One Hand Free

Artist Information

Biography

“One Hand Free's new disc "Quadraphonic" brings the listener back to the days of Pontiac Firebirds, tight jeans, tie-dye, and long hair with a style reminiscent of Foghat, Golden Earring, and Chicago.” SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE

New England based One Hand Free continues their Rock and Roll crusade with the long awaited follow-up to their acclaimed 2004 self titled debut. “Quadraphonic” is a call to arms, commanding the listener’s attention from the opening riff of “King by now” to the cacophonous yet hauntingly beautiful “Stumble”.

Masterfully engineered by guitarist, Josh DiJoseph, “Quadraphonic” was delivered to Studio G Brooklyn and placed in the able and adventurous hands of mix-guru Joel Hamilton (Tom Waits, Mike Patton, Soulive, Dixie Witch, Dub Trio), and subsequently mastered by Grammy winner, Jay Frigoletto (War, Fu Manchu, Alice in Chains, INXS, Rhino Records).
While firmly rooted in classic and southern rock, One Hand Free puts their love of classic soul, R&B and funk on display with echoes of The Isley Brothers, Tower of Power and Stevie Wonder. This is most evident in “Badway”, a long time staple of OHF’s live performances, represented here in all its funk-rock glory.

The title "Quadraphonic", is a nod to One Hand Free's belief that its members are but four facets of a sharp and gleaming sonic stone, as well as a multi layered reference meant to summon spirits of a time when Rock and Roll albums were unified, and unifying works of both art and energy, a synergy of creativity and commerce, and a breeding ground of communication and connection.

The members of One Hand Free effortlessly connect and communicate with each other, the result of years of working together toward a common goal and a mutual respect and admiration for one another’s undeniable talents. What’s even more remarkable is the connection to their fans, both old and new, from Munich to Moscow to Malden, Mass., who stand united amidst all the glory and grime inherent in the home grown, hand rolled, original Rock and Roll of One Hand Free.

One Hand Free has headlined shows throughout the Northeastern US, and have had the pleasure of sharing stages with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Will Dailey, Eddie Money, members of the Allman Brothers Band, Godsmack, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Outlaws, and The J. Geils Band.

Instrumentation

Andrew Blowen - Vocals/Keyboards
Geoff Taylor - Bass
Josh DiJoseph - Guitar/Engineering
John Santatelli - Drums

Discography

Official Releases:

"One Hand Free" (self titled debut LP) 2004 Halt Music Company
"Quadraphonic" LP 2008 Thundertrauzer Enterprises
"Sly" Single 2009 Thundertrauzer Enterprises
"Mangrove / Slipstream" Digital 45 2010 Thundertrauzer Enterprises
"Sweetbreads" EP 2011 Thundertrauzer Enterprises

Compilations:

"Do you hear what I hear?" Mojo Music Studio Christmas Compilation 2004
"The Wire" Compilation 2005
"Juxtamusician" 2005 Halt Music Compilation

One Hand Free has received airplay on well over 100 radio stations both traditional and internet, mainsteam and college stations in The US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, England, Austria, Belgium and more.

Official Website

http://www.onehandfree.com

Links

• Facebook
• Last.fm
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Big Duck Management - One Hand Free

Audio

• Sly
  Listen   Download
• Dead Reckoning
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• Like A Stone
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• Mangrove
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• Slipstream
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Video

King by now live at The Brickhouse

Photo Gallery

Press

• One Hand Free - Cover Story & Interview [+ Show ]
  

  One Hand Free is a band that lives and breathes their catalog of songs. Those songs only stretch ove...One Hand Free is a band that lives and breathes their catalog of songs. Those songs only stretch over two CDs, but the passion and grasp of the band's core that I could hear as each member talked about the songs, their live performances, and the band as a whole was so in tune that they seemed like one single entity. With their current sophomore release, Quadraphonic, some prominent live shows under their belt, and success - not only in the U.S., but also in Europe - One Hand Free is reaching a plateau of personal success on the same level as many international bands you know by name. Whether the masses catch up to their vibe and organic urgency is the only thing standing between them and world domination.
  
