Unsigned artist Paul Henshaw talks about Midlands gigs
He describes his work as ‘Shropshire-born folk punk’ and himself as ‘more than likely singing songs about love, life and hangovers’.
Paul Henshaw is a self-confessed gig junkie – and it shows in the number of acts he performs with.
He plays by himself, with friends and has three bands. There’s Nirvana tribute act IN VITRO, Paul and his wife Nikki then perform under the moniker Blacksmith Hill, while they are joined by the rest of the band for the full-throttle Paul Henshaw & The Simpletons.
It’s with the latter that Paul, from ‘a little place between Shrewsbury and Wem’, is releasing new record Fishing For Owls this weekend.
“It’s been a long time since I was truly inspired by music that I heard,” says the full-time musician who left his high-flying job at General Electric three years ago to follow his passion. “Sure, there’s been a lot of music I really liked but hearing something that knocked me on my backside? Probably not since the days of the early Weezer and Breeders albums. I can still listen to those albums and hear new things today.
“I’ve always thought the raw essence of music, the place where it’s most powerful, is standing right in front of the artist seeing them perform. Today’s music seems to have a very low tolerance to that, with hour upon hour and thousands of pounds spent on making a guitar sound absolutely pristine – guitars don’t sound like that.
“What I wanted to do is capture that energy of a band who had rolled up to a gig, set up and bashed out a load of great songs full of passion. A band who didn’t worry if the sound was absolutely perfect, a band who played each song like it was the last thing they would ever do.”
The recording process had a distinctly DIY feel to it, as Paul and his gang knuckled down to work in Shrewsbury on putting it together.
“I spoke to a few people about the recording and the sound I was after,” Paul recalls. “I wanted to track the whole thing live in a day and a good friend of mine and talented musician Gareth Rhys Jones, from Shrewsbury, got it straight away – even if he thought it was a mad idea.
“We needed a venue so we turned Ashley’s Bar in Shrewsbury into a recording studio for the day.”
So the final result, was this what Paul was after? Has it done the impossible and knocked him off his feet?
“Gareth has a brilliant way of working, easy going but disciplined, he got it totally right. He didn’t try and produce us, he captured the sound we made. It worked. What was captured is a band sounding exactly like they sound live, energetic, passionate, and real.”
Now that it’s on record, what can we expect on the new album?
“Fishing For Owls tells tales of home-town prima donnas, nights drinking Wild Turkey whiskey and losing your shoes, general fakery and bizarrely, never wanting to be a pirate. It’s honest, it’s raw and its real.”
It sounds like an eclectic mix for sure. And Paul hopes the cliché ‘keeping it real’ will be what springs to the minds of music fans when they put his hard work on to play. After all, he says, they ‘took on a massive thing’ with the recording.
“I’m not delusional enough to think I can change that, I’m just doing what I enjoy and if people like it, that’s great.”
So if people are inspired by what he does, what would he say to anybody who may wish to follow him in playing what they love full-time?
“Just be true to yourself,” he says. “Don’t follow the crowd because it makes you popular or does things for you. Then you are being false to yourself.
“I put songs out there and if people don’t like them then . . . I don’t care. Obviously I like it when people like my stuff, but if I sell no copies then I am still doing what I love.”
Fishing For Owls is released today. It’s available to buy at www.paulhenshaw.com or at all reputable download outlets. With new material to add to a long and varied back catalogue, he’s also lined up a host of shows for fans. These start tonight with an album launch party at Bridgnorth’s Bell and Talbot, followed by a second on Sunday at Ashley’s Bar in Shrewsbury where it was recorded.
The rest of May sees Paul and his various musical hats travelling all over the patch to play – including Market Drayton’s Rock and Bowl Festival on May 28.
He’s also looking forward to returning to Farmer Phil’s this year – the roots festival near Gatten Farm, Ratlinghope, Shrewsbury, from August 11 to 13.
“It’s really big for us, we love playing that festival,” adds Paul. “It’s nice to play our home festival in our genre. The folky fests are a bit too high brow for our shouty stuff, so it is these roots festivals we love to play.”
l The full list of Paul’s summer travels can also be found at www.paulhenshaw.com
