Joe Henry is tapped into the American past in unexpected ways. He lives in a roomy South Pasadena Craftsman designed for President Garfield's widow, and his preferred attire, a black suit and pointy boots, suggests that the 48-year-old singer and guitarist would have been at home playing in Elvis Presley's first band.
“I typically come to things late," Henry said. “I was too busy with Leadbelly when the Clash happened."
These days, the easygoing musician is venturing back to some of the most harrowing music in the American canon: The tormented country blues of Son House, Robert Johnson and Skip James. “To me, it's like reading Keats or Blake," he said during a recent interview in his basement studio. “It's about engaging in the idea of mortality. It takes God, sex, love and death and puts them all in the same room -- and grapples. It's not all answered, but it's all engaged."
“I typically come to things late," Henry said. “I was too busy with Leadbelly when the Clash happened."
These days, the easygoing musician is venturing back to some of the most harrowing music in the American canon: The tormented country blues of Son House, Robert Johnson and Skip James. “To me, it's like reading Keats or Blake," he said during a recent interview in his basement studio. “It's about engaging in the idea of mortality. It takes God, sex, love and death and puts them all in the same room -- and grapples. It's not all answered, but it's all engaged."
