Diandra Interviews Hnry Flwr: Life Is A Bunch of Waiting Rooms 

HNRY FLWR made ME LAUGH! I could not stop giggling with the man whom is incredibly smart and dry in his humor. With an admiration for comedians like, Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey, and Dave Chappelle, and a revelry for books with hero archetypes, HNRY wants to learn everything there is about this world and put it in a song. It is a simple purpose that he hopes leads to a major feat: making music his literal life and livelihood. In his new single, “Waiting Room,” he sings to the many times we wait for something “bigger” ignoring the small acts of love we can do in between. in our interview, he discusses the revelations, he has received, like that one, in his journey as HNRY FLWR.

Diandra: What do you see is the distinction between you, as a person, and HNRY FLWR, as a persona? 

HNRY FLWR: The idea of a persona is like another tool in the tool-belt. It allows you to transcend your situation, and if I considered HNRY FLWR like a persona then I have to consider my past and old perceptions. When I took on HNRY FLWR, yes, there is also a stage perception, but he is in both the stage and in my private life. I don’t think Bob Dylan is ever not Bob Dylan or becomes Robert Zimmerman in his private life; the quiet, Jewish kid whose dad owned and electric shop. I think he is Bob Dylan, all the time, and its not a persona. It is a chance to connect yourself with the magnificent and what you feel is unattainable. So, at least for me, HNRY FLWR is apart of my personal journey, as well. By helping HNRY FLWR, I am helping myself. 
Hnry Flwr – Down, in Carolina (Buzzsession)

Diandra: Do you think, as an artist, your journey, as HNRY FLWR, is destined? 

HNRY FLWR: I think it already exists, and I’m like an antenna; it is in the ethers and I tap into it. It is not pre-destiny, but I use my free will to gather as much as I can from life. I have trouble with the idea of “destiny” because I could then sit back and wait for destiny to put me in an arena with 10,000 people. 

I was reading James Joyce’s Ulysses because I am obsessed with the Odyssey and the hero’s journey like, Joseph Campbell. I love the whole heroes’ arc, and it is how many religions began, you know, that need for a hero. So, anyway, I was reading Ulysses’ and HNRY FLWR was the pen name of the Odyssian character, in the novel, Leopold Bloom. I liked the way it sounded, and I liked that it had a word in it. I liked that it was lyrical, and I think that the key to happiness is progress. A flower is always in motion; it is either blossoming or dying. You can find that in anything. Everything has its cycles. Then, I took the vowels out because there is this idea that Yahweh, in Jewish Tradition, you are not supposed to utter the breathe of God, and, in language, breathe lies in the vowels. So I loved the idea of making a name of consonance, and then a whole bunch of other band began doing it. (he laughs) I thought I was…I didn’t know I was hopping on a trend. 
Hnry Flwr – As Above, So Below

Diandra: Is there a mythological character you are really into or a personal hero? 

HNRY FLWR: No and I struggle with that. I’m really leery about the “guru complex” or “deity complex” because I am really into those things and I do have strong opinions and I do want to spread them. So, in that way, I get put into a leadership role, but, at the same time, I am really aware of like, cult leaders or spiritual leaders, and how they can be really problematic. I am aware and I should accept that HNRY FLWR is from a hero archetype, but I like things to stay complicated. I like things that are difficult to understand because it holds its complexity. People like to simplify so much. I do like Andy Kaufman.

Diandra: Andy was a really complicated figure. He loved pushing people through his characters.

HNRY FLWR: I did dress up in a character, and I would go to shows as Blaze Boilin. I would go before my show shows, and tell these bands that I would get them a million dollars and make them big. I would give out my business cards, and then like these people in the industry thought I was making fun of them, and then I got confronted. 

Diandra: What did the executive think you were making fun of? 

HNRY FLWR: It was, actually, a promoter and we are good friends now. She was trying to rise up in this male-dominated industry and trying to be kind and show artists that she was sensitive to them and had their backs, and she thought I was making light of her and how hard it is in this business and the perceptions of it. It was weird because I was making fun of the industry, but I was trying to make it in the industry. I made a Linkedin, and I made a website. I had an email that I got emails on, and I had a business card that said, “Spinning Art Into Gold.” I was really committed and I wanted to make it feel real. I even have friends who are like, “Dude, when is Blaze coming back.”  
HNRY FLWR | Don’t Be Upset | Blue Room

Diandra: (I died laughing) That is horrible but funny. If it helps, Andy Kaufman would have loved it. (It’s that he made Linkedin that had me rolling!) 

HNRY FLWR: Yeah, a big difference I didn’t calculate was that people knew who Andy Kaufman was, and (he laughs) like people had no idea who was HNRY FLWR, so they were just like “Why are you lying to me?” 

Diandra: That is the kind of thing that, in retrospect, you ask, “Why did I think that was a good idea?” 

HNRY FLWR: You got to try things. (he laughs) My intentions were good, and I was trying to create something that was subversive but was, clearly, a misfire. You know, you got to be brave and know you will fail. 

Diandra: Are there any other comedians you love? 

HNRY FLWR: Jim Carrey is amazing. He was so goody and happy-go-lucky like, Ace Ventura and Truman Show. Now that he is a philosopher and a painter, it all makes sense. I think Dave Chappelle is a genius, too.
Hnry Flwr – Waiting Room

Diandra;  What inspired “Waiting Room?”

HNRY FLWR: Waiting Rooms are kind of a scary place. Even if you are trying to get a check-up, your life can change on the other side of the door. It is a place where you wait for results, and, at the time, I was going through a break-up. I kept on thinking of how we are distracting ourselves from the ultimate truth, and how we are all going to the great beyond, but we are stuck in the things we want, Heaven and Hell, and the things that we think will or won’t happen. So I got really heady in my thoughts, and I was in a waiting room, waiting for my guitarist, who was 25, and suffering from leukemia. I was waiting for him and, again, just thinking about my break-up and he was in the pediatric ward so I was thinking about these kids with cancer. Then, I watched this clown come in and volunteer and made them laugh and turned their day around. Who knows which of these kids was really in a bad, emotional place, and this adult took his time to make them feel better. 

We all feel really scared. Life is about action and inaction, and we get so caught up with our lives and pettiness, but, when our bodies betray us, we see we have to work things out. We have to feel the love inside. Feel the love, which is a refrain in my song and I know it could sound cheesy but it’s true. Also, I was high when I wrote it for a few weeks and then I recorded it. (he laughs) 

You have to love that depth and honesty. For More Information On HNRY FLWR Click Here.