Shake Hands Eric

SHAKE HANDS ERIC ARE... (L-R)
Andy Tonkin – piano, vocals
Rob Baylis – drums, vocals and additional guitars
Mark Hurrell – bass, trombone, vocals
Richard Young – guitar, harmonica, lead vocals
 

THE STORY SO FAR…

If Crowded House didn’t hail from Te Awamutu, they would make Records like Long Stay These Days, the debut release from Peterborough four-piece Shake Hands Eric.

Out February 15, the track is a wry take on the humbling effects of growing older; the subject sensitively captured in all its autumnal hues, belying the band’s otherwise sunny disposition.

Mixing the lyrical inflections of The Kinks with Merseybeat era pop classicism – then throw in those aforementioned colonial harmonies - it makes for music of import and substance. Something special, even. And as English as a trip to the seaside; as revered as Henry Cooper; and as everyman and eponymous as Marks & Spencer underwear…

Formed in early 2009, the songs come courtesy of lead singer and guitarist, Richard Young. “Now it’s the four of us, it’s clear that we’re an obvious fit,” states the man regarded as the heartbeat of the band. “We were a swirling, whirling and rather unstructured collection of musicians originally. That eventually distilled down to this - the essence of a grown-up band that goes out and plays as Shake Hands Eric. It’s a great name, don’t you think? Friendly.”

And in ‘the-greatly-named’ Shake Hands Eric, everyone contributes to vocal duties. The band are Young, singing and strumming, Andy Tonkin on piano, Mark Hurrell bass and Rob Baylis on drums. All have experience in a million other weird and wonderful groups – Baylis’ back story even includes a stint with original punks, The Destructors. But it is now, in this particular musical incarnation, that all planets have aligned. The quartet is passionate about playing together. “We love making music, but Richard was the most reluctant of us all to do it live,” comments bassist, Mark Hurrell, speaking of his usually less-than retiring band-mate. “He just wanted to record. I think he felt he was ‘over’ getting out there and playing the songs in front of people. As with all of us, we’ve gigged a lot in various bands and he thought we could reach people without doing that.” Pausing for reflection, it’s piano man, Andy Tonkin who finishes what Hurrell started, “But you don’t reach people - not in the same way you do when you play songs live, do you?”

And make no mistake the band’s deceptively rich canon of songs do resonate with whoever hears them. With enough life-experience to comment on the human condition in the first person and not the abstract, these are missives of emotional intelligence. Paeans of heart and mind, if you will.
With promotional duties to be serviced, comes exciting times for Shake Hands Eric. Quality song-writing underpinned by classic acoustic pop arrangements will delight mainstream and even more folk-orientated audiences, wherever the band play. If a proper summer materialises there will be no finer backdrop against which to listen to this new band boasting old heads. In the classic tradition of great British songwriting Shake Hands Eric are as rooted in this country’s musical heritage as saying sorry is in the nation’s psyche. And for that, ahem, they make no apology.

Sample 'Long Stay These Days'

Available to download 15-02-10 from

Recorded, Produced and Mastered at DTM by Ross Griggs for Unbelievable Music UK.