Healing Sixes

mp3 interview - please see link. - Ironcityrocks.com

In a nutshell: "Bluejay" rocks hard but always under control.

Fan finder: Vocalist-guitarist Doug Henthorn and guitarist Eric Saylors don't waver from a distinctive sound they've crafted since the first Healing Sixes album, 1998's "Maple." It's a commitment to resilient riffs and deep grooves that defines the band as Hoosier successors to Led Zeppelin and Soundgarden.

That's a keeper: Opening track "Bluejay on the Wrenhouse" details regrets and paranoia set to an unplugged arrangement built on mandolin and acoustic guitar. "Lord, help my mother," Henthorn sings. "Her son is so far gone." His parting advice: "Breathe in your youth, blow out the truth -- like candles on powder kegs."

Didn't see it coming: As a lyricist, Henthorn leaves room for interpretation on the deceptively straightforward "Superhot." Aside from a chorus of "Crazy or not, she's still superhot" and a memorable melody, the song is a persistent puzzle.

Selling points: Blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa contributes a guest solo to the song "Fine Time." (Bonamassa recently formed a band, Black Country Communion, with ex-Healing Sixes drummer Jason Bonham). After the gentle "Wrenhouse" and seven bruising guitar workouts, closing track "That's Alright" represents a breakthrough. Somewhere between pop ballad and power ballad, the piano-based song glistens with restless optimism. - Metromix.com

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Doug Henthorn from Healing Sixes tells us how Joe Bonamassa Came To Play On "Fine Time" from their brand new album "Blue Jay," which is being released next Tuesday. We now turn it over to Doug for the story:
I'd just returned from Malibu where Joe Bonamassa was recording his CD "Slow Gin". He and Kevin Shirley were looking to get me singing on that since "Tea for One" had been fairly well received on his "You and Me" release. It was all very gracious of them both, but I ended up singing the song that became the title track of that CD- "Slow Gin". It didn't make much sense for Joe to have someone else singing the title track- he's a very good and capable singer. I have to say in all honesty that they chose wisely. I was in a very dark headspace at that time and my performance on "Slow Gin" probably reflected a bit of that. So I came home a little down trodden and started working on ideas for the next Healing Sixes album.

"Fine Time" was the first idea that came together, and from the moment that idea fell into place and the lyric evolved into this age old blues theme of 'the girl done me wrong', I knew it would be a great platform for Joe to do his thing. I reached out to see if it was something he might be into and he fired right back with an 'absolutely'.

The band and I tracked the tune in less than a week and sent the beds out to Joe in California where he laid down these burning solos that lit the whole track up- he did a fabulous job.

The best thing about this song for us as a band was that it was done in such a furious and reckless way that when it was finished, it was like hearing it for the first time. Everything about it was off the cuff and without any thought of making it more commercial or palatable to the masses. It's a full five minutes of angst and emotion from everyone performing and it really helped us maintain that mindset for the rest of our CD "Bluejay". Cheers! - Antimusic.com

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Doug Henthorn from Healing Sixes tells us how Joe Bonamassa Came To Play On "Fine Time" from their brand new album "Blue Jay," which is being released next Tuesday. We now turn it over to Doug for the story:
I'd just returned from Malibu where Joe Bonamassa was recording his CD "Slow Gin". He and Kevin Shirley were looking to get me singing on that since "Tea for One" had been fairly well received on his "You and Me" release. It was all very gracious of them both, but I ended up singing the song that became the title track of that CD- "Slow Gin". It didn't make much sense for Joe to have someone else singing the title track- he's a very good and capable singer. I have to say in all honesty that they chose wisely. I was in a very dark headspace at that time and my performance on "Slow Gin" probably reflected a bit of that. So I came home a little down trodden and started working on ideas for the next Healing Sixes album.

"Fine Time" was the first idea that came together, and from the moment that idea fell into place and the lyric evolved into this age old blues theme of 'the girl done me wrong', I knew it would be a great platform for Joe to do his thing. I reached out to see if it was something he might be into and he fired right back with an 'absolutely'.

The band and I tracked the tune in less than a week and sent the beds out to Joe in California where he laid down these burning solos that lit the whole track up- he did a fabulous job.

The best thing about this song for us as a band was that it was done in such a furious and reckless way that when it was finished, it was like hearing it for the first time. Everything about it was off the cuff and without any thought of making it more commercial or palatable to the masses. It's a full five minutes of angst and emotion from everyone performing and it really helped us maintain that mindset for the rest of our CD "Bluejay". Cheers! - Antimusic.com

The season of Easter is already some time behind us but we continue to find interesting eggs in the sonic bushes for you this year. This time the find goes by the name Healing Sixes. I suppose to most still a noble unknown but that could change with the release of the band’s third album, ‘One Less Friend To Ignore’.
The band consists of Indiana, USA natives & was brought into existence around 1998. Since then 2 albums were created, ‘Maple’ & Enormosound’, in that order. And where previous records were a little more heavy, think Soundgarden, the latest effort is slightly more laidback, think Black Crowes. This basically means more straightforward song structures with the emphasis mainly on the chorus & heavenly guitar work. Oh, and Jason Bonham is their drummer…
Obviously releases like this don’t get yours truly foaming at the mouth full of suppressed anger & unspeakable carnally inflicted acts but they suit me just fine for some mindless lazing around the back porch. This record made my garden momentarily a more child friendly environment and that’s a feat, no two ways about it! - Rockreport.be

