June 29, 2003
Back in the studio
Idle Hands Banned
is already back in the studio for pre-production on their second CD, as
yet unnamed. A full production schedule has been laid out to complete
the collection for a release in June 2004.
June 22, 2003
OverTIME CD
now available online
Idle Hands Banned
has teamed with CD Baby to distribute their new CD, OverTIME.
CD Baby is the second largest distributor of independent music in the
world. Negotiations continue to set up additional sales outlets,
including several in the Central Arkansas area. And, of course, if
you have the questionable luck to actually know any of the band members,
you may also purchase copies from them directly.
Idle
Hands Banned at CD Baby
April 5, 2003
Idle Hands Banned
to release first CD
Barring any
complications, Idle Hands Banned (IHB) will release OverTime,
a 72-minute, 14 song compilation of original material, at a CD Release
Party on Sunday, May 18, 2003, at Vino's in Little Rock. The
party/performance will run from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. While a rather
unorthodox day and time, the band felt it would be more attractive to the
folks that have to work for a living, and since the band also has to work
for a living, easier on them.
Advance tickets go on
sale April 11. Single tickets are $10 and will include a copy of the CD (a helluva deal!). Couple tickets will be $15, and include one copy of the
CD. Tickets will also be available at the door, $5 admission, and CDs will
be on sale for $10.
Included on the CD is
"Eve Before the Fall," a Jim Jolly composition that won
Honorable Mention in the 2001 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Considering
an estimated 35,000 entries, the band considered that to be quite an
honour. Also included are three songs performed by the band when they were
still gigging: Silver Moon, Brainlock, and Natural Order,
the last of which was only performed a couple of times, but gathered
tremendous praise. Another song, Confusion, co-authored by Rick
Scott and Jared Young, has been performed by the Jared Young Band.
All other material was written specifically for this project.
With the exception of Brainlock,
recorded in Tommy Walker's living room, all of the songs were recorded at
Stoneledge Studios in Maumelle, a 24-track digital recording facility
owned by Idle Hands Banned. Artwork for the CD was provided by fractal
artist Terry
Wright.
Work on the project
began in August, 1998 after IHB stopped public performances. Since all of
the band members also had day jobs, it had become impossible to pursue the
live-performance aspects and the desire to create permanent
"records" of their years of hard work and creativity. So they
retired to the studio.
Rick Scott began
performing with the Jared Young Band, and Paul Edmonson with the Resistors
(nee KSSN Bandits). Keith Nash found himself on stage with Blues DeVille.
As recording engineer, Tom Bertram devoted all of his spare time to the
recording project, while Jim Jolly wrote the lion's share of the music and
lyrics. Vince Castiglia, the remaining member of the band, turned his
attention to learning to play the pedal steel after a work-place accident
that made it impossible to play guitar for an extended period. The band
continued to gather, in whole and part, for three to six hours a week to
work on the CD. During the process of recording, Angelyn Jolly, daughter
of Jim, was officially inducted into the band, and is featured vocalist on
two of the songs.
Test audiences have
heard the influences of Steely Dan, John Lennon, Eagles, Pink Floyd, the
Moody Blues, Neil Young, and Willie Nelson, among others.
The results of the work
are impressive, and very eclectic. From the country-flavoured Silver
Moon to the heavy, driving sci-fi tinged Single Blue Female, to
the pop-oriented Relatively Minor Mary, to the jazz-rock fusion Eve
Before the Fall, the listener should find something to their specific
taste, as well as a diverse enough blend of styles to maintain interest
throughout. Jolly has interjected his sense of humour into his lyrics,
which is also a great treat. At just over 71 minutes in length, in the
"old days" this would have been considered a double album.
--
Tommy Walker
September 30, 2001
Idle Hands Changes Name
Innocent Protected
Idle Hands are everywhere! We're
not sure who came first, but we're pretty sure it was the egg. Ah, but that doesn't
matter. We're flexible! Besides, you know what they say..."Too many Idle
Hands spoil the broth!"
But like the Godfather always used to
say, "It's strictly business!" And so is the reason for the change.
We're kinda fond of our old moniker, so we decided to keep it, but expand on it. We
were banned from posting our music on MP3.COM because there were already two or three Idle
Hands' waving out there. SO after an exhausting search, we've found that no
other Idle Hands have been banned, so we banned(ed) ourselves. Clear?... Yeah, me
neither...
So here we are with a new look, a new
name, some new music, and some old friends.
Be sure to check out the MP3's we've
posted here. They're older renditions, but we can't give EVERYthing away
for free, now can we? Some of our finished songs will be available shortly on
MP3.COM, and we plan to make some money out there. Come on, don't be shy!
Spend some MONEY!!!
We've been planning and working on this
for three years now. We have not played a single gig while we develop our writing
and studio skills. Our early results were, perhaps, less that great, but our latest
efforts are thrilling audiences throughout the neighborhood...
Angelyn Jolly, daughter of our own
beloved guitarist/songwriter Jim Jolly, has taken the reigns as our cyber-manager in
charge of marketing on the Internet. With any luck, we'll be able to quit our day
jobs sometime next year.
We should have the entire website back
up within a couple of weeks.
Peace!
-- Tommy Walker,
CEO Byte the Hand Records |
