Sunday 27 January 2013

Shake Hands Eric Q&A


Your name:  
Richard Young.

Where are you from?  
Grew up in Lincolnshire, now based out of Peterborough, UK.

Name of band:
Shake Hands Eric. 

Who else is in your band?  
Mark plays bass, Ken on guitar, Andy is our man on the piano, and a drummer called Les. I sing and play my acoustic.  

How would you describe yourselves?  
Simple really since you ask...we are the legitimate heirs of a pop folk rock dynasty, sweeping up a plethora of musical genres into a magnificent dust bowl of nearly-new genius.  

Who are your main influences musically? 
The Beatles, and especially John Lennon, got me started, so I always listen for melody and confessions. At various points in my life I have been besotted by Talking Heads, The Smiths, Dexy's, The Specials, Fashion, Neil Young, Springsteen and Dylan. Of course, a hell of a lot of others have made their way into my head, joined the mash and help when I write songs.       

What do you hope to achieve in music? 
To move people in some way with a song, or to write something that lasts and for people to adore. To get a song into a movie or one of those US shows. To play one or two rather large festivals and to make enough to balance the books one day. So, not that ambitious really.... 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 
We've been lucky to have had some great producers and musicians add to our stuff, especially our second album where we worked with Paul Milner (Robert Palmer, Rush, Sting, Keith Richards) and Phil Tyreman (Snow Patrol, Belle and Sebastian). We have played a few good gigs too and done a fair bit of live radio. I am also pretty pleased to have assembled a bunch of guys who are very hot players to work with and mates - people underestimate how hard doing that can be. 

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 
Being a tad pissed and whilst talking backstage with a Led Zep tribute artist, annoying John Paul Jones by mocking his wig.  

If you could choose one of your songs as an advert for your music, what would it be and why? 
Lamplight - a song about a dreamer who mistakes a street appliance for a celestial body and makes a wish upon it. An easy mistake.  

Where can we listen to it?



Where can we find out more about your music?
Twitter is @shakehandseric

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