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Tall Hands, led by Justin Raisen, are still flexing their muscles. The band, formerly known as The Kites, has inked a deal with the start-up label Pulse Recording, run by veteran A&R man Jason Bernard and producer Josh Abraham.
The deal is for just one record, specifically a seven-song EP, says Tall Hands manager Adam Levin. The producer will be Ariel Rechtshaid, who also helmed The Kites' never-released (but oh-so-excellent) full-length disc, "Bump." Dave Schiffman, who's worked with Nine Inch Nails, System of a Down and others, is the engineer.
As of this writing, the band - which now includes Raisen's cousin Jordan Benik on keyboards - is in a Los Angeles studio laying down the basic tracks, which Levin notes are being recorded largely live. Raisen describes the sound as somewhere between Bryan Ferry and the Rolling Stones. (If you heard the band play at the Bowery Ballroom a while back, you might remember the song "On Top of Time," which will appear on the EP. All the other tracks are new, Raisen says.)
Tall Hands have some area gigs tentatively scheduled in the coming months. Check out myspace.com/tallhands for updates, and for a couple of spiffy tracks that show off the band's new sound. - Newsday
Discography
Tall Hands - S/T - Pulse Recordings - Release 10/24/06
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Bio
Six years, nine members and three band names. That’s the abridged version of Tall Hands’ history. The band’s core – singer Justin Raisen, rhythm players Tim Ruggeri (drums) and Billy Eidenback (bass), along with lead guitarist Algernon Quashie have been playing together in various incarnations since they graduated high school. The last year has seen the addition of Raisen’s cousin and longtime songwriting collaborator Jordan Benik on keyboards and a rotating cast of players filling out an ever-changing lineup.
Raisen and bassist Billy Eidenback began playing together in their teens with Raisen on drums, switching styles as often as they switched lead guitarists, finally settling on Algernon Quashie, who brought with him drummer Ruggeri, with whom he had played in high school. With their teenage years nearly behind them they refocused the band as they honed their own tastes. They would record an unreleased album called “Bump,” more significant for the introductions it made them than the album itself. It was their first collaboration with producer Ariel Rechtshaid, who would later perform in the Dim Mak Records band Foreign Born and produce the debut albums from We Are Scientists and the Blood Arm. Rechtshaid would become Justin’s sounding board, critiquing new material as Justin and his cousin Jordan churned out new and evolving songs.
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