Poor Nameless Boy – Bravery

Bravery focuses on the message of life and of hope. With producer Brad Prosko (B-Rad Studios) at the helm and many talented musical friends guesting in (Tenille Arts, Chris Henderson, Carmelle Pretzlaw and more), Bravery showcases Joels outstanding evolution as a songwriter and artist. You can hear every ounce of meaning and emotion in each word and every note. From the haunting hooks of the title track, to the powerful harmonies in Saturn, to the upbeat, rock-infused River & Trees, these songs will plant themselves in your mind and heart, and never leave

Track Listing:
1. Bravery - 3:17   2. Atlantic Ocean - 3:42   3. Dream Boat - 3:40   4. River & Trees - 4:00   5. Saturn - 3:19   6. I'm Not Going Anywhere - 4:18   7. 30 Photographs - 3:24   8. Fairy Tale - 4:07   9. Radio Return - 4:06   10. Leave Myself Behind - 5:04

Personnel:
Joel Henderson (vocals, guitar) , Thomas St.Onge (electric guitar) , Brad Prosko (bass guitar) , Carmelle Pretzlaw (violin) , Kyle Halvorson (drums) , Tenille Arts / Chris Henderson (backing vocals) , Denise Valle (vocals on 10)-

Reviews:

1. Leaderpost.com - jdedekker@postmedia.com
With his new album Bravery, Poor Nameless Boy continues to do it his way rather than adhere to the unwritten rules of the music industry.
Set to be unveiled at a CD release party on Jan. 17 at The Artesian, Bravery is 10 tracks written by Poor Nameless Boy, a.k.a. Joel Henderson. Most artists are given the option of either being a singer or a songwriter, but Henderson doggedly believes in his ability to do both.
“I kind of embraced the singer/songwriter heartfelt type of muse. There’s a thing in the industry that says you can only have one or two of your own songs on an album, but my favourite songwriters are those who load their albums with their own work,” explained Henderson. “The introspective, the thought-provoking songs, that’s what I really went with, along with the storytelling ones. With this album, it’s just a lot more exactly the direction I wanted to go, which was a little bit away from the pop and more into the roots and folk side of things.”
While the subject matter might be thought provoking, Henderson stressed that it’s not a case of him standing on his soapbox to deliver a message for all to hear.
“I don’t think the biggest reason for my writing these songs is to tell my side of a story. The reason I love those songs, and the reason I wrote them, was because I feel it’s something a lot of people can understand and relate to,” said Henderson.
The album has an impressive mix of material, from songs Henderson has written in the last few months to others that have been in his catalogue for years. Yet, when it came to choosing a title for the album, Henderson knew exactly which song fit the bill.
“The song Bravery, the lyric emphasizes the idea of stepping outside of what you’ve developed as your comfort zone,” said Henderson. “When I was writing the song, I was close to finishing it, but the words I was playing within the chorus, I wasn’t really happy with. I ended up rewriting the chorus to fit what I thought the song was trying to say, which essentially is when you step out of your comfort zone and you have something that’s been hidden for so long, it really is brave to step out of that.
“The rest of the album is pretty similar in that it’s filled with what I’ve been calling transition songs, either talking how the journey has been or excited for what’s to come or talking about the struggle. It’s those types of songs that I really enjoy.”
Aptly described in the press material as “haunting,” Bravery demonstrates perfectly Henderson’s strengths as both a songwriter and a singer. Tenille Arts contributes beautiful harmony vocals to the song, while violinist Carmelle Pretzlaw adds to its ethereal beauty.
“Choosing Bravery as the first single, the thought behind that was not to release the song that at the end of the day is the strongest radio single. Rather, it was the song that was the best in production to the rest of the album, and so Bravery is heartfelt … and it’s a good representation of the rest of album,” said Henderson.
Henderson’s first two albums were produced by Sandon Weber of Estevan, but for the new album he turned to Brad Prosko Productions. Although the two hadn’t worked together previously, they knew of each other from Prosko’s work with Henderson’s brother Chris, a Regina-based country music artist.
Joel Henderson had high expectations for Prosko and he feels those expectations were met.
“We talked a lot before the process and during the process. He was great with that. I gave him homework beforehand. I said, ‘These are albums that I love. Here are songs that remind me of the songs that we want to do. This is the vision that I have for it.’ Needless to say, when I came into the studio to talk or lay down tracks, he was speaking my language,” said Henderson. “We were so connected on it because he listened to the songs over and over. He understood the direction and had some ideas, and we just talked them through … Brad is a huge advocate for where do I feel where this tune is wanting to go and letting the tune go the way it wants to evolve. Between Brad and I, I feel everything was on track.”
Now that the album is about to be released, Henderson was asked if there were any changes he would make to Bravery if given the opportunity.
“None. The more and more that I play them now and perform now, it’s apparent that we made the right decisions,” said Henderson.