Covers? Country? No way!

By Frankie Leclair

lecl0148@algonquincollege.com

Don’t be fooled by the tight pants and cowboy boots. This is no country band.

And don’t expect to hear familiar tunes, they don’t do covers. But if you get their sound, you’re more than welcome to buy the John Henrys a drink.

They say their look is no way to judge the music they play. With a genre that is all their own, based on classic rock, a bit of country, a touch of soul and a sound born out of the ‘70s, the indie band is no stranger to the misconstrued notions of music critics and fans alike.

The self-described Canadian-Americana rock group performed at The Ob Oct. 29, playing hits off their latest album Sweet as the Grain, to a quaint and receptive crowd.

Bassist and Algonquin alumni Darryl Quinlan, along with his band mates, singer Rey Sabatin Jr., keyboardist Steve Tatone, drummer Geoff Ward and guitarist Doug Gouthro, have been shaping the sound of the John Henrys since 2003.

 “People are so quick to say ‘Oh they use pedal steel, and someone playing acoustic, they must be country.’ But they forget that The Cure ... have some pedal steel on some of their tracks,” said Sabatin.  “I guess they’re country too.”

“We were number one on the Canadian roots chart [on iTunes],” said Tatone. “Are we a roots band?”

Although they might be tricky to categorize, the John Henrys is a band that knows what it likes and what it can play. They bring their individual tastes home along with their musical skills. From the so-called raw style of Sabatin to the polished work of Gouthro, the band finds a way of mixing their works to create a unique synergy.

Together, Quinlan said the dirty combined with the polished makes their music sound good. And knowing what each band mate can contribute adds to the strength of the group’s bond.

“I had that fear of not finding a band that can play so easily the songs that I want to play,” said the graphic design grad.  “It’s sort of a comfortable aspect of knowing that I’ve got this great song that I can hear this individual in my band playing.”

After five years together, the John Henrys say they still have a long and steady road ahead, and as long as they don’t change a thing, they believe people will start to get it. They won’t change their style and they won’t become a cover band but on the rare occasion that they do throw in a cover, they say it remains within the realm of obscurity.

“We do our music and if we’re going to do a cover song we’re going to introduce them to a song that we really like that we don’t think they know,” said Sabatin.

When people in the audience know the song, the John Henrys know that at least that person gets their music.

“It’s good to do songs that sort of influence our sound and are sort of obscure so the person that knows it might get us just a bit more,” said Quinlan.