Northampton Media on Henning Goes To The Movies

There's a very nice article at the website Northampton Media today about the album Henning Goes to the Movies and the CD Release Show last week.  Here's a blurb:

"The compositions that make up  the new record are often incisive and sometimes woozy recollections of films that are neither Big Budget Hollywood, nor Art-Theater Staples. Many are modest, slightly dark comedies from which Ohlenbusch managed to pull bits of pathos and alienation."

Read the whole thing and see the pictures here:  "Henning Goes To The Movies...and the Bookmill" by Dave Madeloni

U.K.'s Suspend Your Disbelief on Henning Goes To The Movies

U.K. film site Suspend Your Disbelief has a little piece about Henning Goes To The Movies today.

The gentle tunes often feature a strumming acoustic guitar and the lines remind you of events in the films. From the haunting Poltergeist: "Lightning flashes shadows on my bedroom wall...feels like the thunder is looking for me", to the lyrics of Amelie: "My apartment might seem real tragic. I'm sitting here scheming secretly, part of me dreaming this magic might find its way back to me."

Read the whole article here: Indie Songwriter Releases Album About Movies

New Video for "The Straight Story"

Photo by Dave Madeloni

Last night was the CD Release show for Henning Goes To The Movies.  The room at the Montague Bookmill was filled up with wonderful people who traveled into the wilds on a rainy night.

José Ayerve kicked off the evening with a lovely set of his songs.  The combination of his expressive voice and his crunchy electric guitar is so perfect.  I've been seeing him play for over 15 years.  He was amazing back then and he only keeps getting better.

I had an excellent time playing my set.  I went through every song on the album and I also debuted two new songs.  For one of the new songs, "What More Could You Want?", I played my big keyboard, I then stayed there for "Logan's Run", during which we turned off all the lights and handed out little colored ring flashlights to everyone to play with.

We kept the room dark for the next song ("Poltergeist") as well.  It was a sweet scene from my angle.  The room was dark, little colored lights flashed all around as we could hear the rain and the rushing river outside.

Throughout the evening I conducted a custom-made MadLib.  The audience was alert and enthusiastic about providing funny words.  Phew.  At the end of the night, I read the MadLib with my iphone playing Ken Maiuri's instrumental version of the Figments song "Up".

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the show.  It was a memorable night for me thanks to you.

The Valley Advocate on Henning Goes To The Movies

Gary Carra wrote a nice piece in The Valley Advocate about the upcoming CD Release Show.  Here's a blurb:

"Though the lion's share of his cinema-inspired CD was spawned by comedic titles including Joe Versus The Volcano, Superbad and Meatballs, the songs they ultimately yielded prove poignant exercises in melody, melancholy and mood-capturing.

Take, for example, Ohlenbusch's nod to the zany travel classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles. "There's a scene in that film where Steve Martin's character suddenly realizes that Del Griffith [played by John Candy] has been keeping his true, sad story hidden from him," he recalls. "When Martin looks for Del, he finds him alone in a cold train station, sitting with his trunk, on Thanksgiving. My song is about that very moment, sung from Martin's perspective."

 Read the whole thing here:  Nightcrawler: Reel talk: Favorite flicks inspire Ohlenbusch's latest labor of love

Chris Collingwood on Henning Goes To The Movies

Chris Collingwood had some nice things to say about Henning Goes to the Movies in a recent interview with Seattle's Sea Live Music.

It's a nice interview all around.  Here's the blurb about this album, though:

We once got a stern lesson about the differences between a theme album and a concept album during a phone interview with Stephin Merrit of the Magnetic Fields. Given the band’s strong foundation of narrative-driven songs, has Fountains of Wayne explored the idea of doing a concept album… or theme album if we’re being strict with definitions?

I’m curious about what Mr. Merritt said. I read once where he said that when he’s writing an album, the first thing he does is visualize the poster for the theatrical production. I don’t know if that’s a concept or a theme. My friend Henning Ohlenbusch just did an amazing record called “Henning Goes To The Movies,” where he wrote songs about nine different movies that he liked for one reason or another. It holds together incredibly well, maybe because the rules he set out for himself were so strict that it really feels like a single piece.

Read the full interview here:  Discussing Blessing, Curses, and everything in between with Chris Collingwood

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - Video by Biran Akey

Masslive on the CD Release Show

George Lenker of Masslive wrote a piece about the upcoming Henning Goes To The Movies Cd Release Concert at the Montague Bookmill:

"...the show itself will feature Henning performing and discussing the nine songs and movies from the album, as well as some other tunes from his repertoire. I've heard the CD and it's yet another stellar collection of smart songs from Herr Ohlenbusch.

Also on the bill will be José Ayerve of the bands Spouse and A Severe Joy who will perform a rare solo guitar-and-voice show. As a big fan of José as well, I will say that this is a great combination in a wonderful setting.

The Montague Bookmill is at 440 Greenfield Road."

Read the whole thing here: Movies, CDs and Books Fuel Upcoming Show - Masslive.com

The Valley Advocate on Henning Goes To The Movies

There's a nice little piece about Henning Goes To The Movies in the Falls Arts Preview of the Valley Advocate.  Here's a snippet of what Tom Sturm wrote:

"...The record is more a deep examination of the films' underlying themes and emotions than a straight-up Siskel & Ebert experience, and either way is a great peek into the melodic and instrumentally moody world of the prolific Ohlenbusch."

Read the whole thing here: Film School for the Dead - Valley Advocate

The Year My Voice Broke - A Video by Dennis Crommett

Henning Goes to the Movies - Promo by Jason Bourgeois

Henning Goes to the Movies- promo video from junglejasonjr on Vimeo.