The Henry Clay People at Fingerprints Records

The Henry Clay People have long established themselves as darlings of Los Angeles music scene with their tireless gigging. I can't think of a local venue the band hasn't played in the last two years. While most bands stick to the immediate Silverlake locales, The Henry Clay People did a residency down in Costa Mesa at the Detroit Bar to geographically widen their fanbase.


I first caught Henry Clay People at the tiny Prospector in Long Beach in February 2008 and knew big things were in store for the band. Some of the various puzzle pieces that came together include being managed by C3, scoring a deal with TBD records, and support from Aquarium Drunkard who released their full length album For Cheap or For Free on Autumn Tone records.


Things continue to shine brighter for the Henry Clay People as they are in the midst of a national tour supporting Silversun Pickups. Prior to their departure, the Henry Clay People celebrated with a packed record release party at Spaceland and treating the folks at Fingerprints Records for a free performance in support of their latest album Somewhere On The Golden Coast.


The stage at Fingerprints couldn't contain all the members of the Henry Clay People as Jordan Hudock had his keyboard stationed to the side of the stage while drummer Eric Scott was obscured behind bassist Jonathan Price. Henry Clay People shows are renowned for being fueled by lots of energy, volume and topped with a shot of whiskey.


Andy Siara displayed his slide guitar skills for the woozy "Slow Burn" while his brother Joey Siara jangled away on his Rickenbacker guitar. "End of An Empire" is a straight ahead rock song highlighted with its frantic piano notes. Taking requests from the crowd for cover songs, "Can't Hardly Wait" by the Replacements and "Knowledge" by Operation Ivy were easily tackled by the band. Henry Clay People will be back in Los Angeles at the Greek Theater on 8/6 so make sure you show up early and sneak in your metal flask.