The Happen-Ins: “Be Yer Fool”
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Listening to The Happen-Ins (and taking a look at their signature vintage threads) is like taking a trip back to a simpler musical age. It’s a time before the endless alphabet soup of chopped and re-purposed, hyphenated genres when rock ‘n’ roll was bloozy and a hip-hugging good time.
The Happen-Ins got rolling in early 2009. All the players are seasoned musical veterans: guitarists John Michael Schoepf (who also plays bass) and Sean Faires spent time together in The Dedringers before the band’s breakup. Schoepf also backed country artists like Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Ryan Bingham. Ricky Ray Jackson fronted the band Lomita and lent his pedal steel chops to Brothers and Sisters. Jackson and Schoepf also toured together in Hayes Carll’s backing band. Drummer Paul “Falcon” Valdez was a former member of Harlem Spiritual Orchestra and knew Faires and Schoepf from the Dedringers days. It’s a complicated web, yes, but luckily all the stars aligned perfectly to create the boogie-down sound of The Happen-Ins.
In 2010 the band released their self-titled debut (on vinyl, of course). The tunes have a laid-back, Exile-era Stones vibe and a groovy swagger that recalls bands like The Faces and Humble Pie. Take, for instance, today’s song of the day “Be Yer Fool.” The back-beat is built for dancing. The lead guitar slips and slides over some greasy licks. It’s a definitely a hip-shaking track.
Tonight you’ll get to do some shaking yourself when The Happen-Ins open up for The Hold Steady at the Mohawk.
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