Texas Blues Austin Singer Songwriter - Alex Henley

HAAM Benefit Day (9/21)

EPK — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:04:55 +0000

The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) is a great organization here in Austin that provides low-cost health care services to Austin’s musician community. As a part of HAAM myself, I wanted to be a part of giving back to a group that helps so much, so I volunteered to play on the HAAM Benefit Day which is Sept 21.

You can help too, and it’s SUPER EASY… All you have to do is shop at any of the dozens of stores that are donating a share of their profits for that day. (click here for a list) Also, you can come out to any of the locations that have live musicians performing, like me! You can see who is performing where HERE. (pdf)

I’ll be playing at the HAAM headquarters from 7-8pm (9/21). They will also have food and drinks! HAAM is located at 1206 W. 38th Street.

Also, there is an easy new way to donate to HAAM. When you text keyword AUSTIN to 85944 and reply “YES” it is a $10 donation to HAAM.

Thanks for helping to support a good cause. Please help us spread the word!

Final France Show

EPK — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:01:49 +0000

My last show in France for ’10 was Friday and it was very nice. It was in the plaza of the little village I’ve been staying in, Allevard. This is also where the bassist, Yaume and his family live.

The crowd was decent. As many as 200… but they were all sitting at the little cafe’s and shops around the plaza, not right up on the stage, so the photos (below) seem a little empty.

I also added a solo gig the night They seemed to genuinely like the show, calling for an encore, buying cd’s, etc…

So all in all it was a really great experience this year. It was really cool to play the festival and even get on the big stage for a few minutes. Met some really great people and grew some existing friendships.

I really want to thank some folks for making this a great 2 weeks:
Yaume Lannoy, his “wife” Celine Dumas and their boy Tom, Micha Paqier, Elie Guegain, Christian Fillet, Jean Louis Hugonnet, Blandine Vincent, Mayor Lucien Stanzione, and the band Dr. Feelgood. And thanks to my family for toughing it out at home while I’m away for 2 weeks.

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The Festival

EPK — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:55:58 +0000

Only 3 gigs in and I have sooo much to tell you about. (and it’s really hard on my iPhone)

So the first gig was really nice. We played at a ski station, off season of course so the crowd was small. Maybe 30 people? But the owner, Christian, is a blues lover (and damn fine guitar player) so he really enjoyed the night. So much so that he offered to put us all up for a week during the winter if we come and play again. That includes pay, food, skiing, etc…

The second show was for the fest in the southern France, but the night before the “real” festival. There were 4 bands, but we were the only band that would play both days. The organizer, Jean Louis, was kind enough to give us both days so we could make more money. However, that night was a little rough. We, the band, were a little cold with each other. The night before we were much more like a unit. This day we played more with our heads than our souls. The crowd seemed sufficiently pleased, be we were not. I worried well into the next day. I asked the guys if we could rehearse after sound check and they agreed it was a good idea.

Later, Yaume, Eli (a friend of Yaume who ran sound for us the first 3 days) and I ran errands. Eli (pronounced “Ellie”) gave me some great advise that lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.

So, our job for the big festival was to play the smaller stage in-between the bands on the slightly larger stage, which was really cool. We got to play 20-30 min sets then chill and watch the acts.

I must say with all humbleness, I think we really impressed the audience, organizers and other bands. When it came time for us to play each time, just about the entire crowd made their way to our stage. Estimated attendance somewhere around 2000 people!

Since you could hear our stage from the other side of the field, the headlining band (some Brits named Dr. Feelgood) Went out of their way to complement us. In fact, the bassist came to our stage and asked me if I would like to join them for their encore. Of course I did.

So before our final set, which ended the night, I dragged my gear about 150 yards to the big stage, threw it on stage when told to, and played my guitar with a big smile on my face. All of this was captured in HD video by the company hired to do so. I hope to have a copy when it’s ready, but I think it will be online too. Also, I took my little HD camera on the big stage with me to capture the moment. Haven’t seen it yet, but I’m sure it’s very shaky. =)

Oh, I just remembered another cool thing. The videographer hired to interview the musicians wanted to interview me too. At the end he asked if I would play a song on an acoustic guitar he had with him. I asked if he wanted something new or on the CD…? He said he wanted “this song”, and he began to play my song, So Excited. I couldn’t believe it – not only did he like my music, he was learning it! Crazy…

Below are the photos from that day:

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First Gig..

