Icecream Hands
Encyclopedia
Icecream Hands were a power pop
band formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 1992 as Chuck Skatt and His Icecream Hands with Charles "Chuck Skatt" Jenkins
as lead singer-songwriter and rhythm guitar
ist, Arturo "Arch" Larizza on bass guitar, his brother Dom "Benedictine III" Larizza on lead guitar and Derek Smiley on drums. They shortened the name, released an Extended play
, Ice Cream Hands, on Rubber Records and, after a year, Douglas Robertson had replaced Arch on bass guitar.
In 1997 Marcus Goodwin replaced Dom on lead guitar and their second album, Memory Lane Traffic Jam was released in the United States (US) on Not Lame Recordings
; it was acclaimed by AllMusic reviewer, Stephen Thomas Erlewine
as "immediately catchy, but [the songs] grow stronger upon each listen -- a hallmark of a truly fine pop album". They have twice been nominated for an Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Music Award, for 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' in 2000
for their third album, Sweeter than the Radio and 'Best Independent Release' in 2002
for "Rain, Hail, Shine" from their next album, Broken UFO. While on hiatus, Jenkins pursued his solo career before briefly reuniting the band which released The Good China in 2007. Jenkins then issued his third solo album in 2008, while other band members became involved in separate projects.
had been a solo artist in Adelaide where, as Chuck Skatt, he formed The Mad Turks from Istanbul
as their vocalist in 1984 with Dominic Larizza (as Dom Benedictine III) on drums and later on guitar, Martyn Christopher on bass guitar and Matthias Eckhardt on guitar. The band relocated to Melbourne by 1989, renamed as The Mad Turks after Eckhardt left, Jenkins took up rhythm guitar, and they disbanded there in 1991. Jenkins and Larizza recruited his brother Arturo "Arch" Larizza (ex-The Saints
) on bass guitar and Derek Smiley on drums to form Chuck Skatt and His Icecream Hands in 1992. The name was shortened to Icecream Hands which Jenkins took from the lyrics of a 1984 Robyn Hitchcock
song "Flavour of Night" (from I Often Dream of Trains
) and is an English term for masturbation
. Their debut release, Ice Cream Hands was a six-track Extended play
(EP) on independent label Rubber Records and distributed by Shock Records
.
In 1993 they released a full length album, Travelling... Made Easy, and Douglas Robertson replaced Arch Larizza on bass guitar—Arch re-united with Chris Bailey (ex-The Saints) in Bailey's backing band. Travelling... Made Easy was released in Europe in 1995 on Blue Rose Records with four additional tracks and was described as "quite an accomplished and ambitious effort". In Australia they released their second EP, Supermarket Scene in 1994 followed by two more EPs Olive (November 1995) and Here We Go 'Round Now (July 1997).
Marcus Goodwin (ex-Yolk) had replaced Dom Larizza on lead guitar by August 1997 and they released their second full length album, Memory Lane Traffic Jam. By then Rubber Records was being distributed by BMG
and the album was released in the United States (US) on Not Lame Recordings
. Three bonus tracks were added to the US release, which was acclaimed by AllMusic reviewer, Stephen Thomas Erlewine
as "immediately catchy, but [the songs] grow stronger upon each listen -- a hallmark of a truly fine pop album".
Sweeter than the Radio, co-produced
by Icecream Hands and Wayne Connolly
, was released in 1999. One of the singles, "Nipple" was written by Jenkins about an early girlfriend who attracted his attention at a bus stop. With a lack of commercial success they nevertheless achieved critical acclaim when the album was nominated for an ARIA Music Award, for 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' in 2000
. Their next album, Broken UFO, produced by Shane O'Mara and East Van Parks, contained the track, "Rain, Hail, Shine" which was nominated as 'Best Independent Release' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2002
.
Rubber Records released a 2× CD greatest hits
collection, You Can Ride My Bike: The Best of the Icecream Hands in 2004. While on hiatus, Jenkins pursued his solo career to release two albums, Bungalow (2004) and The City Gates (2005) on Parole Records. Icecream Hands briefly reunited for The Good China, issued in 2007 on the independent label Dust Devil Music. Jenkins returned to his solo work and released Blue Atlas on Dust Devil Music in 2008. Robertson (as "Doug Root") joined Melbourne-based alternative rock
group Root!
in 2008, he had guested on their debut album, Root! (2007). They released a second album, Get Up Yourself in 2009. Smiley also briefly joined ROOT as you guessed it Smiley ROOT and recorded Surface Paradise with them before moving to his next project Buff Uncle. As from January 2010, Goodwin and Smiley perform as the duo Buff Uncle.
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
band formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 1992 as Chuck Skatt and His Icecream Hands with Charles "Chuck Skatt" Jenkins
Charles Jenkins (musician)
Charles Jenkins is a musician based in Melbourne, Victoria. He is a member of Icecream Hands and has released three solo albums.Jenkins was born in Mildura, Victoria and soon was moved to Adelaide, South Australia. He started performing solo and later joined The Mad Turks From Istanbul and in 1989...
as lead singer-songwriter and rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
ist, Arturo "Arch" Larizza on bass guitar, his brother Dom "Benedictine III" Larizza on lead guitar and Derek Smiley on drums. They shortened the name, released an Extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Ice Cream Hands, on Rubber Records and, after a year, Douglas Robertson had replaced Arch on bass guitar.
