[Editor's note: This guest column previews the Henhouse Prowlers' show at The Bourbon this Thursday with Jack Hotel. The show starts at 10 p.m., and cover is $10 for 21+ and $12 for 18-20. RSVP here.]
It was after a show at Box Awesome, under the viaduct in Lincoln when she said she wanted to sleep with me.
I had just jammed with the Henhouse Prowlers.
I had long been a fan of their music. I used to sneak into their shows at the Redline Tap in Chicago when I was still underage. They were billing themselves as Sexfist at the time, and I sort of worshipped the ground they walked on. When I saw that they were coming through Lincoln, I begged The Bourbon's Jeremiah Moore to let me play the show. I didn’t even have very much original material back then, but I knew a great fiddle player and figured that would be enough.
After the show, they were jamming with their buddy Lern Tilton (of Lloyd McCarter & the Honky Tonk Revival fame). I asked if I could join in and they were kind enough to let me. I was still just a kid in many ways, freshly 21, and not even close to a good enough musician to keep up with them (I’m still not), but somehow just standing next to them with a guitar was enough for that girl. They’re seriously that good.
They started coming through pretty regularly after that, and I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with them several times. Somehow, Jon (Goldfine, bass) still confused me with Craig Mustard at the last one, but I don’t care. I love them more than almost any bluegrass band in the country. To be fair, he was pretty embarrassed, but I’m never going to stop giving him shit about it.
The members have a long history with Nebraska. Ben Wright, their banjo player, likes to tell a story about when they played one of the first Lincoln Calling festivals and there was a bomb threat to the Zoo Bar and everyone had to evacuate. I really wish I had been at that one.
Another story that sticks out in my mind was a time I randomly ran into them at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. They were entering in the band competition and playing a show at some bar afterwards. I don’t remember the name of the bar, I think it’s a hat store now. I remember that show in particular, though, because my girlfriend and I ate mushrooms beforehand and she got sick and puked and we had to leave (sorry, honey). So if you come to their show on Thursday, don’t eat mushrooms. Actually, I take that back. Eat all of the mushrooms. After you pay the cover.
The Henhouse Prowlers have gone through several lineup changes and changed their name, but their show is still amazing. They are an original band with a definite nod towards tradition. Their vocal harmonies are super tight and their picking is lightning fast. They perform in suit-and-tie like the Del McCoury Band and all gather in a semi-circle around a condenser mic, leaning in and out for their solos.
They’re road-hardened pros, some of the best musicians I’ve ever met, and nice guys to boot. They’re playing at the Bourbon Theatre’s Rye Room in Lincoln on Thursday with Jack Hotel. Come make some memories of your own.
Jon Dell is a Hear Nebraska contributor. He's been every wereman, and his country/Americana act Bonehart Flannigan is recording a new album. Reach him at duffysmusic@gmail.com.