Healing Sixes - Enormosound (2002)

Healing Sixes is: Doug Henthorn- Vocals, Guitar, Harp Jason Bonham - Drums Eric Saylors - Guitar & Slide Chaz Winzenread - Bass 'Enormosound' is produced by: Kevin Shirley for Caveman Productions Artwork was designed by: 'Storm' Thorgerson & Jon Crossland -------- Eric Saylors on how Healing Sixes came аbout: I'd done countless showcases and demos for labels and been coming up empty. I think the circle of musicians I'd been involved with since moving to Indy had finally run it's course. It was time to rely on no one but myself-no more worries of fitting in with a certain style or what was popular at the time. I just really focused on writing music that really made me feel good. Once I had some arrangements put together that I thought were pretty good, I ran into Doug at a little bar in Broadripple. I gave Doug a tape of some ideas and he called within a couple of days and we hooked up. He gave me a tape of some songs he had been working on and I was blown away. Doug's voice is amazing as well as his guitar playing. Doug had already worked with a drummer so we just needed to hook up with the right bass player. After several attempts we failed to hook up with anyone. We finally got a rehearsal booked with Chaz and it went great. We really hit it off well, and were ready to do some gigs. We played around Indy for a short while and we lucked into some gigs opening for the Jason Bonham Band. Doug Henthorn on getting involved with Jason Bonham: Yeah, we'd lined up a string of East coast dates opening for 'The Jason Bonham Band' in 99'. Soon enough, Jason was consistently showing up early to check out the show. We hit it off right away with Jason and before long we'd all end up out and about at the end of each night. One night, Jason, Eric, Chaz, and I were at an after hours club in St. Louis when the band there asked us if we wanted to sit in. So we got up as a three-piece band with me singing and did an impromptu version of 'Foxy Lady'. I think we all knew it was just the beginning. So Jason and I kept in contact after the tour and by Christmas he'd told me he wanted in. He flew over for another jam and it was undeniable. His groove combined with our thing was monstrous. We let our original drummer go, started writing more material and planned another tour. Jason Bonham on getting involved with Healing Sixes, the live shows and Led Zeppelin: Whenever Healing Sixes played with my old project I used to get there early and watch their set. I was like 'yeah- this is cool- I really like these guys'. Instantly, I fell in love with Doug's voice; it's fantastic. I've been so used to having shrill voices of high pitch placed in front of me, it's a nice difference to hear a bit more low end in there, a bit more gravel. So I'd had enough of 'The Jason Bonham Band' and I was ready for a change-to get away from the 'Zep set'- that had kind of gotten blown out of proportion- so I just gave them a ring and said 'any chance of us getting together and jamming or playing a few shows or something?' And that's how it all started really- it all just kind of evolved from there. The vibe I got straight away was that everyone was so hungry to play and that was it- we're all into playing. I suddenly thought 'oh yeah- I remember this, this is how it's supposed to be!' I remember really being into it and enjoying it and wanting so badly to get up and play instead of the old 'OK- well we've got a show tonight- can't we just have a day off instead?' you know? And it was just great to get with people that are great players and so into what they do. It's good fun. I think we definitely are one of those bands that the more you see us the better the band gets. We start experimenting with the music, which is the great thing about having great players. So we really enjoy going for it live and extending things, changing things around. I have to say it's good fun. It's great to be able to just sit back and play the drums and not have to worry about all the hoopla. I joined this band, it's not something I created to go 'come on guys let's do this' I've always enjoyed doing some of the Zep stuff and we have a bit of fun at rehearsals where we're more likely to do other people's songs, but when we come to the end of the day it's like 'no let's not do that- let's just stick with our own thing.' The stuff that Doug and the guys write is so good- I'm just proud to be a part of it. It's so nice to go on now and not think 'oh I wonder if they expect us to play a Zep song.' It's just nice to play our own material. Chaz Winzenread on Kevin Shirley and the recording of Enormosound: Doug knew Kevin Shirley. He'd been in a band that had a deal with Columbia. They recorded an album and promptly got shelved. It must have been an eye opening experience for him. Anyway, Kevin produced that record. He'd just had his success with Silverchair and I think they were one of his first projects since that release. Kevin and Doug became friends almost immediately, going out after sessions, drinking, talking music, checking out the local women. That kind of thing. When word about the band got back to Kevin, he called and invited us up to New York for a jam. We showed up and ran through about 20 songs at Avatar Studios in NYC while Kevin rolled tape. He loved it and we signed with his production company 'Caveman Productions'. When we had enough material put together for the record we did a couple of weeks of pre production with Kevin in Indy and headed back to New York to record the album at the Hit Factory. We had a great time working with Kevin. The night before we started recording we all went out to see Les Paul and just took it all in. It really set the tone for a great time at the Hit Factory. Being in this band allows me to express my feelings with a different kind of communication. The power of a song can reach people deeper than words alone. With Enormosound we will show the world that good rock bands still exist. Jason Bonham adds: Kevin's a great guy and a lot of fun to hang around. Never a dull moment with Kevin. There's always an interesting story to take you through a day and he's a hell of a producer. The drums have got that wet, fat bass drum sound that I really like. Now the album's done and I really dig it. We've got Storm Thorgerson's artwork on it. He did all the Pink Floyd covers and a lot of the artwork for Led Zeppelin, 10CC, Alan Parsons, Cranberries and Peter Gabriel. Doug Henthorn continues: We were all enjoying ourselves in New York and I think you can hear that in the recording. About half of the songs on the album were from the original Avatar sessions when we first met up with Kevin. There was a lot of energy in those tracks because we were all right off the road and ready to blow the doors off the studio. The rest of the tracks were recorded at The Hit Factory in NYC about 6 months later. By that time we'd had some pre production with Kevin and were all very sharp about what we wanted out of the songs and performance. The roughness of the first sessions combined with the precision of the last really made the album feel well rounded to us. In tracks like 'End of Conversation' and 'Wild Horses' I think you can hear that contrast. Overall, we attempted to make a 'timeless' album- from the music to the artwork by Storm Thorgerson, who has made some of the most timeless album covers of all time. We all want to be proud of this years from now, and I think that we've done that. -- The end--.