, Henrich often turned to music to take his mind off the horrors
of combat. When country
recording artist, Johnny
Rodriguez, came overseas to play for the troops and needed a rhythm
guitarist, Henrich volunteered.
“That was a great
experience,” Henrich said of performing nearly a dozen dates with the
country star. Pumped up
from the experience, Henrich spent the duration of his military career
playing with the country/rock group, Justin
Ray & The Sierra Band.
“We opened for a lot of major stars that would play near the
base,” he said.
Over
the years, Henrich has had the opportunity to share a stage with such
major acts as -- Charlie Daniels, Alan Jackson, Asleep At The Wheel,
Alabama, Lone Star, Sara Evans and Ricochet. He has also released two full length CDs –– Country Gamblers and Through
The Haze –– with a third one forthcoming.
A typical Western Haze
show may include a few traditional Hank
Williams Sr. standards, but for the most part it’s chock full of
upbeat modern country covers and some old-time rock ‘n’ roll
classics. Henrich
said that he also slips in a few of the 25-plus original tunes he has
written and recorded to date.
For more band information and dates, log on to: www.westernhaze.I.U.M.A.com
Catch Jimmy Henrich & Western
Haze @ Cronies in Kouts, IN on October 10 .
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Jimmy
Henrich
“The
level of energy you have on stage is important if you want people to
have a great time and remember you,” he said.