About Henning.
The Shorter Story:
Henning is a singer, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist, a producer, and a performer. He makes albums on his own and with his band Gentle Hen (previously known as School for the Dead).
He also records and performs in The Fawns, Sitting Next To Brian, Bourgeois Heroes, and Goldwater. He produced Mark Mulcahy's critically loved album "Dear, Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You"and Ray Mason's "The Shy Requester". He also scored the music for the documentary "Life on the V" about the 1980's independent music video channel from Boston V-66.
Past bands include Humbert, The Aloha Steamtrain, The Greenbergs, and The Gay Potatoes.
Henning has been a touring player with Winterpills, Spouse, Chris Collingwood, Polaris, and Mark Mulcahy.
He is also one half of Talks with Music which creates spoken word story recordings with custom made music.
The Longer Story
Henning grew up in Massachusetts as one of three sons of a mother from Denmark and a father from Germany. Earliest musical memories include impersonating Elvis Presley by singing Hound Dog on his friend's front steps, hearing The Lonesome Loser on the radio while playing with Lego, watching concerts by Victor Borge on PBS, memorizing the School House Rocks lessons, singing Forever In Blue Jeans while his brother played the old beat-up piano in the basement, taking piano lessons from an ancient woman in a stuffy apartment, and buying and playing a five dollar Stella guitar with three rusty strings until his fingers peeled.
In his Junior and High School years, Henning formed a band with friends called The Shrugs. Though they only played three live shows, they wrote and recorded multiple cassette albums on their borrowed four-track recorder or on two tape decks if the four-track was unavailable. Henning played the Korg Poly 800 keyboard in this band, two of his fellow band mates, Han and Gary Wang, continue to create music today, Han is in the San Francisco band Invisible Cities and Gary travels the world with his acoustic bass.
In his college years, Henning, dove head-first into the acoustic guitar and the world of songwriting. He played countless dorm-hours every day and night for years, eventually pursuing a degree in music and music recording. His focus was always on writing, arranging, and recording his own songs.
In the mid nineties, Henning, moved to musical songwriting mecca, Northampton, Massachusetts where he quickly became a bass player and maintained long term roles in Humbert and The Aloha Steamtrain. He traveled around the country performing and recorded multiple albums with these two bands and others. During this time he also continued to record his own solo projects and ran a long running weekly open mic night at the now legendary Baystate Hotel.
In the early 2000's, he put together a band for what was supposed to be a one-off performance of songs from his new solo album Henning's School for the Dead. The band was received so well that they continued to perform, eventually dropping off the name Henning and becoming simply School for the Dead.
Not long after this, Henning also began the band The Fawns with fellow School for the Dead members and singer songwriter Lesa Bezo. Both School for the Dead and The Fawns are actively touring and recording new material (though School for the Dead has changed its name to Gentle Hen).
Don't forget The Gay Potatoes, a short-lived country side project with Chris Collingwood (Fountains of Wayne), Lloyd Cole (and the Commotions), Philip Price (Winterpills), and Brian Marchese. Henning played bass for this band and also wrote a third of the songs.
Around this time, Henning also took part in the arranging of and performing of the Rosenbach Company by Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy. This illustrated, sung-through, pop-musical was performed multiple times to great critical acclaim in NYC, San Francisco, Boston, Northampton, Amherst, and for week run in Philadelphia at the Philly Fringe Fest.
During all this time, Henning produced and recorded many projects in his Rub Wrongways Recording Studio.
In September 2009, a School for the Dead cover of Mark Mulcahy's I Just Shot Myself In The Foot Again was released on a tribute album with tracks by such folks as Michael Stipe, Thom Yorke, Frank Black, and The National.
In 2011 Henning released "Henning Goes to the Movies" an album of songs about films.
In July 2012, Henning contributed a song to a Woody Guthrie Tribute Album called "Keep Hoping Machine Running". His track was "Little Black Train".
In August 2012, Henning joined the band Polaris for a reunion show for the television program "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" at the Orpheum in Los Angeles. Also performing with Polaris that evening were Rain Phoenix and Syd Straw. The band continued to tour all across the U.S. with Henning taking on the role of "Penny Polaris". He also performed on and produced a new cassingle for the band.
From 2012 to 2015, Henning toured as part of the Mark Mulcahy Band in the U.S. and U.K. in support of the latest Mark Mulcahy album of which Henning was a producer. They've played with special guest musicians including Chris Harford, J. Mascis, and Pat Sansone.
In 2013, Henning released a single of the song "Maybe I'm Not Meant To Do Anything After All". This song then became the subject of a series of five music videos created by Jason Mazzotta.
In 2014 Henning changed the name of his longtime band from School for the Dead to Gentle Hen.
In 2014 Henning introduced a new project with writer Derek Leif. Talks with Music create short spoken word pieces with custom music. Henning creates all the music while Derek writes and reads the stories. Their first release is titled "Tiny Tales for Busy People Volume 1".
In 2016 Henning released a new album by Gentle Hen called "The Bells on the Boats on the Bay". He also opened a show for Emo Phillips and was asked by the comedian if he would write a song about him. He did and it's now a downloadable single with a video in the works.
In 2017 Henning released Another Sleepless Nap a new solo record as well as Sneaking up on the Moon the second album by Gentle Hen.