  METRONOME: I've been reading about
  the breakout success you're having in
  Europe. That's fantastic!
  
  Andrew: I was contacted at one point
  by a guy who found us on CD Baby. He
  owns a small record store in Germany and
  ordered a few CDs through them. When
  he got it and dug it, he contacted us directly
  and we got into a direct distribution deal
  with him. He simply started promoting us
  at his storefront and through his Web site.
  Then more orders started coming in from
  other music stores. Our first, seIf-titled CD
  got all this going and we contacted all those
  stores in Germany when we released
  Quadraphonic.
  Kelly: It has built up to the most
  significant part of our album sales, which
  one guy started and has ultimately
  developed over in Germany. It's been great.
  
  METRONOME: You've also gained
  further European exposure through
  the Dutch magazine, Aktueel. Tell me
  how that came about.
  
  Kelly: A reporter for Aktueel found us
  through our Web site, www.onehandfree.com –
  because we have streaming live shows available for
  download. He started downloading those
  and turning other people on to them, so
  Aktueel ended up putting us in the
  magazine.
  Geoff: A lot of our business is downloads,
  not only the live videos of the shows, but
  also MP3s - in Europe as well as here. A
  lot of people are opting not to buy the
  physical disk, going to iTunes or CD Baby
  to download the music. That's been an
  interesting stream of revenue.
  
  METRONOME: How did you come up
  with the name of the group, and also
  the title for the new album?
  
  Geoff: The name for the group, simply
  enough, comes from the Bob Dylan song
  "Mr. Tambourine Man".
  As for Quadraphonic, the name of the album
  basically came from what we think we are
  as a group entity, particularly on stage.
  There are four independent commanders
  vying for stage territory, meeting
  somewhere near the center and doing
  battle with those boundaries. The thing
  we're really happy about with the new
  album is that we were able to take that
  stage aspect, which has evolved over the
  past couple of years and really have it come
  through on the new record. So we thought –
  Quadraphonic - four different sounds
  combining as one, but vying for individual
  attention. It also harkens back to the
  Quadraphonic technology of the 1970s,
  relating our old-school vibe. While we don't
  think of our music as strictly old school,
  we do wonder why the music of the 60s
  and 70s ever really went away or became
  something considered Retro.
  
  METRONOME: The title definitely tied
  the listening experience together for
  me. It's definitely contemporary, with
  a crisp production sound and flavors
  of all the right stuff that's going on
  now. When I see the word
  Quadraphonic it definitely reminds me
  of the 70s, especially the point in time
  when Pete Townshend got The Who
  together to do a Quadraphonic theatre
  tour right around the time of Who's
  Next. I can see why Germany would
  make a quick musical association since
  I can hear elements of Free and the
  Allman Brothers in your music, as well
  as the band formed when the original
  guys from Whitesnake (without David
  Coverdale) got back together in recent
  years as Company of Snakes. I have a
  live CD they recorded at the Wacken
  Open Air festival a few years ago and
  the people in the audience are really
  going crazy. Do you have any plans to
  go over there and tour at all?
  
  Andrew: We've been talking to quite a
  few people and looking at different
  opportunities. There's a lot of trust
  involved, so we're detinitely being careful
  at this point.
  
  METRONOME: I think festivals are
  definitely the way to go unless a band
  can sell out the Garden or the
  Orpheum; from local bands to national
  and international acts, I see acts doing
  well in a festival setting because
  you're somewhat insulated from a
  financial perspective and there's great
  exposure to a diverse audience who've
  come to see one or two bands
  specifically. I see the listing in your bio
  remarking about some of the
  prominent rooms you've played
  around New England, including
  Harper's Ferry and the Hampton Beach
  Casino. What's your favorite, so far,
  to get that Quadraphonic vibe going?
  
