MySpace a place for friends

Born and bred in New York City, Erik Della Penna and Dean Sharenow are KILL HENRY SUGAR, producers and purveyors of stark, northeastern roots music with what the Village Voice calls, “Cinematic gravitas.” The two met in the musical trenches of Manhattan and discovered a shared fascination with the city's corrupt beginnings and the frenzied ambition of its inhabitants. Kill Henry Sugar became the minimalist, streamlined vehicle for this ongoing discourse. Think Gangs Of New York (the book, not the film) meets Metropolis (the film, not the book).

Much of the material for their current release, Swing Back And Down, was inspired by the epic timeline of life in the boroughs. Recording took place in the basement of Della Penna's grandmother's Bronx apartment, among silver gelatin prints of generations past. The songs are snapshots of New York life painted in stark, vivid tones — the cunning corruption of Tammany Hall politics; the muted spirit of the huddled masses; the power and paranoia of the modern metropolis.

An early copy of the CD impressed folk icon Joan Baez, and she was inspired to add two of the songs to her distinguished repertoire. Soon after, Ms. Baez saw the pair perform, and Kill Henry Sugar was asked to be the backing band for her 2007/8 world tour.

The duo recently returned from a spring tour of the UK and will celebrate their tenth anniversary with a brand new release in fall 2009.