Henning is a singer, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist, a producer, and a performer. He makes albums on his own and with his band Gentle Hen (previously known as School for the Dead).
He also records and performs in The Fawns, Sitting Next To Brian, Bourgeois Heroes, and Goldwater. He produced Mark Mulcahy's critically loved album "Dear, Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You"and Ray Mason's "The Shy Requester". He also scored the music for the documentary "Life on the V" about the 1980's independent music video channel from Boston V-66.
Past bands include Humbert, The Aloha Steamtrain, The Greenbergs, and The Gay Potatoes.
Henning has been a touring player with Winterpills, Spouse, Chris Collingwood, Polaris, and Mark Mulcahy.
He is also one half of Talks with Music which creates spoken word story recordings with custom made music.
The Longer Story
Henning grew up in Massachusetts as one of three sons of a mother from Denmark and a father from Germany. Earliest musical memories include impersonating Elvis Presley by singing Hound Dog on his friend's front steps, hearing The Lonesome Loser on the radio while playing with Lego, watching concerts by Victor Borge on PBS, memorizing the School House Rocks lessons, singing Forever In Blue Jeans while his brother played the old beat-up piano in the basement, taking piano lessons from an ancient woman in a stuffy apartment, and buying and playing a five dollar Stella guitar with three rusty strings until his fingers peeled.
In his Junior and High School years, Henning formed a band with friends called The Shrugs. Though they only played three live shows, they wrote and recorded multiple cassette albums on their borrowed four-track recorder or on two tape decks if the four-track was unavailable. Henning played the Korg Poly 800 keyboard in this band, two of his fellow band mates, Han and Gary Wang, continue to create music today, Han is in the San Francisco band Invisible Cities and Gary travels the world with his acoustic bass.
In his college years, Henning, dove head-first into the acoustic guitar and the world of songwriting. He played countless dorm-hours every day and night for years, eventually pursuing a degree in music and music recording. His focus was always on writing, arranging, and recording his own songs.
In the mid nineties, Henning, moved to musical songwriting mecca, Northampton, Massachusetts where he quickly became a bass player and maintained long term roles in Humbert and The Aloha Steamtrain. He traveled around the country performing and recorded multiple albums with these two bands and others. During this time he also continued to record his own solo projects and ran a long running weekly open mic night at the now legendary Baystate Hotel.
In the early 2000's, he put together a band for what was supposed to be a one-off performance of songs from his new solo album Henning's School for the Dead. The band was received so well that they continued to perform, eventually dropping off the name Henning and becoming simply School for the Dead.
Not long after this, Henning also began the band The Fawns with fellow School for the Dead members and singer songwriter Lesa Bezo. Both School for the Dead and The Fawns are actively touring and recording new material (though School for the Dead has changed its name to Gentle Hen).
Don't forget The Gay Potatoes, a short-lived country side project with Chris Collingwood (Fountains of Wayne), Lloyd Cole (and the Commotions), Philip Price (Winterpills), and Brian Marchese. Henning played bass for this band and also wrote a third of the songs.
Around this time, Henning also took part in the arranging of and performing of the Rosenbach Company by Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy. This illustrated, sung-through, pop-musical was performed multiple times to great critical acclaim in NYC, San Francisco, Boston, Northampton, Amherst, and for week run in Philadelphia at the Philly Fringe Fest.
During all this time, Henning produced and recorded many projects in his Rub Wrongways Recording Studio.
In September 2009, a School for the Dead cover of Mark Mulcahy's I Just Shot Myself In The Foot Again was released on a tribute album with tracks by such folks as Michael Stipe, Thom Yorke, Frank Black, and The National.
In 2011 Henning released "Henning Goes to the Movies" an album of songs about films.
In July 2012, Henning contributed a song to a Woody Guthrie Tribute Album called "Keep Hoping Machine Running". His track was "Little Black Train".
In August 2012, Henning joined the band Polaris for a reunion show for the television program "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" at the Orpheum in Los Angeles. Also performing with Polaris that evening were Rain Phoenix and Syd Straw. The band continued to tour all across the U.S. with Henning taking on the role of "Penny Polaris". He also performed on and produced a new cassingle for the band.
From 2012 to 2015, Henning toured as part of the Mark Mulcahy Band in the U.S. and U.K. in support of the latest Mark Mulcahy album of which Henning was a producer. They've played with special guest musicians including Chris Harford, J. Mascis, and Pat Sansone.
In 2013, Henning released a single of the song "Maybe I'm Not Meant To Do Anything After All". This song then became the subject of a series of five music videos created by Jason Mazzotta.
In 2014 Henning changed the name of his longtime band from School for the Dead to Gentle Hen.
In 2014 Henning introduced a new project with writer Derek Leif. Talks with Music create short spoken word pieces with custom music. Henning creates all the music while Derek writes and reads the stories. Their first release is titled "Tiny Tales for Busy People Volume 1".
In 2016 Henning released a new album by Gentle Hen called "The Bells on the Boats on the Bay". He also opened a show for Emo Phillips and was asked by the comedian if he would write a song about him. He did and it's now a downloadable single with a video in the works.
In 2017 Henning released Another Sleepless Nap a new solo record as well as Sneaking up on the Moon the second album by Gentle Hen.
