The Hand

Originally starting being a solo project for Cathedral of Betty brainchild Chris Rael, the Hand (his nickname) ultimately morphed right into a sensational one-off project between Rael as well as the former nucleus of fellow NY band Hunk, multi-instrumentalists Kenny Siegal and Brian Geltner. Following a release from the 1st ensemble Chapel of Betty recording (and third general) in 1995 and his arduous cooperation with British-born diva Najma, Rael fulfilled Siegal and Geltner, who have been languishing at Geffen using their music group Hunk. Like a rest from the creative stifling of a significant label, they started working on even more experimental music with Rael in Siegal’s cellar studio. The cooperation gradually started to evolve into more than merely side experimentation, therefore Siegal and Geltner split up Hunk in 1996, as well as the trio became the best music group, the Hands. Both Rael and Siegal demonstrated prodigious songwriters, and within 2 yrs the Hand experienced recorded almost five albums’ well worth of unreleased, lo-fi rock and roll & roll influenced by greats like the Beatles, David Bowie, the Kinks, as well as the Seaside Boys amongst others, aswell as Rael’s research in Indian traditional music, all converted into a post-modern mishmash of influenced pop with each one of the three musicians regularly trading tools. The music group finally recorded an effective album by the end of 1996, setting up one song each day for 19 times. The effect, Mule Me, premiered at the start of 1997 by Messenger Information. With the help of keyboardist Jan Kotik (who experienced previously played numerous instruments with Chapel of Betty), the Hands spent the center area of the yr playing around NY and the encompassing region, aswell as documenting a follow-up recording that was eventually never released. At that time, the Hands morphed into Johnny Culture, with Siegal on electric guitar, Geltner on drums, and Rael taking on bass responsibilities. After their debut record It Don’t Matter in 1997, Rael reconvened and provided his full focus on Cathedral of Betty, with Gwen Snyder ultimately changing him on bass in Johnny Culture (Rael and Siegal’s regular cooperation on each other’s tasks, however, continuing).