The gospel according to Old Henri P
The commander in chief talks about The Men They Couldn’t Shave

He has been observing The Men They Couldn’t Shave from a distance for years. Now, Mr. Old Henri P has decided to join the band.

He has allowed a journalist into his shack for the second time in his lifetime. But he has done so only because it gives him a chance to talk about his favorite topic of all topics – music.

His gray hair is a contrast to the black clothes he’s always wearing, and while we feel our way through the fog of cigarette smoke we can hear – of course – country music.  

There he is, a cup filled with some kind of liquid in front of him – the content is thick as oil and dark as a dungeon. Old Henri P has made coffee. Our nightmare has become real as he is handing us a cup and urging us to taste it. There’s no turning back – and no more sleep this week…

What is your definition of great music?

Well, I stick with country music and 20 years ago my answer would be Willie Nelson. But I’m too old to have heroes, so now I’m looking for what the singer of a song is trying to tell me – what is the message the singer wants to pass through to me.

So content or the message is the essence?

Definetly. A song needs content and there’s got to be something in the song that the listener can relate to. There’s got to be more than a flat tire, if you catch my drift. The song must make me feel something inside. The song must provide some kind of feeling.

Not necessarily a good feeling – in the same way this coffee doesn’t provide good feelings?

Stay on the topic, sonny boy. We’re talking about music here, not coffee brewed for profesionnals by professionals…  

10 years ago you watched The Men They Couldn’t Shave from a distance. What did you see?

I saw a rock ‘n’ roll train on the run – or on the loose. But as I studied the band and the music and the lyrics a little closer, there was something there that made me curious. The band triggered my curiosity, and their songs have told me and taught me different things about life over the years. I don’t want to get into details on these things, but the band is on a mission – that’s the way I see this band, anyways.

At some point you became a member of the band and kind of a manager?

I can’t really explain when and why that happened, but to me these boys are following the tracks and footsteps of people I can relate to – Springsteen, Cash, Dylan, Wille and Tom Waits… you know, the boys walking the ditches because they are explorers of some kind. And the older the boys in The Men get, the more aware they are of the stories they tell – and the responsibility that comes with being a storyteller. They mean what they sing and are what they play. Their existence in music is rooted in the old music, the music the working people listened to.

You have written lyrics that are present on the new box set, too. Tell us a little bit about those lyrics?

Lost Highwayman’s Tale is about the fact that people don’t have the time – or don’t take the time – to listen to each other anymore. We have lost the ability to listen to each other. The lyrics are a way for me to say thank you to a person who took the time to listen to what I had to say at a time where I needed it the most.

Ghosts, Guitars & The 309 is a song about a guy who never got to be in the spotlight, a guy who never got the attention Johnny Cash and other big stars got. It is about Red Sovine. But, the more I think about it, this is also a song about The Men They Couldn’t Shave. These boys have never been in the main spotlight – maybe they never will be – but they are heroes in the area they roam. They are heroes to a lot of young kids who are rehearsing in basements in order to be as good as The Men. That is more important than being in with the hip crowd and those who are famous for doing nothing.

What do you think about the band’s new songs?

Just read the liner notes I’ve written and you will find out what I think about the songs.

Why should people buy this box set?

Buy it and listen to the things they sing about. 99 percent of the people who buy this box set will find something they can relate to or recognize. I guarantee that you will.

I would also like to recommend that people should go and catch these boys playing live. They work hard for each other, but they work even harder for the people coming to the shows. It doesn’t matter if 10 or 500 show up at the gig. They hit the stage like a freight train no matter what – even at rehearsals.

You are a country man, everybody can see that. Why are you involved in this band?

You know, I wasn’t able to fall asleep the other night and I thought about why on earth and old trucker and sailor like me is involved in a band like that. But these boys have connected to something inside of me. Their values and way of approaching music and songs appeal to me. The boys are aiming for the core of a song. Two of my sons play in the band, too, but there is more to it than that. My conclusion is that I have six sons playing in that band. And that makes me proud.