The John Henrys’ Rey Sabatin thinks his band sounds more like the Byrds than Tom Petty

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 12, 2010

By Steve Newton

When Rey Sabatin of the John Henrys calls me from Calgary he’s just hours away from playing a show at a place called the Blackbird Coffee House, in the hamlet of Coleman, Alberta. The Toronto-raised Sabatin had never heard of the venue or the town before, but that’s okay, because he figures “it should be interesting”. It’s the band’s first ever western tour, so it’s going wherever the bookings take it.

Fortunately for the John Henrys, they have been scoring much-needed help from Canadian radio recently, the kind that could get their rootsy rock to remote areas where potential fans reside. While in Cowtown they laid down a couple of songs at Mix 97.7 FM, the latest station to show support for the Ottawa-based quintet.

“We just found out that we’re number two on the campus roots charts,” says Sabatin, “and every time I turn on CBC they’re playin’ that damned ‘Little One’, which I’m not complaining about, but…”

Ah yes, that damned “Little One”. That’s the lead-off track from the John Henrys’ new album, White Linen, a jangly toe-tapper that’s sure to make you think about an awesome rocker from Florida.

“People say my voice sounds like Tom Petty’s,” Sabatin admits, “but that’s one thing I can’t do anything about. As soon as you write a song that sounds like another song you do end up getting hassled a bit for it. Tom Petty got it with [comparisons to] the Byrds, you know. And if anything I think we sound more like the Byrds than Tom Petty, especially if you listen to the album as a whole.”

Sabatin was born the same year Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their 1976 debut album, and he started singing at the age of three. He and his 10 siblings were raised by a mother with a primo record collection, and as long as he can remember he’s been indulging an insatiable desire for music.

“I was writing songs very early on,” he recalls, “and music has always been my life—there’s never been anything else. Funnily enough I haven’t heard everything—you’d think I would, ’cause all I do is listen to music—but people are turning me on to more and more stuff.

“We had an article written about us in Vintage Guitar magazine where they compared us to Love, which is an old psychedelic garage band, so I went out and bought that album. I personally don’t think we sound anything like them, but I’m glad I read that because I was turned on to a band that I should have known about.”

The John Henrys are currently promoting their catchy alt-country sound on a coheadlining Canadian trek with fast-rising Toronto folk-pop duo Madison Violet. That makes a total of seven passengers—and all their gear and luggage—crammed into a big old Econoline van and head to Vancouver for a show at St. James Hall on Saturday (May 15).

“They’re great to travel with,” notes Sabatin of his Juno-nominated tourmates. “We’re the kind of band that flies by the skin of our teeth, and we tend to make it to load-in just in time, but they’re actually keeping us in check, so it’s kinda cool.”