Henry the Archer

“Musical Artist of the Year - Best of Fort Worth 2018 - Readers Choice” - Fort Worth Magazine

“2017 Male Vocalist of the Year - Richard Hennessy aka Henry the Archer" - Dallas Observer

“2017 Song of the Year - Henry the Archer- Wifi-Pets" FW Weekly Music Awards - Fort Worth Weekly

“KXT 91.7FM Listeners Favorite - Henry the Archer" - KXT

“Hennessy, an exceptionally gifted vocalist, has his full range on display, effortlessly switching from a gritty copper mic-tone to an astral clean falsetto.” - Patrick Higgins - Fort Worth Weekly

"his sneering romanticism definitely adds to the overall appeal as he whines and wails his way through his engaging songs... one of the most anticipated releases of 2018" - Darryl Smyers, Texas Music Magazine (Jun 07, 2018) - Texas Music Magazine

“radio-friendly hooks and a body-moving rhythm section, Henry the Archer’s arrow is pointed toward superstardom.” - FW Weekly

Zero Is a Number by Henry the Archer
Henry the Archer is the pop-punk project of Richard Hennessy, a New Jersey native who now calls Fort Worth home. The band released its debut album, Zero Is a Number, in May. Opener "Wi-Fi Pets" was nominated for Best Song at this year's DOMAsm and Hennessy walked away with the award for Best Male Vocalist. - Carolina North - Dallas Observer

“well-written and approachable”- Steve Watkins, Star-Telegram (Aug 08, 2017) - Star-Telegram

“Henry the Archer’s "When Something Means Nothing" "Henry the Archer’s debut album, When Something Means Nothing, is a tasty collection of nine tunes that range in style from polished, radio-friendly punk to raucous, reverb-drenched rock ’n’ roll. " "The star of the show is definitely Hennessy’s nimble voice. He’s capable of everything, from stratospheric falsetto singing to cartoonish, nasally deliveries to rich, deep crooning, giving each song a theatrical element. His dynamic timbre is perfectly tempered by Geist’s and Hembree’s playing, laying down tightly knitted beds of rhythms that complement rather than overpower the frontman. Like a veteran string ensemble, Henry the Archer is the result of unique and stellar technical approaches coalescing into an easily accessible whole." - Edward Brown - Fort Worth Weekly

Henry the Archer’s When Something Means Nothing is the kind of first album any band would be proud to claim and any local music scene would like to call its own. The nine tunes are tight, stripped-down, and more hook-filled than a large-mouth bass in a summer Texas lake. Yacht rock but only if your yacht is black metallic and goes a million miles an hour – - Fort Worth Weekly

When singer-songwriter Richard Hennessy came to Fort Worth because of a job transfer in early 2013, he expected to dislike Texas. But in reality, the 33-year-old New Jerseyan said, Fort Worth became the home he thought he’d never find, a city with a thriving but laid-back and supportive music scene. Hennessy had been performing his catchy, fast-paced brand of punk-pop under the moniker Henry the Archer for years up in the Northeast, sometimes solo and sometimes with friends. Once he hit the Fort, he made the band officially a trio, “adopting” (as he puts it) bassist Matt Hembree (Pablo & The Hemphill 7, Goodwin) and drummer Kevin Geist (Bindle, Sun City). Last year Henry the Archer recorded and released a smart, intensely melodic debut album, When Something Means Nothing, that generated a lot of good vibes from the scene and local press. The trio also received strong reviews for its live performances around town.

Then corporate fate intervened again. Hennessy changed jobs, and his current employer, a national tech communications company, asked him to move to Colorado Springs for a year to train for his current Fort Worth position. So now he’s residing in the land of mega-churches and legal weed, pining for a full-time return to the city that brought him his greatest creative satisfaction as a musician.

“I own a house in Fort Worth, and I’m not selling it,” Hennessy said. “But I’ve also got a 1- and a 4-year-old, and I needed insurance for them, so here I am in this beautiful prison. I’ve only got about six more months on my [training] contract. I’ll be back when my work is finished up here.”

Trading Colorado for North Texas wouldn’t seem like a bad exchange to some people, so it speaks to Hennessy’s affection for the Tarrant County music crowd that he’s chomping at the bit to get back down here.

When Something Means Nothing is the kind of first album any band would be proud to claim and any local music scene would like to call its own. The nine tunes, all written by Hennessy, are tight, stripped-down, and more hook-filled than a large-mouth bass in a summer Texas lake. Tunes like “Laser Gun” and “Why Can’t You Hear Me” have the kind of bouncy, synth- and-guitar-embroidered drive that propelled early 1980s trailblazers like The Cure and New Order. Hennessy, who also plays guitar and keyboards on the album, has a memorable vocal delivery that mixes snotty punk attitude with wry humor and surprising emotional resonance. Interestingly enough, he claims his biggest musical influences growing up were Motown and doo-wop, pretty much the only kind of music his mom would play in the house. While there are few overt traces of those unlikely inspirations on the album, his songs do evince a craftsman’s care for harmony and structure similar to the legendary Detroit and Jersey songwriters he heard in his youth.

