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‘Chop my money,’ our best Nigerian song – Henhouse Prowlers

Weekend Magazine: What did you know about Nigerian music before you came?Henhouse Prowlers: We were lucky to have got a heads up from the US…

Weekend Magazine: What did you know about Nigerian music before you came?
Henhouse Prowlers: We were lucky to have got a heads up from the US Embassy. Although we had heard about FelaKuti, then learned about PSquare and also met 6ft Plus and we’ve gotten to play with some local musicians here in Abuja. We played at the second edition of the Abuja International Music Festival and we got to see and play with a number of local artistes. This gave us more of the true taste of what is happening here musically. We wanted more of it but were quite grateful we got the much we did because it was a compact show. Before we came we learnt a PSquare song, ‘Chop my money.’
WM: Why that one?
Prowlers: (Laughter) We learned that it was a hit and found it so when we came.
WM: Did you understand the lyrics of the song when you first heard it?
Prowlers: Not when we first heard it. We’ve learned and we’ve been learning it.
WM: How did it appeal to you?
Prowlers: When we first heard the song, we weren’t sure how it was going to turn out. But we all liked it and made an effort to learn it and we love it now. It took us a couple of weeks to learn it.
WM: How did you get around the Pidgin English and Yoruba parts?
Prowlers: Ben got Akon’s verse, which was mostly, Dan has the Yoruba verse, Jon is doing Peter’s; we had some help from the internet. We checked through pages that had lyrics. One was more accurate, also listening closely to ensure we got them right. What was fun about learning those verses in Pidgin English…We had a head start in learning some pidgin I can even speak some, at least ‘I dey try.’ ‘You no go believe.’ (Laughter)
WM: Do you have a favourite Nigerian song?
Prowlers: Off the top of our heads, that would be ‘Chop my money.’ It’s catchy. We knew it was very popular and taught it would be a good way to connect with the audience.
WM: Which was the first Nigerian song you heard?
Prowlers: Jon had listened to Femi Kuti, but didn’t know he was Nigerian and is glad he got schooled on that.
WM: How long do you spend rehearsing?
Prowlers: Generally, we get together for a specific practice about once a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less depending on how many shows we have to perform; sometimes even everyday. At such times, we would spend 30 minutes to an hour going over our songs. A normal practice would be like four hours. Even our time on stage is practice.
WM: How did you come by the name, Henhouse Prowlers?
Prowlers: It does connect to the kind of music we play, called Bluegrass music, which is traditional American music. It originated from the hills of the southern and eastern states. The music is associated with the countryside. We needed a name for the band and henhouse is something that people associate with the farms and honestly we wanted it to sound a little risky so we added ‘prowlers’ afterwards.
WM: How did you come together?
Prowlers: We all lived in the same neighbourhood and we all played in other bands, not necessarily Bluegrass bands. Some played in rock, jazz, classical bands and all sorts, but we all played instruments that were typical of Bluegrass. So we started getting together and playing Bluegrass, in one of our local bars weekly. It started as an informal gathering and gradually grew bigger than any of our other bands and eventually became our main band.
WM: How are you able to fuse the different music experiences you had into one band now?
Prowlers: Anyone who joins the band brings their unique experience from their background and their styles. Dan has brought Motown songs which have been something different that we do. Everyone takes their background and when they come in they bring something different.
WM: How easy or difficult was it being accepted in the area where you perform?
Prowlers: We had difficulties for different reasons; people accepting the style of music that we play. When the band just started, we weren’t all that good. We were a new band, the style of music was new to some of us so we had to put some serious time to performing and practicing and getting better as a band to be accepted by people. That’s why having our first weekly show, playing every Tuesday in Chicago for years until recently, allowed us to get better and better and slowly build a fan base of people who wanted to hear our music.
WM: Would it be right to define Bluegrass as country music?
Prowlers: It would not exactly be wrong. It is an American music genre that isn’t far from country. It’s gaining a lot of fame in the States; we’re not sure about worldwide. We play in Europe yearly and there are groups of people who appreciate it.
WM: You’ve worked with the likes of Gregory Cahill, Anders Beck and Josh Williams, who are masters in different genres. How do all of these backgrounds blend into your work?
Prowlers: We play what other people would consider pretty traditional American music. The three of them in varying degrees also play the same style of music. One of the beautiful things about playing traditional style music is that there is some sort of prescribed style. So bringing such people on board is less of a challenge and allows us to take people with more experience than us and add their skills to our recording.Each of them sort of represents a different area of Bluegrass so we had influences that influenced our type of Bluegrass. One of the most popular trends of Bluegrass is called ‘Jamgrass’ which is Bluegrass fused with rock ‘n’ roll.
WM: Against this backdrop, do you see some kind of evolution from traditional Bluegrass?
Prowlers: I think as far as Bluegrass bands go now in the States, we a lot closer to traditional than younger generations. But we also do a bit of rock ‘n’ roll, Motown, PSquare… the older generation may say we are not traditional and if we play for the younger generation, they may say we are. So it really depends on the audience. We play at a lot of festivals and if it is one tilted towards the younger audience we’re the most traditional. But if it’s towards an older generation, we’re the least traditional.
WM: What’s on the back of your mind those few seconds before you go on stage?
Prowlers: It varies from show to show. But generally, we’re always pretty loose and that’s the most fun part of our band. We’re together all the time working on making the band happen. It’s fun playing for different audiences and sometimes, there are some unexpected surprises. Sometimes you are playing for an audience and think it’s going to be a dull show and in the end they are dancing all night.
WM: What will you are taking back with you about Nigeria?
Prowlers: ‘Chop my money’ (laughter) and our new pidgin nicknames. Star is ‘Shine, Shine bobo,’ Ben is ‘Oga Ben,’ Jon is ‘Ogapatapata’ and Dan is ‘Galadima.’
WM: Performing with Nigerian artistes, orphans and students, what has come across to you the strongest?
Prowlers: We played at the university in Nasarawa and playing ‘Chop my money’ for them and seeing their reactions …We’ve hardly had any experience of like going out in a big open barn and just playing. It’s usually people in a room with a band coming from somewhere else to entertain them.Ben was dragged into the audience for a photograph and while in the midst of the students, one could feel that it wasn’t any different from the days back in college. They were just having a great time and it was great to be amongst them. Being from America where some have the impression that Africa is this foreign land… it is in some ways with the different cultures, climates, we still are all human beings and it feels touché top say that it felt no different from being in America.
It’s sometimes heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time, seeing these kids who have been left without parents and not always living in the best of conditions. It was great to be able to bring something to brighten their experience.

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