  Kelly: Playing around here is always
  interesting, and we try to get venues where
  people actually go to see music; we try to
  develop a good following wherever we play,
  but the Casino is definitely our favorite
  place to play so far. You get a chance to
  spread out, and like you mentioned, you
  get some great exposure; people are really
  excited to see you and you really get
  rewarded by the audience in a larger venue
  like that.
  
  METRONOME: Tell me a little bit about
  your experience at the Hampton Beach
  Casino.
  
  Kelly: We played a gig with Eddie Money
  and it was a fantastic way to get a lot of
  exposure and feedback quickly. You could
  play 40 bars and not get that kind of
  exposure over such a diverse audience
  base.
  
  METROHOME: I haven't heard much
  from Eddie Money in recent years, but
  I remember that he had that very fat
  layered sound years ago, so his
  audience must have really tapped into
  what you guys were doing. What did
  people say to you after a show like that?
  
  Kelly: It was truly like being Rock stars;
  the responses were unexpected and
  overwhelming. We certainly did a great job
  of firing up the crowd for Eddie.
  
  METRONOME: You seem to have
  reached a lot of people, and you're
  playing some prominent shows. How
  do you market the band to gain all this
  attention? Did it just happen over time
  or did you really make a push in certain
  areas?
  
  Kelly: You certainly need to work at it,
  but it has a viral effect when it's good and
  people like it; it turns into its own thing
  after awhile. Over the last 6 months,
  leading up to the release of the new album,
  talking about it, making news about it, to
  now, we've seen it increase exponentially.
  Geoff: The root of it is live shows. Those
  helped generate a buzz for this album
  before it was even half-finished. We get
  people in a room and turn them on; then
  the audience has a need to share that
  experience with other people, so they buy
  the CDs or go to the Web sites. That's
  rudimentary Rock and Roll; that's the way
  it's supposed to work, whether that
  scenario is widespread anymore or not.
  Andrew: I think that a key element to
  it is making as much material available as
  possible - having the live shows on the
  website, even if it's not the greatest
  recording.
  Kelly: That's what people come and pay
  to see. Any great show is going to have
  some warts on it, but that's part of the
  whole live experience.
  Geoff: The cool thing is that there are
  different representations of different songs
  in live performance recordings; one night
  a song has a certain flavor, and on a
  different night, that same song has a new
  flavor.
  As we said before, the Casino is our
  favorite stage to play and that was a great
  experience, but our bread and butter is
  smaller rooms like The Stone Church and
  Nectars where we can really get face to
  face with a crowd, turn them on, and get
  them infected so that they have to go out
  and spread it to other people.
  Andrew: The great thing about playing
  places like The Stone Church, Harper's
  Ferry, and Nectars is that the people who
  come are there to see music. The crowd is
  receptive; they look to see when you're
  playing next; they'II pick up your CD;
  they're music fans. It's better than playing
  to a bar crowd that went to the bar and
  the fact that you're playing there is just a
  bonus. When a venue consistently books
  good music, people will go see a band
  without having heard of them before
  because they trust the venue.
  
  METRONOME: Definitely - a developed
  scene is better than a moveable feast.
  That's what made places like The Rat, The Channel,
  and CBGBs great when they were still around.
  What are the personal differences
  you see between Quadraphonic and
  the eponymous first album, musically
  as well as production-wise?
  
