Within a few minutes of listening to J-Henry - particularly on songs like "Come On" and "Another Long Day" - you quickly realize he hails from Springsteen's and Mellancamp's small town America where blue collar values matter and people still dream of getting out while they're young. However, the obvious influence of these rock icons does not prevent him from forging his own musical identity.
J-Henry's working class roots made it a little surreal to sit down with him in a suite at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City a couple weeks ago when he opened up for Sheryl Crow. But, the gilded surroundings didn't seem to faze J-Henry. Despite his success, he came across as a genuinely nice guy and humble musician who holds a deep respect for the art form and those that came before him. Simply put, you can take the man out of the small town, but in J-Henry's case you can't take the small town out of the man.
Growing up in North Plainfield, New Jersey, in a tight nit family of five brothers, J-Henry was exposed to music at an early age. His grandfather was a musician who owned a music store and J-Henry had his first guitar by age 16, a 1962 SG. From there, the songs flowed. Although he and his brothers didn't form their own band, they did manage to wrangle a small recording board for their basement to allow for experimenting with recording songs at a young age. One of his brothers still serves as a songwriting partner.
Despite coming of age in the 80s and 90s, J-Henry was drawn to Americana rock like Skynryd and Bob Seger as well as various country artists. Country music remains an interest and he cites Shooter Jennings and The Wreckers as contemporary artists he's listening to now. His interest in Nashville is more than just that of fan and he's currently writing some songs for country artists. But, he's true to his first love and his sound fits right in with the resurgence of roots rock taking place the past year or so.
In those early days, J-Henry decided not to focus on learning other people's songs and focused in on his own. But, the road to bigger gigs and fancy hotel rooms was not a short one. He played more than his fair share of local bars over the years and really just started playing out regularly the last few. He worked in the family business while building up his live performance resume. He joked he has it to go back to if need be, but somehow I don't think he's going to have worry about that.
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