One Hand Free

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

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!! - Doc Sigmier with Sonic Gumbo/KHEN 106.9 fm

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.
- Spotlight Magazine/Portsmouth Herald

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
- Mark Suppanz

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
- Metronome Magazine

(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
- Breakout Magazine

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 - Metronome Magazine