  Geoff: The key difference is that the first
  album grew out of sessions. The songs for
  that album were primarily written by
  Andrew, and after they were recorded,
  Andrew and I performed them live with
  different combinations of the band. The
  thing we're really happy about with
  Quadraphonic is that it's a product of taking
  that first album on the road and not letting
  those songs rest; we pushed them to grow
  and stretch their boundaries, but after we'd
  already recorded them. Then we went from
  that situation to writing new tunes and
  letting them grow on stage until we were
  ready to take them into the studio and
  create Quadraphonic.
  Andrew: We also made a conscious
  decision when we were recording the
  album. After we let those songs grow and
  mature on stage, we made.a conscious
  decision not to edit them. We weren't
  worried about putting out 3 1/2 minute
  songs that were radio friendly. The
  evidence of that is a couple of 6 minute
  songs. We left in what felt good and people
  dig it when we're on stage. That's what's
  important.
  Kelly: I think what you'lI notice on our
  album is that it's relatively absent of thank
  you's; there was one person - arguably
  One Hand Free's biggest fan - that we
  brought in as we started to record these
  songs. Andrew May, who's listed as our
  spiritual advisor, helped us get comfortable
  with the fact that we might put out an
  album that's a little edgy or a little
  inappropriate, but as long as we're doing
  what we do live (what he likes), what
  people come to see, and we're holding true
  to that at every decision point, it's going
  to be great.
  We actually changed our entire
  approach from when we first went into the
  studio. We basically scrapped everything
  we had done and made it more organic
  with everyone in the same room. We played
  the album instead of letting it play us.
  
  METRONOME: What made you bring
  Andrew May in - what is he to the
  band?
  
  Geoff: He's the best sound man we've
  found on the East Coast, and he's seen us
  live more times than I can count. He's run
  sound for us numerous times and really
  been the extra member of the band. He
  sees so many other great bands too, so
  he's really tapped into the scene; he's the
  house sound man at The Stone Church,
  but he's also worked for a touring company,
  and every night he sees a great band. So,
  he's our spiritual advisor. He helped us
  make a great album that we're very proud
  of.
  
  With an organic approach in everything they do, from the visual aspect of the CD jewel case - and from the first note to the last, One Hand Free stays true to my original statement, having reached that personal plateau of success. The only thing left for you to do, after visiting their website www.onehandfree.com and hearing Quadraphonic for yourself, is to see them live. Each member is driven by their respective instrument and the urgent need to deliver their albums' musical promise, stalking the stage, with Andrew on lead vocals and keyboards, Geoff on bass, Josh on guitar; and Kelly playing drums. Though Andrew is behind the keyboard, their live show is still a visual fury. I can say he does a fair bit of flailing about, but Andrew summed it up best in one remark he made to me; while performing at an all ages show, he heard a daughter in the front row say to her mother - Mommy, what's wrong with that man"? I don't think' there's a better test of a great Rock show than scaring children.
  
  Shaun McNamara, Metronome Magazine

• The Big Takeover - Review of Quadraphonic [+ Show ]
  

  To pinpoint this New Hampshire foursome’s sound, one needs to look no further than the first three i...To pinpoint this New Hampshire foursome’s sound, one needs to look no further than the first three influences listed on their Myspace page: Free, Deep Purple and The Allman Brothers. In fact, one listen to any of the heavy, grungy, sweat-filled tunes on this sophomore release (following 2004’s self-titled debut), and you’ll instantly be transported to the 1970’s-this almost sounds like some unearthed vault find. The band’s ace-in-the-hole is singer Andrew Blowen, whose throaty, blues soaked voice is like an amalgam of Ronnie Van Zant, Gregg Allman, and most crucially, Howlin’ Wolf. Meanwhile, Blowen’s capable bandmates back up his effortless bellow with their searing, forceful jam-rock. Perhaps the band could inject a little more stylistic variety, but this should nonetheless satiate fans of the above.
  
  Mark Suppanz, The Big Takeover, Issue #62
  

• This band's got no mercy, and takes no prisoners!! [+ Show ]
  

  Damn, it's about time One Hand Free came forward! This band's got no mercy and takes no prisoners! I...Damn, it's about time One Hand Free came forward! This band's got no mercy and takes no prisoners! If Lynard Skynard/Allman Bros., Deep Purple and the original Whitesnake had a baby, One Hand Free would be it! I love the guitar [Josh DiJoseph] /organ [Andrew Blowen]foundation, with the drums and Bass [ Kelly Bower/Geoff Taylor] that thunder like Thor. And the icing on the cake are those great Coverdale-esque vocals by Andrew Blowen.There's even a bit of Funk in the mix, a la "Come Taste the Band" during the Tommy Bolin era. If you have a chance to see these guys live, don't pass up that opportunity. This is good old Rock and Roll with a jam band sensibility and velocity like a tornado!! Now that's some ass kickin'Rock & Roll, Baby!!