EPK — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:32:06 +0000

We’ve arrived at our first gig, and of course…. It’s at the too of a frigging mountain. But it’s beautiful! Below is a photo out the window behind the stage. (but we play at 9 – after dark)

I’ve arrived in France

EPK — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:01:51 +0000

I just arrived here in France less than 24 hours ago and we’ve already had our one and only rehearsal. Which we needed. (these guys hadn’t really boned up on the tunes) but we play our first gig tonight, which should also help us fine-tune our set. We leave in a couple of hours.

But this is the scene I woke up to outside my window this morning. This is the centre of the village, Allevard. More soon…

France Gigs – START THIS WEEK!!

EPK — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:42:25 +0000

The French gigs are booked and finalized… I leave Tuesday, Arrive Wednesday and our first gig is Thursday… So, including the Au Pre du Blues Fest, we have 5 gigs between July 22-30. Here they are:

Thu – 07-22-2010
les Karellis : outdoor show
Fri – 07-23-2010
Althens des Paluds : outdoor show
Sat – 07-24-2010
Althens des Paluds : Au Pre du Blues Fest
Wed – 07-28-2010
St-Julien en Vercors : Café Brochier
Fri – 07-30-2010
Allevard : outdoor show

I can’t wait to play music with Yaume and Micha…. This is going to be great!!

View Alex Henley, France Gigs – Summer 2010 in a larger map

Me w/ Alyse Black on Fox7

EPK — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:13:46 +0000

I played bass with Alyse Black this morning on on the local Fox station, along with great drummer (and Gary Oldman look-a-like) Bruce Logan. They cut us off toward the end of the song, but I think it went pretty well. Check it out here!

France Blues – 2010

EPK — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:08:35 +0000

View Alex Henley, France Gigs – Summer 2010 in a larger map

The French gigs are booked and finalized… including the Au Pre du Blues Fest, we have 5 gigs between July 22-30. Here they are:

Thu – 07-22-2010
les Karellis : outdoor show
Fri – 07-23-2010
Althens des Paluds : outdoor show
Sat – 07-24-2010
Althens des Paluds : Au Pre du Blues Fest
Wed – 07-28-2010
St-Julien en Vercors : Café Brochier
Fri – 07-30-2010
Allevard : outdoor show

I can’t wait to play music with Yaume and Micha…. This is going to be great!!

The Sound of Music?

EPK — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:48:51 +0000

If you’re reading this you probably already know that I’m playing in France this summer at the Blues Fest and some other gigs… but before that trip I get to travel to Vienna, Austria in mid-May. This one isn’t for music, though. One of the other hats I wear on occasion is “AV tech” for a meeting planning company. I used to work for this company full time, and sometimes they still need extra hands so they give me a call. It’s a really cool opportunity to travel the world, and I get to do it with people I really like and respect. This will be my 6th year (out of the last 7) to work on this particular meeting. The very first meeting I worked was May 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland. That’s where I met my buddy, Yaume.

I’ve never been to Austria before so I’m really excited! Last year this meeting was in Prague, Czech Rep. It was my first time there, too and it was so great that I partied ’til the wee hours on my last night and missed my flight home the next morning. It took me an extra day and about $300 more to get home… I won’t be doing that again.

I’ll post some photos here when I have them.

France Blues Fest in July

EPK — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:19:59 +0000

Yaume Lannoy and Alex Henley - Berlin Wall

**UPDATE**
After another change in drummers (sorry Eldridge) I have the opportunity to play with a drummer I respect very much, from France, Micha Paquier. He plays in the group la Jongle des Javas with Yaume. I’ve seen them play live in Grenoble, France and these guys are such a dynamic rhythm section.

Wow! I didn’t know if I could make it work, but thanks to perseverance and the help of friends, I am playing the Au Pre du Blues Fest in Althen des Paluds, France on July 24th 2010. I also have three other shows booked so far, thanks to Yaume’s hard work.

Micha Paquier

I was actually supposed to play this festival in ’09 but I had to cancel. I really didn’t know if I’d be able to make the arrangements this year, but luckily I have some help from my good friend Yaume who will also be playing bass with me.

I’ve played in France two other times with Nozoff; the first was in 2006 (Alps Blues Tour), and again in 2009 (Snow and Blues Tour) where we played a few clubs, but mostly ski stations in the French Alps.

If you’re in the neighborhood this summer, I hope you can swing by and see us !