Healing Sixes is a band that is hard to pigeonhole. They are part rock band, part jam band, part retro and part modern. One can hear wide ranging influences from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Gov't Mule to Train. The one thing all of the songs on their latest effort, titled Bluejay, have in common is that they are all written and performed excellently. This is a damn good band that any music fan, and definitely any guitar fan, will cherish....... - Classic Rock Revisited

One of the most underrated and best bands too few have discovered, Indianapolis's Healing Sixes rock convincingly in an acoustic mode on the DVD 'Live At Harby's', which shows that even shorn away any extra production or electric guitars, this is truly one of America's finest present day bands.

Best known for having the latest version of Led Zeppelin's Jason Bonham on drums for 4 years in an earlier incarnation of the band, and for vocalist Doug Henthorn's stunning contribution to blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa's version of the Zeppelin classic "Tea For One", the performances put down in this intimate setting prove that the band can stand tall on their own, and need neither Bonham nor Bonamassa to produce exemplary music. As evidenced as they go through the majority of the songs from the band's latest studio offering, One Less Friend To Ignore' and selections from 2002's Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Joe Bonamassa) produced 'Enormosound'.

All the musicians compliment the other perfectly,and Doug Henthorn has to be considered one of the finest vocalists on the scene. Mixing the grittiness of Paul Rodgers with the soaring quality of Chris Cornell, with a portion of Robin Trower's late great James Dewar thrown in for good measure, he hearkens back to the finest bluesy wailers of the 70's, even in a more subdued setting such as this. Acoustically, the songs shine through, revealing the extremely impressive songwriting throughout. This would've been a natural for MTV's 'Unplugged' series when that was running, and if so, this set would've been ranked up with Aerosmith, Alice In Chains and Nirvana's as among the best offerings the show had to produce. Yes, folks, it's that good.

The interplay between the four, which besides Henthorn on vocals and guitar includes guitarist Eric Saylors, bassist Wade Parish and drummer Jeff Stone is remarkably intuitive. Recorded entirely on the night of May 23, 2008, this is the band as they really are, and although you're not going to see any instrumental gymnastics on display here, that's not what they're all about - a tight rock quartet who on this aren't too far removed from The Black Crowes, musically speaking with other 70's influences gleaned from Led Zeppelin, Jeff Buckley and even The Beatles popping up every now and then, they let their roots shine through without being imitators, creating their own sound in the process.

Although not a high budget production, the recording captures this performance wonderfully, the sound and video are crystal clear, and makes it seem as if the band is performing just for you in your living room or home theater. If you're looking for the standard, 100 cuts and pans per minute rock video, you won't find it here. But what you will find is extremely high quality musicianship and exceptional songwriting in a rootsy, bluesy rock vein. If that sounds like your brand of rock, this comes highly recommended. 9/10 - Nightwatchers House of Rock

...gritty guitar driven songs, catchy riffs and melodic ballads showcase
their songwriting ability, something lacking in most of today's
groups.
Led-zeppelin.com
- led-zeppelin.com

What after all makes healing sixes so appealing is the fact that they manage
to take off any kind of added or sometimes superfluous decoration and
instead just give us the pure song, which makes them a kind of
musical all-purpose weapon for almost every situation, also being able
to interest people in Rock music that originally felt no appeal to it... - the music observer

the group still manages to hold onto something that makes their music a
little bit different. It’s fresh and edgy...They are sure to be scooped up
by a larger record label in the future..
Toronto.com
- Toronto.com

..it has a more soulful and bluesy edge, bordering on a classic 70's
rock sound. Much of the modern sound must be attributed to vocalist Doug
Henthorn. He is a very strong vocalist and quite a discovery.
Melodicrock.com - Melodicrock.com

...Healing Sixes’ true roots, however, stretch to old-tie Mississippi blues. In
the guitars and lyrics of Eric Saylors and Henthorn, the influence is
modernized and electrified. Enormosound has all the markings of
professionalism, from Bonham’s involvement to production by Kevin
Shirley (Aerosmith), artwork by Storm Thorgerson (Pink Floyd) and
a bass cameo from Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel).
David Lindquist - Indianapolis Star - The Indianapolis Star

Even the addition of a guest vocalist works well on "Tea For One". Normally, I
hate hearing anyone else sing when I'm expecting the main artist to handle
the vocals, but Doug Henthorn's voice blends in seamlessly to those on
the rest of the album. He's not a copy of Joe, nor is he trying to duplicate
Robert Plant (who recorded this tune with Led Zeppelin back in 1976). He
simply brings what he has to the table and it's a smoky, savory dish
served up warm.
Joan Hunt- Blog Critics Magazine reviewing Joe Bonamassa’s CD ‘you
and me’ - Blog Critics Magazine