released March 13, 2009

Hands Down Eugene's White Stone and Black Witch Release Party March 13
Posted by D. Patrick Rodgers on Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 11:45 AM
click to enlarge I still think "Hands Down Your Jeans" is funny.

I still think "Hands Down Your Jeans" is funny.

I'll tell you what goes together better than Kings of Leon and rollerblading, and that's Hands Down Eugene and being ballers. The quintessential East Siders have finally gotten around to putting out their EPs White Stone and Black Witch on vinyl, and they're doing so this Friday (the 13th) at a release party at The 5 Spot with D. Striker. According to Hands Down's people, "the finished results were pared down from '1,346 potential songs recorded on a four-day peyote binge in the frozen jungles of Greater China' and '453 potential songs recorded on a six-day giraffe execution in the swampy deserts of Mid-North Canada' respectively." I like the sound of that. Here's a snippet from the Critic's Pick I wrote for our forthcoming issue:

...Hands Down Eugene are taking advantage of their gig with fellow East Nashville institution D. Striker--the celebrated jester of traditional country who only appears every Friday the 13th--to release their long-awaited EPs White Stone and Black Witch on vinyl. Hands Down Eugene's frontman--gaunt, heavily bearded wizard of the East Matt Moody--might look a bit like a grizzled metal hesher, but his songs are all whip-smart and introspective psychedelic pop numbers delivered with a surprisingly clear tenor. Injected with a sluggish Southern drawl, White Stone and Black Witch's production occasionally bristle with brash, bombastic flourishes and moments of monumental poignancy. As if that wasn't enough, they're remarkably tight live, too.

That's the second time I've quoted myself in as many weeks. Too meta for my own good. In case you never caught it, Hands Down, D. Striker and their fellow members of the Trey Deuce Club were featured in last October's issue of No Depression. Here's a picture by Thomas Petillo. You can listen to "Mountain Kitten" off of White Stone below. Enjoy.