• Steely Dan on performance enhancing steroids [+ Show ]
  

  It’s hard not to be captivated by One Hand Free’s funky, grind rock delivery on their latest album Q...It’s hard not to be captivated by One Hand Free’s funky, grind rock delivery on their latest album Quadraphonic. Biting guitar licks, swirling keyboards, a tight rhythm section and some ass kickin’ vocals is what the band delivers, and they deliver it as good as any. With an infectious guitar lick, “King By Now” opens up the party and gets the festivities cranking. More guitar riffage ensues on “Majesty” that includes a hint of wah-wah psychedelia as well as a thumping bass line that just won’t quit. Think Steely Dan on performance enhancing steroids and you get the idea (and that’s pretty awesome). “Heavy Hands” features some cool chord orchestrations as well as an emotive vocal performance. Again, Steely Dan figures in strongly on this cut. If you’ve been hankering for a new power ballad, check out “Dig”. This song rocks!
  
  Huh? Did you say funky? One Hand Free has more of that too… give “Badway” a spin and be prepared to watch your feet do some movin’. “Stumble” is reminiscent of The Allman Brothers and has the mark of blue-eyed soul that’ll make everything alright. It doesn’t get better than this.
  
  Douglas Sloan, Metronome Magazine, March 2008
  

• Honest and convincing! Please give me more! [+ Show ]
  

  (translated to English from original German text) The quadrophonic was a high-quality piece of mu...(translated to English from original German text)
  
  The quadrophonic was a high-quality piece of music back in the 70’s that nobody cared about a couple years later. Hopefully One Hand Free is spared from the same fate with “Quadrophonic”, since their music has a special something about it. The record label has an extreme bandwidth of musical classification that I’m a fan of. Fact is that the long player somehow manages the balancing act between yesterday and today. I have no idea how One Hand Free manage that with their great variety in song writing but the US-Boys got it down.
  
  Everybody who is into honest and handmade rock music should definitely check out their record. Besides the music on the second record of One Hand Free –their debut album “One Hand Free” was released in 2004- more factors favour the band: Packed as a digipack in combination with the sound of eight tracks such as the half-ballad “Lucky”, the opener “King by Now” or “Heavy Hands” which are way beyond good and evil (don’t know if that’s an English expression too but it basically means pretty fucking good). Fuck classifications that in most cases are inadequate anyway. On “Quadrophonic” One Hand Free present a mix of Gov’t Mule and Singer/Songwriter Stuff-honest and convincing-please give me more of that!
  
  Marco Magin, Breakout Magazine, March 2008
  

• Battle of the Tech Bands, Middle East, Cambridge, MA
  

  The hirsute One Hand Free rattles the skeletons of Grand Funk Railroad and Mountain.

• New Year, New Music: Mix Tape '08, Music To Love [+ Show ]
  

  One Hand Free's new disc "Quadraphonic" brings the listener back to the days of Pontiac Firebirds, t...One Hand Free's new disc "Quadraphonic" brings the listener back to the days of Pontiac Firebirds, tight jeans, tie-dye, and long hair. Their style is reminiscent of Foghat, Golden Earring, and Chicago. Each track is strong, and the only drawback is that there are only eight songs on the record.
  Lead singer Andrew Blowen has an appropriate growl for the part, and is evenly matched by lead guitarist Josh DiJoseph's aggressive riffs.
  The majority of the songs are of a slow and solid tempo, relying on the band's ear for music, not their ability to make noise.
  "Badway" is the most solid of the tracks, and sounds like it has its underpinnings in Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." There's plenty of funky rock spread out through the CD.
  

Setlist

Our typical sets are anywhere from 30-45 minutes when sharing a bill to 2 hours+ (with a set break) for a headlining show. Sets are 90-100% original material.

Basic Requirements

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