Hennessy has been returning to Fort Worth about once a month to rehearse and play live shows with Henry the Archer. When he has the time in Colorado Springs, he tries to hit some of the local open-mic nights to play solo versions of songs from When Something Means Nothing, harkening back to his days as a New Jersey troubadour. With his eyes turned fully on a return to Texas, he has a few goals in mind for Henry the Archer in 2015: recording a sophomore album with Hembree and Geist, collaborating on a music video with The Jerry Jonestown Massacre’s Dustin Schneider, and, most importantly in Hennessy’s eyes, growing a regional and, ultimately, national fan base for Henry the Archer. Bringing the trio’s sharp, infectious sound to as many ears as possible is both a creative and financial investment for Hennessy.

“I usually do most of the funding for the band –– recording, releasing the music, merchandise, all that,” he said. “But the idea is to have the music support itself. We’re not using the money we make at the door to buy beer. We’re putting it right back into the band. The faster we can grow new fans, the better.” - For Worth Weekly

Henry the Archer’s When Something Means Nothing

When Richard Hennessy, frontman for the electronic-folk/post-punk band Henry the Archer, moved to Fort Worth from New Jersey two years ago, he hit the ground running. Though accustomed to the solo thing, he took some good advice and hired backing musicians –– but not just any backing musicians. On bass is Matt Hembree (Pablo & The Hemphill 7, Goodwin, formerly Bindle) and on drums Kevin Geist (formerly Bindle, Sun City), two of the best respected musicians in the Fort.

Recorded by Goodwin guitarist/songwriter Daniel Gomez and Brian Lucey and produced by Hennessy, Henry the Archer’s debut album, When Something Means Nothing, is a tasty collection of nine tunes that range in style from polished, radio-friendly punk to raucous, reverb-drenched rock ’n’ roll.

One of the best songs is the opener. “War” begins sparsely, just two synth chords alternating slowly, but soon explodes into menacing kick-drum beats beneath an airy guitar line and Hennessy’s cry, “That in darkness comes to light / When those in silence rise against what’s not right.” A wordless chorus sung in harmony by Hennessy and Hembree follows and sits, for the most part, on one note. The eerie of effect of stopped time dissipates only after the guitar line re-enters.

The star of the show is definitely Hennessy’s nimble voice. He’s capable of everything, from stratospheric falsetto singing to cartoonish, nasally deliveries to rich, deep crooning, giving each song a theatrical element. His dynamic timbre is perfectly tempered by Geist’s and Hembree’s playing, laying down tightly knitted beds of rhythms that complement rather than overpower the frontman. Like a veteran string ensemble, Henry the Archer is the result of unique and stellar technical approaches coalescing into an easily accessible whole. –– Edward Brown - Fort Worth Weekly

New Jerseyan Richard Hennessy had been playing music since high school and professionally as the one-man project Henry the Archer for a couple of years before his employer offered him the chance to relocate to the sunny shores of Fort Worth early last year. The corporate security manager jumped at the chance. “I just wanted to start fresh, basically,” he said. “I needed to get the heck out of Dodge.”

Not knowing anyone but wanting to continue with his music, he began playing solo shows around town. After one gig, he was approached by Aaron Knight, co-founder and co-owner of Ghostlight Concerts (né Blackbox Presents), wondering where the rest of Hennessy’s band was. Learning that Hennessy was band-less, Knight posted an online ad for a rhythm section. The first response, which was pretty much immediate, Hennessy said, was from Kevin Geist, an Arlington drummer who had played with Fort Worth rock groups Bindle and Sun City, among others. Geist was quick to recommend a bassist, a guy with whom he’d played in Bindle, Matt Hembree (also from Pablo & The Hemphill 7 and Goodwin). The new and improved Henry the Archer’s first show was in May at Hailey’s Club in Denton. “There weren’t that many people there, but the response was awesome,” Hennessy said.

Music scenes are pretty similar everywhere in the world, but the 32-year-old singer-songwriter feels he’s come into something special here. “I’ve never known better people than I’ve known in Fort Worth,” he said. “They’re extremely supportive. … It’s not so much [that] everybody knows everybody. There’s professional courtesy among musicians here, and that’s awesome, absolutely awesome. … It’s not a competition. It’s unity.”

Hennessy, Geist, and Hembree have just wrapped up tracking on their first Henry the Archer album together, recorded in assorted local home studios with mixing help from Goodwin guitarist/songwriter Daniel Gomez. Hennessy expects the album to be done in a couple of months. Though he writes all of the material –– the sound runs the gamut from post-punk to electric folk –– he intends to share some songwriting credit with Geist and Hembree. “They’ve brought so much to the table,” Hennessy said. “I don’t think I could sleep at night without acknowledging them.”

