Thursday, July 18, 2013
By John Benson
SALEM
There are many signs of the apocalypse: disease, famine, earthquake.
As horrific as all of the above calamities are, perhaps there is nothing more dreaded than the combining of country and rap.
Hoedown-friendly hip-hop could conceivably mean the end is near, yet that’s exactly the genre The BreezeWay — Roy Henceroth (vocals, guitar), Jesse Henceroth (drums), Mike Bowlin (bass) and I.R. (vocals) — is hoping to use in order to corner the market. You should probably know that the quartet spent more than a decade living in the Music City.
“Originally we spent so much time down in Nashville that we learned a bunch of country,” said Jesse, a 2000 United Local Hanoverton High School graduate. “We did a lot of session work, too. And, sure, this could bring on the apocalypse.”
Actually, it’s large-scale success — not disaster — that the Salem rock act has in mind for its new album, “Gettin’ Up,” which was written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by the band. This should come as no secret, considering the Henceroth brothers have been working as producers for years. In fact, the new CD marks the band’s 11th studio effort.
“The new record is a lot like our last album, ‘Hype,’ which came out in 2010,” Jesse said. “I feel like we put a little bit more guitar work into this one and tried to keep some rock stuff, but still have the hip-hop element and a little bit of the country element. Right now, I know our band is a lot tighter. We’re a lot more stable. Before, we were always running through bass players and stuff.”
Among Jesse’s favorite new songs are the lead single “Say Hey,” the western country-sounding “Same Old Story” and the acoustic “Too Much Work.” When asked about the band’s style, Jesse said it’s a mixture of Rehab and Beastie Boys meets 3 Doors Down.
Even though the band is considered a local act, its resume is anything but weekend warrior-esque.
The group has toured Europe, Canada and the states, and has shared the stage with The Clarks, Sponge, Kip Winger, Marc Curry, Days of the New, Adema and more.
As far as performing cover songs, The BreezeWay will be playing plenty at its Saturday show at The Side Door in Salem.