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GREEN HANDSHAKE |
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???? 5/2/10 - Sunset Tavern
Butterfingerer |
Found these dudes on Craigslist in 2005. Singer/guitarist Mark Devers had listed about 100 influences in the ad, most of which I was into as well. So we chatted on the phone and he asked me if I liked Steely Dan. If he would've asked me that 10, maybe even 5 years ago, I would have laughed him out of the room. But along with my physique, my tastes have "matured" (okay, "softened") over the years and I was able to confidently reply, "why yes, I DO like Steely Dan!" Early rehearsals focused on the blues, Led Zep, Television, the Dan and a couple of Devers' originals like "Flapjacks & Blowjobs" and "I Want An SUV." I soon realized jazzbo drummer Jeb Mack and bassist Randy Steiger (aka Mr. Chill") were a bonafide rhythm machine, while Devers could shoot out jazz riffs & augmented-sharp-fifth chords like no one I'd ever played with. Not only that, he has a deep interest in and knowledge of a wide variety of music. "Let's play this Bobby Bland, then this Billy Boy Arnold, then some 'Josie,' then how 'bout some Hell & the Voidoids, followed by whatever Zep song comes to mind." Kinda like how my mind works, but times ten! Time passed and we began playing out, but we had a dilemma. The clubs that I wanted to play didn't want no blues band and we weren't top 40 enough to play in the cover band scene. So we began to change direction, but not before capturing the "blues years" in the studio, courtesy of a free recording session generously offered by Erik 4-A. The "Sessions at 4-A" CD was meant to get shows, but the sample on the right was our first recorded original song, "Forever Freak." As with Crime Family, I enjoyed not being the lead singer, although I did end up singing a few songs as the years went on. We recorded our next sessionin 2009 with my friend and Dry Bones partner Jerry Hammack in my basement - "Studio 41." Six solid original songs, all of which can be heard (and downloaded) by clicking on the links at right, under "Ought Rock." The blues influence is still there, but a different, almost new wave approach ala Joe Jackson and Devo is first heard on "Breakfast" and "Shop." Our most recent session was laid down in 2010, again with Jerry in my basement. This became a seven-song EP titled "Kind Of A Big Deal." The ace in the hole, it was. Sadly, Green Handshake went its separate ways, shortly thereafter. Mark moved to South Carolina, so it seems unlikely that even a one-off reunion will take place, but ya just never know, do ya?
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Kind Of A Big Deal (2011) In the Hole Aught Rock (2009) Breakfast Sessions at 4-A I'll Be Around
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