Formed in March 2012, Mrs. Henry began as a newly evolved version of Dick Justice and the Happy Smoke. Influenced by everything that shuffles, swings, or carries a back beat, the group's initial lineup featured singer/guitarist Daniel Cervantes (Whiskey Circle, Howlin Rain, Creature and the Woods), with drummer Dustin Schemensky and bassist Jason Areford (both of Blues and Greens), and Jason's drummer-turned-guitarist brother Kyle Areford. Not The Kinda Girl was released in 2013.
By summer 2015, the lineup had changed to feature Cervantes alongside drummer Chad Lee (the Silent Comedy, Elijah Ford), keyboardist Jody Bagley (Blue Moonies, the Tommy Mitchell Show, Cathouse Thursday), and bassist Blake Dean (Happy Ron Hill, Boss Run).
Their album Otay was released in January 2016. Recorded over the course of 2011 through 2015, it was tracked in a garage, various home studios, and a warehouse, featuring guest musicians and band members past and present. Assembled by Cervantes in Otay, the album was mixed by Stephen Kaye at Sunking Studios and mastered by Joe Bozzi at Bernie Grundman.
Later that year, a self-titled two volume set was released, with Volume 1 and Volume 2 appearing several months apart. Bandleader Cervantes was backed by drummer Chad Lee, keyboardist Jody Bagley, and bassist Blake Dean. “We recorded this album one hundred percent analog with engineer Jordan Andreen at Audio Design Recording here in San Diego,” says Cervantes. “Tracked on vintage gear, while rolling and splicing tape, we were able to capture incredible performances and improvisation by playing live in the studio.”
Mrs. Henry Volume 1 comes with a fold-out poster painted by Portland based artist Adam Burke, featuring the lighthouse visited in Newport, OR on the band's 2015 west coast tour. "The second track on the album 'All I Can Do' captures their experience that inspired the nine-plus minute odyssey ending in the actual ocean sounds recorded cliffside in the Pacific North West," says Cervantes.
Their 2018 all-star Last Waltz performance was recorded and released as a 3LP vinyl album, featuring artwork by Roy G Biv and liner notes written by Noac C. Lekas.
A new multimedia web series debuted during the pandemic shutdown of early 2020, featuring live music, puppet shows, guest appearances, sketch comedy, and more. “We wanted to offer something different, something that only Mrs. Henry would do,” says bassist-singer Blake Dean. “It’s our live concert meets Mystery Science Theater, The Muppets and Beavis and Butthead, with our music and songs from our Mrs. Henry plays the Band set.” Episode 1 had guest appearances by Blind Owl label mates and live performances of the Band’s “The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show,” “Look Out Cleveland,” and “Tears of Rage.”
Their summer 2020 studio album, Feel Free, was released with a name-your-price purchasing option on Bandcamp.
2021 found the band working on their album Keep On Rising - Act I: The Sex Sells, Love Drugs, Rock N Roll Society, the first of a three-part rock opera released by Blind Owl Records. Guitarist Daniel Cervantes describes the setting as “an ultra-sexualized reality where drugs are available on every corner and rock and roll is a normalized way of life. There is no taboo, all is equal, nothing is sacred and everything we’ve ever known is subject to change with the wind.”
The band teamed up with a fellow local, Eagles songwriter Jack Tempchin, for a live project called Drunkard's Dream Arts + Music Festival, presented by Blind Owl & Bad Vibes Good Friends at ReBru Spirits in Barrio Logan on April 9, 2022. Tempchin is best known for penning “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and co-writing “ Already Gone.” He and the band released a joint single in April 2022, “Waiting,” recorded live in one take in Otay Mesa. “They're all live recordings and no overdubs. It's just us,” says Tempchin. “The thing that excites me most about [Mrs. Henry] is the singing all four of those guys can do. They can instantly slap incredible harmonies on anything. I feel like this band backing me up lifts my songs to completely new places and gives them a lot more meaning."
At the 2022 San Diego Music Awards, the band scored Best Rock Album and Best Rock Artist trophies. Their summer 2022 Chest Fever project, a tribute to The Band Rock of Ages live album, celebrated its 50th Anniversary. The group performed alongside local horn sections from each city to recreate the original album's contributions from Howard Johnson, Snooky Young, Joe Farrell, J.D. Parron, and Earl McIntyre, along with a guest in select towns to perform Bob Dylan's four song Bob Dylan set from the original residency.
Chest Fever paid tribute to The Band again in late 2023 by releasing their version of Music from Big Pink, a reimagined take on the 1968 album released October 20 via local Blind Owl Records. "If [our previous Band tribute] Rock of Ages was the sound of Chest Fever getting into the car and going to the grocery store," says guitarist, Daniel Cervantes, "then Music from Big Pink sounds like us going into space."
(Photo courtesy Blind Owl Records)