That Handsome Devil

That Handsome Devil, often shortened to THD, is an American rock band hailing from Brooklyn, New York, by way of Boston, Massachusetts.

The band mixes genres such as rock, funk, jazz, jive,^[2] blues, surf, R&B, reggae,^[3] rockabilly, rap, and psychedelic. Their sound has also been described as "equal parts Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, bizarre electronica, creepy hip hop and in-your-face gonzo rock".^[4] Gypsy jazz has been used in description of the band, while frontman Godforbid describes the band's music as "fringe pop".^[5]

History

The band was founded by Godforbid and Jeremy Page. Predating the band's existence, Godforbid and Page were both members of the hip hop group Alaskan Fishermen, along with Thirstin' Howl III and Father Time.^[6] In late 2004, That Handsome Devil, sometimes abbreviated "THD," released their first single, "Dating Tips" featuring three songs, "Dating Tips", "How to Get Money", and "Don't Go" July 23, 2006, saw the release of their first eponymous EP That Handsome Devil, which included the single "Dating Tips" from 2004. "Elephant Bones", the fourth track on the album, was featured as a bonus song in Guitar Hero II.

Their first studio album, A City Dressed in Dynamite, was released on August 5, 2008 to scores of positive reviews, being praised as "profoundly entertaining", "bizarre in a beautiful way" and "a madcap musical frenzy as dizzying as it is dazzling".^[7] Although the music continued to be as stylistically varied as their last release, the album expanded on the band's prevalent themes of emptiness, drug addiction, materialism, and death, and continued to feature their trademark of dated soundbites from the 1950s.

A portion of "Mexico" was featured in the seventh episode of season four of Weeds, "Yes I Can", before A City Dressed in Dynamite was released, though they are mistakenly credited as The Handsome Devils (Another band called The Handsome Devils had produced a song titled "Mexico" though this is a coincidence).^[8] "Squares" was later heard in the episode "Rebellion" of Reaper.^[9]

"Rob the Prez-O-Dent" was featured as the fourth track on Good Riddance, George W. Bush, released in December 2008, a compilation album of anti-George W. Bush songs, even though, despite its premise, "Rob the Prez-O-Dent" doesn't refer to George W. Bush or his policies at all; though "Viva Discordia" contains overt references to the Iraq War and the Bush administration, referring to the latter as "a bunch of mobsters looking for Osama".

"Rob the Prez-O-Dent" was also featured as a playable track in Rock Band 2. This, along with the appearance of "Elephant Bones" in Guitar Hero II, has greatly increased their visibility.

Their next EP, Enlightenment's For Suckers was released on August 25, 2009.^[10]

THD went on a national tour dubbed "Hating New People" in the summer of 2010 where they sold a small-print disc of unreleased singles and covers.

On August 9, 2011, That Handsome Devil released their newest full-length album, The Heart Goes to Heaven, The Head Goes to Hell, to favorable reviews from fans and critics. The band kicked off the album with a heartland tour and the launch of an independent website.^[11] This was financed in part by a fundraising effort on project startup service Kickstarter; the band made their $2000 pledge goal within a few days and ultimately raised $6013 after a month. Many people chose to donate at the hundred dollar level in order to receive some highly sought-after unreleased songs, along with other accessories.

In August 2012 THD announced their EP titled "The Jungle Book" available for free download on their website. The album consists of covers of several songs from the original Disney movie redone by band as quasi-reimagining.

On September 17, 2014 THD released the first single, "$=❤ (Money is The Symbol For Love)", from their forthcoming album.

On November 24, 2014 the band posted on their YouTube page the name of the album "Drugs & Guns For Everyone" for release on the following day. ^[12]

Band members

• Godforbid - vocals, songwriter
• Jeremy Page - guitar, bass, keyboard, banjo, pedal steel, glockenspiel, percussion, accordion, synthesizer, kazoo, background vocals, songwriter^[13]
• Naoko Takamoto - backing vocals
• Evan Sanders - keyboard, trumpet, trombone
• Jeremy Siegel - bass, background vocals
• Sam Merrick - drums
• Deflon Sallahr - live show hype man
• Andy Bauer - drums, percussion, accordion, guitar, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

• "That Handsome Devil" (2006)
• A City Dressed in Dynamite (2008)
• The Heart Goes to Heaven, The Head Goes to Hell (2011)
• Drugs & Guns For Everyone (2014)

EPs

That Handsome Devil EP (2006) Stardust/Traffic

Enlightenment's For Suckers (2009)

Hating New People (2010)

The Jungle Book (2012)

Singles

• "Dating Tips" (2004)
• "Steady and Slow" (2007)
• "Hey White Boy" (2007)
• "Lucky Me" (2008)
• "Mr. Grinch" (2008)
• "Chicken Claw" (2009)
• "Marilyn Loves Heroin" (2009)
• "Disco City" (2009)
• "How to Get Money (And Not Have to Shoot Somebody)"
• "How to Get More Money (And Not Have to Shoot Somebody)" (2011)

Trivia

• The Muppets' cover of "Mah Na Mah Na" was sampled heavily for their track "Hey White Boy"
• They covered "Mr. Grinch" as a 2008 Christmas single.
• The band performed a live cover of "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" by Dr. Dre.
• In the sequel song "How to Get More Money", THD sampled Pink Floyd's intro to the song "Money".
• Off their latest EP release, The Jungle Book, Naoko Takamoto is featured on lead vocals for the song "Home".
• The Hating New People EP is an album that consists of covers and unreleased singles
• Godforbid was featured on a podcast episode of the Comic Book Club and performed an acoustic song called "Marvel Name Drop".
• The song "Elephant Bones" was a bonus track in Guitar Hero II.
• "Rob The Prez-O-Dent" was featured in Rock Band 2.

References

External links

• MacNeil, Jason (2008) "That Handsome Devil A City Dressed In Dynamite", PopMatters