Larry Henderson's Bio
A Fan's Testimonial:
The casino night club has a good crowd tonight, maybe 400 people. There is no warm up band, so it’s been a long night for Blue Moon; two full sets stretched over three hours. The band is loose, though. Lisa’s vocals have soared to show all the emotional character she is so capable of when she opens up, and James’ lead guitar has filled the instrumental spaces like a celebration. His slide guitar work has been particularly on tonight. With bass guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, and drums, the band delivers a full sound that carries well out onto the casino floor. Even the nearby slot machine jockeys are craning their necks to see what the excitement is.
It sounds like a contradiction, but a band that isn’t tight can’t be that loose. The sound check has to be thorough; the reverb must be set just right for the room. Soloists have to know their cue, and know when to bring it back down to the band. The drums must keep time like a metronome, and if the bass isn’t in tune then the guitar and vocals will sound off. None of this happens by accident; it takes a great band leader.
When Lisa wavers just so slightly looking for a note, Larry’s backup vocals guide her. When James comes screaming down from another slide solo, Larry’s acoustic guitar has four steady bars ready for him to land on. At a glance from Larry, the drummer chills the beat so as not to drown the keyboard. Rhythm acoustic guitar and vocal harmony does not sound like a dazzling, exciting role in a band. But being a steady, charismatic band leader requires the most of a consumate professional. Larry delivers all that. Tonight, like kites in the sky, the band members reach for it all, secure enough to soar because they know that Larry anchors each of them.
Bio:
Larry Henderson is a native of California, and has lived almost his entire life in the San Francisco Bay area. Northern California is a melting pot of contemporary musical sound, and Larry has benefited from and been influenced by a wide range of musical styles.
His earliest musical influence was his father; to this day his dad’s acoustic guitar remains one of Larry’s most cherished possessions. Though Larry plays a wide range of instruments, including mandolin, bass guitar, and electric guitar, acoustic guitar and the country acoustic style remain his favorites.
Larry’s dad was an Arkansas native, and drew heavily on the musical influences common in rural Arkansas: country, blue grass, and southern gospel. Though self-taught, his dad went a long way as a performer, opening for Mel Tillis at a concert in 1977.
Larry’s musical genes come from both sides of the family. His mom is a cousin of Jimmy Driftwood; Jimmy is best known as the song writer behind The Battle of New Orleans and The Tennesee Stud.
Larry’s musical training started with the banjo when he was sixteen, and then guitar when he was eighteen. Determined to transform himself into a professional musician, Larry spent the next several years practicing twenty hours a week with each instrument. The hard work paid off: Larry earned his first paying gig at age twenty-two.
For a musician, practice and learning is a never-ending process. Larry studied for many years with Bay Area local favorite Dan Boyd. Though not well known outside the Bay Area, musicians know Dan well as an impressive guitar virtuoso who has mastered over 10,000 chords.
In recent years Larry has been a band leader for Blue Moon, the band backing the impressive young country vocalist Lisa Kolarich. Blue Moon has been a regular at clubs, coffee shops, and galleries in the East Bay area, growing with their success into larger venues like Black Oak Casino. Larry and Lisa toured on the East Coast in early 2005.
In late Spring 2005, Larry moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Thrilled to be living and performing in the heartland of country music, Larry is working on his song writing and putting together a new band. He divides his time between Nashville and the Motherlode area in California.
