The Shaky Hands were a

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

-based rock group, formed in 2003 by musician Paul Culp (Lonesome Radio Heart, Culpepper), and Colin Anderson. Nicholas Delffs joined soon after on vocals and guitar. They spent the next three years gradually building a following in the Portland area and self-releasing two CDs, one informally called ''The Skidmore Days'', which is a

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

full-length album recorded in future guitarist Jeff Lehman's North Portland basement and mixed by

Alex Arrowsmith Alex Arrowsmith (born July 10, 1982) is a rock/pop musician from Portland, Oregon. He is best known for his work with The Minders and The Shaky Hands, as well as his solo catalog. Discography Studio albums Compilations References Exte ...

. They also released a self-titled EP informally referred to as the ''Bonnie Doon EP'', in reference to the location it was recorded. The Shaky Hands were signed to Holocene Music in late 2006. By this time, the lineup had changed considerably, with Mayhaw Hoons replacing Culp (who left in late 2004) on bass and the addition of second guitarist Jeff Lehman. Nathan Delffs (Nicholas' brother, and member of

The Castanets Castanets was the musical project of Ray Raposa, who had been signed to Asthmatic Kitty Records from 2004 until his death in 2022. Castanets was influenced by country, folk, and experimental rock, and released seven albums, the latest being '' ...

) joined shortly thereafter on percussion and

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ac ...

. Their sound is a fusion of 1960s style

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

bands such as

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

and

The Zombies The Zombies are an English rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two fu ...

and American folk-rock in the vein of

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

. The result is what many have described as a loose, jangly, rootsy style of indie rock. The Delffs brothers (along with most of the members of Shaky Hands) also perform Shaky Hands songs (alongside original compositions) under the Death Songs moniker, a more experimental and folk-oriented side project. In March 2007,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

reviewed their song "Whales Sing" from their forthcoming debut album, out April 10 on Holocene Music. On April 5 of the same year, Holocene Music posted the video for "Why And How Come," directed by Whitey McConnaughy, on YouTube.com. The band signed to UK independent label Memphis Industries in the summer of 2007, just as they began recording their second album, ''Lunglight''. They released the eponymous debut in the UK & Continental Europe on November 26, 2007. In 2008, The Shaky Hands signed to

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known ...

, which released ''Lunglight'' in conjunction with Holocene Music on September 9, 2008, two months after founding member Colin Anderson left the group. Multi-instrumentalist Nathan Delffs took Anderson's place on the drums for the rest of 2008 before Jake Morris of

The Joggers The Joggers, formerly known as Stateside, are a four-piece band from Portland, Oregon. They play complex songs with elements of math rock which retain a pop sensibility. The guitar style of (lead singer and songwriter) Ben Whitesides and the sec ...

took up the position on a permanent basis, beginning with their winter 2009 tour opening for

The Meat Puppets ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. After spending much of 2009 on tour, Morris left the group in February 2010. Delffs moved to the drums in Morris' absence and recruited Portland artist

for keyboards and guitars. After recording a new record ''Realms Out Of Reach'' in summer 2010, Mayhaw Hoons left the group and Arrowsmith moved to bass. Mike Yun was brought in on keyboards and guitar, along with Justin Power on additional percussion and backing vocals. The group disbanded in 2011 without releasing ''Realms Out of Reach''.

Mayhaw Hoons

Mayhaw Hoons (born June 22, 1982) is the bassist for the Shaky Hands, who he has performed and recorded with since 2004. He has self-released several solo albums produced by Portland musician and friend

(on whose records he has also made appearances). Hoons also fronts the on-again-off-again Portland garage-funk band

Mondo Hollywood ''Mondo Hollywood'' is a documentary " mondo movie" by Robert Carl Cohen, released in 1967. Filmed over the preceding two years, it was described by ''Variety'' as a "flippy, trippy psychedelic guide to Hollywood". Description The film starts ...

as the singer and principal songwriter. He was the bass player and backing vocalist for The Shaky Hands from 2004 until his departure in summer 2010.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

References

External links

Myspace siteHome page for the band
at the Holocene Music website
Concert review
from the Hemlock Bar in San Francisco {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaky Hands, The Musical groups from Portland, Oregon 2003 establishments in Oregon 2011 disestablishments in Oregon Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Memphis Industries artists Kill Rock Stars artists