San Diego, CA’s Idlehands is now premiering their music video for “El Shakes” at AltPress.com. The video was filmed in New York City on a recent tour, and the song comes from Dena Mora – the band’s incredible new full-length, which is out now on Headphone Music/Equal Vision Records.
“How this video came together is an extremely coincidental story. During our first East Coast tour, we had a day off and we decided to go out to see a friend of ours, Matt Smith (who played trombone on our song “Mellow Christ”), play a jazz show in NYC,” shares vocalist Johnny O’Hagan. “The show was at a very tiny Japanese club in the FiDi area of the Manhattan. At the end of the show, we began to talk with a group of three people who were at the table next to us and found out that they were also from San Diego. They had moved into an apartment in Harlem together and had recently started a media company. After learning that we were in a band from their hometown, we became fast friends. The next day, one of them – Erik Bardin – came out to our rehearsal and decided that he wanted to shoot an impromptu music video to document our run of shows in NYC. It is now almost a year later and we have remained friends with Erik and his roommates. We have even brought Erik on tour as a photographer and would love to work with him again!”
Dena Mora was recorded in Portland, OR with producer Kris Crummett (A Lot Like Birds, Closure In Moscow), and is the follow-up to the band’s 2013 EP, Common Soul. The dynamic album effortlessly carves out musical peaks and valleys, while lyrically reflecting on the natural highs and lows of life, including hope, heartbreak and the ongoing efforts to persevere through life’s daily challenges. Through this, Idlehands impressively showcases their ability to create a balanced blend of dark vs. bright, delicate vs. aggressive, and structural vs. atmospheric elements, offering a beautifully sophisticated scope of sounds and storytelling.
Dena Mora is available at select indie stores such as Newbury Comics, Amoeba, Dimple, and Rasputin’s Records, idlehands.merchnow.com, and digital retailers such as iTunes and AmazonMP3.
The experimental indie-rock quintet has already premiered three additional music videos for songs from the album, including “Filthy Doves”, “Mellow Christ” (featuring Justin Bonifacio of Ghost Parade), and “Floor of Tradition”.
Idlehands most recently toured with Geographer and Empires. The band has also previously toured and shared stages with the diverse likes of Taking Back Sunday, Being As An Ocean, A Lot Like Birds, My Iron Lung, This Wild Life, and more. All upcoming and announced tour dates can be found below.
Idlehands is comprised of Johnny O’Hagan (vocals), Michael Brekka (guitar), Seancarlo Ohlin (guitar), Phil Di Raffaele (drums), and Isaac White (bass).
TOUR DATES
Idlehands w/Sianvar, Strawberry Girls, and Movements
Sep 11 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar*
Sep 22 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
Sep 23 Mesa, AZ @ The Nile Theatre
Sep 24 El Paso, TX @ Club 101
Sep 25 San Antonio, TX @ Jacks Patio Bar
Sep 26 Lawton, OK @ TBA
Sep 27 Houston, TX @ Walters
Sep 28 Dallas, TX @ Sons of Herman Hall
Sep 29 Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street Collective
Sep 30 Denver, CO @ The Moon Room
Oct 01 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Oct 02 Reno, NV @ The Holland Project
Oct 03 Walnut Creek, CA @ The Red House
Oct 04 Fresno, CA @ Strummers
* Idlehands only
photo credit: Erik Bardin || erikbardin.com