Hennessy only recently learned what a lot of local music fans have known for years: that Hembree, in particular, is a monster. “Though he qualifies for assisted living,” Hennessy joked, “he rips it on bass. … His playing is so sick.” - Fort Worth Weekly

By Steve Watkins
Special to DFW.com
Posted 8:37am on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014
I’m starting to grow fond of Shipping & Receiving, a bar just south of downtown Fort Worth in an old sporting goods warehouse. It has that cool industrial vibe, laid-back people and shockingly good sound for what is essentially a big ol’ concrete room. Just the place for an intimate concert where you can get up close to the action.

Saturday, I took advantage of this when I saw a band called Henry the Archer playing; a little investigation showed this group featured Matt Hembree, and I’ve been a fan of his bass work for some time.

The show was scheduled to start at 9 p.m., but there was some confusion and the band thought an opening act had been scheduled. The guys arrived not planning on going on till later, and the show was delayed. I grabbed a table and a Wi-Fi connection up front and waited it out. It was worth the wait.

And it was worth the hypothermia. Shipping & Receiving has this cool bay door that opens up to the dock, which is great in the summer, but on Saturday you could have hung meat in the place. I started eying the trash cans with the idea of building a hobo-type fire to keep warm, but the one near my table was plastic.

The band consists of Richard Hennessy (guitar, vocals, keyboard), Hembree (bass), and Kevin Geist (drums), and despite Hennessy having the flu, these guys put on quite the show. The sound is kind of a post-punk/pop punk happening with short, addictive songs and catchy hooks. Hennessy’s vocals were quite good, and the guitar and synth work was tasteful. Drums were tight and precise, with Geist playing a minimalist kit effortlessly. The rhythm section is the sonic foundation here.

Indeed, Hembree’s bass work was (as usual) a pleasure to hear and watch. He adds a respectable touch of funk and complexity in a situation where a bass player might be tempted to take the easy route.

Hennessy is new to Funkytown, having immigrated here from New Jersey of all places, but I think he will fit right in to the sonic landscape. He brings something new and creative to this mess, and I look forward to hearing more from Henry the Archer. And I look forward to many more nights at Shipping & Receiving. Note to self: Dress in layers. - DFW.com

Review: Henry The Archer – The Castle’s On Fire

Henry The Archer – The Castle’s On Fire (Independent)

The Internet is a beautiful, weird, wonderful place where we can learn about combustion engines, read short stories about Chinese hitmen and peruse pictures of ladies who have mislaid their undergarments, but don’t seem at all embarrassed by their situation. Unfortunately, it has let itself down in one minor regard, and that’s providing serious biographical information for Henry The Archer. I can just about confirm that Henry is one man, a singer-songwriter, composer, producer and performer and “The Castle’s On Fire” was recorded with Derril Sellers on bass and drummer James P Brady lll. They seem to play most of their gigs around the northeast of the USA and New York in particular, which helps place them if nothing else, but of course, listening to the record reveals the details that matter.

Influenced by contemporary groups like Wilco and The Black Keys, they mix hard urban Americana with soul-flecked modern rock styles to create a sound that feels fresh and distinctive. The vocals seem treated with the same device that made the early Tarnation records so startling, and the result is a collection that has a timeless quality yet is completely current. A little disconcerting perhaps, but all the same, irrefutably pleasing. Launch track “Nightmares” sets out their stall. A simple – though urgent – guitar, bass, drum setting allows plenty of space for Henry to sing his song, an unsettling subject giving way to solid hooks and bathtime-friendly humability. “From Across the Room” is altogether more exotic, and the tweaked vocals and jerked rhythm gives it a post-punk, late ‘70s feel. “A Ghost Called Regret” veers of into delicate folk-pop territory, and is quite lovely, and best of all, “Why Can't You Hear Me?” is custom built for a cult movie. Its White Stripes buzz and noirish tone needs to be heard in a David Lynch flight of fancy. Perhaps Nicholas Cage should be in shot, though it’s probably best sorting out the finer points at a later date.
www.henrythearcher.com
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www.henrythearcher.bandcamp.com
Rob F. - Leicester Bangs

Also receiving votes this week: Son of Stan, Party Static, Dark Rooms, Street Arabs, Bummer Vacation, Natural Anthem, Old 97's, Animal Spirit, Mike Graff, Pinkish Black, Dead Mockingbirds, Vanessa Peters, The Outfit, TX, Old Potion, Ornette Coleman, The Cush, Flipside, Shaka, Little Beards, Moon Waves, Foley, Colly T, Madison King, The Black Dotz, Sarah Jaffe, The Chloes, Calvin Collins, The Hanna Barbarians, Shadows of Jets, Wo Fat, Robert Gomez, Convoy & the Cattlemen, The Roomsounds, Hares on the Mountain, Mind Spiders, Patriot, Henry The Archer. - Central Track

Henry the Archer
The unique sound stylings of this trio have been likened to The Smashing Pumpkins with hints of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Although lead singer Richard Hennessy’s enchantingly nasal-forward high tones invoke punk and traditional rock, there is something folksy that brings to mind Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. Meanwhile, Kevin Geist’s drumming is nothing short of masterful, and bassist Charles Marchbanks pulls everything together with bold cadence. - Fort Worth Magazine