Music Style Experimental Psycho-Country

Musical Influences Johnny Cash, Silver Jews, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

Similar Artists Johnny Cash playing psycho-country

Artist History The Wagons recorded material is the brainchild of evil genius Henry Krips. Henry writes and records all Wagons songs in a vaccuum, singing and playing all instruments in front of the creeping glow of a computer monitor. Henry has been recording Wagons material since late 98. Due to extreme popular demand, a bombastic live show was forged. Wagons has been playing live with various line-ups at selected locations around Australia since mid 99. Only in March 2000 did Wagons cement its rock foundations with a band of fine players.

Group Members Recorded Material:Everything performed by Henry Krips Live Show: Henry "Wagons" Krips: rythm guitar and lead vocal Mark "Tuckerbag" Dawson: drums Richard Blaze: lead guitar Stevie "Harmony" Hassett: bass and backing vocals

Albums 1. Gunfighting Vol. 1, (tape EP, 1999) 2. Wretched Soul (CD, 2000 on Segway Records)

Press Reviews The following is a reproduction of a brief interview with Nigel Koop, gig promoter and organiser of a recent Wagons tour of Adeliade.*How long has Wagons been around? And why?Wagons has been through many developmental stages, beginning from a crazy idea for a fun studio side-project, through various live performances with ‘minimal’ band line-ups, culminating in the fully fledged four-piece outfit about to be unleashed onto Adelaide. Each of these stages could be seen as, without sounding too New Age, a “new beginning” for Wagons. The original conception for an “experimental country band” was conceived in late ‘98. I recorded a few songs on my 8-track throughout the first half of ‘99, which I ended up throwing onto a tape. I made a few copies and passed it around to a few friends. And so, the debut Wagons EP entitled Gunfighting Vol. 1 came into being. It was well received, so I dragged a few homeless vagrants out of the gutters of Melbourne to play a bit of drums, bass and guitar resulting in the Wagons live show, which was born in the middle of last year. We have not looked back since.The question of ‘why’ is far more difficult. I am, to this day, still unsure of why I chose to delve into the beast that is country music. It was not long ago that I, like so many others, hated country music. This communal hate interested me. Prior to Wagons I was accused of participating in only those musical projects which inspired such communal hate. The most prominent example of this is my active participation in the ‘free improvisation’ group Dworzec (we played in Adelaide earlier in the year). I enjoyed this hateful reputation and decided to take on country music. At least, this was one motivating factor. Upon further investigation, I found that there was legitimate value in certain types of country music. In particular, I was inspired by the music of Johnny Cash. In the course of my rigorous investigations, undertaken in my evil, sterile laboratory, I concluded that few other country artists had what it takes to inspire me.In order to make sure that the hate quotient remained high in Wagons, I decided to concoct a music which combines both ‘experimental sounds’ and country music. For Wagons today, the ultimate goal is not to produce an end result that inspires further communal hate. Rather, Wagons wishes to bring about happiness and healing out of a lethal potion. In the end, for Wagons, it’s all about love. This love is expressed in the Wagons CD Wretched Soul, released earlier this year.*Tell us about the Wagons live experience. Is the Wagons of the recordingsdifferent to the live shows?The Wagons live show is truly amazing. It is the bombastic onstage extravaganza of a lifetime. The recorded Wagons is produced by me sitting alone in front of my computer playing all of the instruments. Rather than being confined by the sounds produced by me in solitude, I have asked my band to bring their seasoned rock musicianship to the core of the Wagons live show. The live Wagons is not an ‘experimental country band’. Prepare yourself for an all rock, maybe even punk style, country music presentation. Though the sound and presentation of the Wagons live show is different to what is heard on the recordings, the same songs provide the solid underpinning to both live and recorded mediums. I shall run through the Wagons band one by one, in order to develop an intimate relationship between you and the personalities in the band:Mark ‘Tuckerbag’ Dawson: Mark has been part of the Wagons live show stable the longest. Mark and I, as a duo, rocked many audiences before the introduction of further musical guns. Mark is an extravagant drum stylist who is always keen to give the skins a good whack when needed. His is also capable of the subtlest of strokes in those more vulnerable moments. Tuckerbag is the best drummer in Melbourne.Richard Blazé: Richard is icy cold. His lead breaks will freeze you to death. Richard has a huge repertoire of lead guitar licks from the cheeziest of country to the pure power of rock n’ roll. Feel his strength. Blazé is the best guitarist in Melbourne.Steve ‘Harmony’ Hassett: Steve is the newest member of the Wagons band, bringing a fine sense of low-end in his bass playing and a velvet voice with his backing vocals. The shows in Adelaide will be Steve’s debut performances with Wagons. Be there to see the birth of a Wagons legend. Steve is the best bass player and backing vocalist in Melbourne.Henry Krips (me): Henry sings with a strong, yet subtle baritone which will win you over or your money back. His country rhythm guitar is unsurpassed in the industry today. In possession of the arsenal of stage moves he has been practicing in front of the mirror since the age of nine, Henry is the complete front-man. Henry is the best singer/songwriter in Melbourne. Henry is also one of the best bullshit artists in the world.*Country music begins and ends with whom?As alluded to above, my own take on country music begins with Johnny Cash. It is now time to take a startling look into the future……Country music will end with Wagons.*What movie scene would you love to have heard Wagons' music playing in thebackground?When the marshmallow man starts attacking the city in Ghostbusters.*Are there any new Wagons recordings in the works?New recordings are on the way. I hope to release another EP by the end of the year. I wish I could offer the listening public hope for a new direction for Wagons, whether it be a move towards hip-hop or paving the way for the use of jazz style crescendos in Bluegrass music, but alas, I intend to rehash the same old, already tired and depressing formula once again. Buy it and you will see. Exactly the same old shit.

Location Melbourne, Victoria - Australia

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).