What was meant to be a hobby — a just-for-fun way to fill time during the pandemic-induced deceleration of life — just a few years later has transformed into a legitimate band called Weary Bones and their official debut album, Humble Echoes. What was supposed to be a distraction, “something that brought us some joy during the challenging unknowns of the pandemic,” according to co-founding guitarist David Henry, has produced not only a full-length album but a number of bustling local gigs for the budding Boulder band. From the fall of 2020 as a duo between Henry and guitarist Scott Shirk, to the first few weeks of 2023, Weary Bones has re-accelerated and made their initial musical moves across the Front Range.
Henry and Shirk, the band’s two guitarists and Founding Fathers, started their musical journey by learning various cover songs, which was short-lived when Henry started writing music of his own. From there and with much trepidation, Shirk began writing lyrics for Henry’s music and before they knew it, the duo had 20 original songs they “were pretty stoked about.” As with many bands, serendipity takes hold at some point to bring the right people together at the right time. With sudden ambitions of recording an album based on the newly written songs, the pair met drummer Marc Hughes and bassist Nick DeNoia, and Weary Bones was born.
As with many of the albums that have been released in the past couple of years, Humble Echos is a product of the pandemic and “reflective of how we were feeling during that point in time,” Henry said. The album is the version of their experience of the pandemic, and of all the emotions that particular time evoked. “Some of the songs are about loss, or anticipating loss in one form or another, some songs are about fond memories of earlier times in life, and some are about escaping to a place that brings joy to us in life,” Henry reflected. Both unintentional and searingly authentic, the nine songs that make up the album seemed to have simply “fallen out of us at that time.”
While much of the feelings surrounding the pandemic are less than mediocre, the recording process for Humble Echos, which took place from November 2021 to May 2022, leaves highly positive connotations with the band. In Henry’s home studio, the foursome started by tracking the drums and bass for each of the nine songs. After adding in the guitar parts and all the vocals, Louisa Finch and Justin Hall added some harmony vocals, and Nashville keyboardist Phil Silverberg was featured as well.
With a positive response to the album so far and more positivity on the horizon, Weary Bones is looking forward to gaining more exposure and growing their regional draw in 2023. Last September the band hosted a sold-out, two-night stand for the release party of Humble Echoes at The Louisville Underground, where they’ll be returning for another show this coming Saturday, January 14. They’ve “been fortunate” to have played at Cervantes’ and So Many Roads Brewery, and their goal is to remain on this trajectory — “to continue building our fanbase, finding opportunities to get into more venues, and to play many more shows.”