Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Heavy Head

Well, I've talked about Drew before on this here blog...and he is very photogenic so he has appeared in many live show post pictures but, since I decided to write about each band member individually, I think it's time Drew got his own post! I'm not sure how we found Drew? Or how he found us? I remember when I first moved to the barn a package came in the mail, like a kitten on our doorstep, containing a cd with sweetly sung pop songs and lush, super 8 short films. The menu alone was hypnotic enough to make you forget about all bad things in this world and dream about visions of gumballs while finding the beauty in disembodied hands...I guess this was my first introduction to the wonders of Drew Henkels!


Drew slowly became our friend and we have quickly watched him grow into an insanely talented musician, exponentially becoming better at song writing & crafting before our very eyes! His band, Drew & the Medicinal Pen, work out of Brooklyn and are constantly playing shows and recording new iterations of Drew's ideas. But music is only part of his undeniable talent...his visual art is absolutely amazing too! From his lulling films (still above) of train car riding and seashore parades to his scratchy psychedelic line drawings (which, currently, is the only t-shirt design Brent will wear- ahem- Drew, please make Brent a new one! I can't wash the one he has fast enough!) to an enormous radio sculpture (taking up the parts of his room that are not taken up by plywood, plywood that is for another Drew project) hailing from a performance piece he recently did called Fm in the Am which was a totally immersive musical environment (!!!featuring a live indoor nightmarish rain storm!!!), Drew just keeps making things bigger and better every day.


When it comes to Gravity, Drew plays just about everything- pump organ, neck pumpkin, bells, noise makers, guitar but the thing he usually amazes audiences with is the theramin! What a freaking hard thing to play! What a talented dude! I hope he remembers us when he is famous which, with his ballooning skill and pop sensibility, is bound to happen! Buy his album or perish....or just miss out on something truly awesome, your choice! Also, Drew, if you are reading this: I just realized that, after listing only a fraction of the stuff you do here, that you do an incredible amount of stuff?! You must be exhausted? You deserve a nap. (Insert lullaby here). Night Drew!