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John Henry & The Engine rumble into town

The band records crowd favorites on new vinyl EP.

By Maura Howard

Published Dec. 11, 2009

Steeped in sounds of traditional Americana and an assortment of instrumentals and soulful lyrics, local rock band John Henry & The Engine is setting out to celebrate the release of its first vinyl record, I Don't Wanna Know.

Although the band members met in St. Louis, part of the quintet's roots actually lie right here in Columbia. Vocalist John Henry even worked at The Blue Fugue while living in Columbia.

"Columbia is a great environment for music," Henry said. "The club owners are very supportive of bands and it also has a lot of the people that count, the younger people that like to go out and hear music."

The band will be returning to Columbia with a fresh EP in tow this weekend for its vinyl release. The 7-inch vinyl is full of brisk violin work and rich harmonies, including the toe-tapping title track, "I Don't Wanna Know."

"We decided to put out this vinyl because the songs had been getting such good reactions live," Henry said. "We thought it was something that the public would like to hear, but these songs weren't something that would probably fit into a whole album."

They recorded the EP in just two days. Henry said the band tried to capture as much excitement in it as they could. The covers feature hand-painted art, so each vinyl is a little different.

Henry said though the material on this latest EP is no dramatic departure from the band's past work, there is definitely some growth compared to past albums.

"I am constantly trying to write better songs and work harder to grow this band," Henry said. "My goal is to focus on craftsmanship and hard work and hit the road and bring what we do to as many people as possible."

With this professionalism and a few years of touring under its belt, the band has gotten a good idea of how the music industry is working these days.

"It's easy to get a following in your hometown, but when you get out on the road you realize how hard it is to enjoy what you do outside from where you live," Henry said. "It's hard out there right now and it's really more important to have strong audiences in a town as opposed to being on a giant record label."

These musicians get that strong audience by putting on a lively show for their crowd.

"I'm a huge fan of trying to perform a concert with a whole spectrum of emotion," Henry said. "I like the high energy party and I like to bring things down to a low level. We really work hard in our live set to incorporate those things the high highs and the low lows and everything in between."

Despite an upcoming European tour and the numerous praises the band has received from press across the country, it hasn't gone to Henry's head.

"Honestly, the thing I am most proud of is that I just have really good group of guys with me," Henry said. "We travel all over the country together and we are bringing what we do to places far away. That's probably my favorite accomplishment. It's not really glamorous, but that's what I am most proud of."