In 1997 Marcus Goodwin replaced Dom on lead guitar and their second album, Memory Lane Traffic Jam was released in the United States (US) on Not Lame Recordings
Not Lame Recordings
Not Lame Recordings was a Ft. Collins, Colorado, United States based independent record label specializing in power pop releases. The company was started by Bruce Brodeen in November 1994 but it shut down per November 24, 2010. The reasons Brodeen mentioned were a career switch combined with...
; it was acclaimed by AllMusic reviewer, Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
as "immediately catchy, but [the songs] grow stronger upon each listen -- a hallmark of a truly fine pop album". They have twice been nominated for an Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Music Award, for 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' in 2000
ARIA Music Awards of 2000
The 14th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 24 October 2000 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre...
for their third album, Sweeter than the Radio and 'Best Independent Release' in 2002
ARIA Music Awards of 2002
The 16th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 15 October 2002 at the Sydney SuperDome.-ARIA Awards:...
for "Rain, Hail, Shine" from their next album, Broken UFO. While on hiatus, Jenkins pursued his solo career before briefly reuniting the band which released The Good China in 2007. Jenkins then issued his third solo album in 2008, while other band members became involved in separate projects.
History
Charles JenkinsCharles Jenkins (musician)
Charles Jenkins is a musician based in Melbourne, Victoria. He is a member of Icecream Hands and has released three solo albums.Jenkins was born in Mildura, Victoria and soon was moved to Adelaide, South Australia. He started performing solo and later joined The Mad Turks From Istanbul and in 1989...
had been a solo artist in Adelaide where, as Chuck Skatt, he formed The Mad Turks from Istanbul
The Mad Turks From Istanbul
The Mad Turks From Istanbul are a power pop band from Adelaide. They were formed in 1984 by Chuck Skatt on vocals, Dom Benedictine III on drums, Martyn La Merde on bass and Hank M Turk on guitar. In 1986 Steve Caon joined on drums and Benedictine moved to guitar...
as their vocalist in 1984 with Dominic Larizza (as Dom Benedictine III) on drums and later on guitar, Martyn Christopher on bass guitar and Matthias Eckhardt on guitar. The band relocated to Melbourne by 1989, renamed as The Mad Turks after Eckhardt left, Jenkins took up rhythm guitar, and they disbanded there in 1991. Jenkins and Larizza recruited his brother Arturo "Arch" Larizza (ex-The Saints
The Saints (band)
The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974 as punk rockers. Founders were Chris Bailey , Ivor Hay , and Ed Kuepper . Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups...
) on bass guitar and Derek Smiley on drums to form Chuck Skatt and His Icecream Hands in 1992. The name was shortened to Icecream Hands which Jenkins took from the lyrics of a 1984 Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
song "Flavour of Night" (from I Often Dream of Trains
I Often Dream of Trains
I Often Dream of Trains is the third album by Robyn Hitchcock, released in 1984.After the break-up of The Soft Boys, Hitchcock recorded two solo albums — Black Snake Diamond Role and the experimental Groovy Decay — before hitting an artistic slump mitigated only by some collaborations...
) and is an English term for masturbation
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
. Their debut release, Ice Cream Hands was a six-track Extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
(EP) on independent label Rubber Records and distributed by Shock Records
Shock Records
Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...
.
In 1993 they released a full length album, Travelling... Made Easy, and Douglas Robertson replaced Arch Larizza on bass guitar—Arch re-united with Chris Bailey (ex-The Saints) in Bailey's backing band. Travelling... Made Easy was released in Europe in 1995 on Blue Rose Records with four additional tracks and was described as "quite an accomplished and ambitious effort". In Australia they released their second EP, Supermarket Scene in 1994 followed by two more EPs Olive (November 1995) and Here We Go 'Round Now (July 1997).
Marcus Goodwin (ex-Yolk) had replaced Dom Larizza on lead guitar by August 1997 and they released their second full length album, Memory Lane Traffic Jam. By then Rubber Records was being distributed by BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
and the album was released in the United States (US) on Not Lame Recordings
Not Lame Recordings
Not Lame Recordings was a Ft. Collins, Colorado, United States based independent record label specializing in power pop releases. The company was started by Bruce Brodeen in November 1994 but it shut down per November 24, 2010. The reasons Brodeen mentioned were a career switch combined with...
. Three bonus tracks were added to the US release, which was acclaimed by AllMusic reviewer, Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
as "immediately catchy, but [the songs] grow stronger upon each listen -- a hallmark of a truly fine pop album".
Sweeter than the Radio, co-produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Icecream Hands and Wayne Connolly
Wayne Connolly
Wayne Connolly is an Australian producer/engineer and musician. Throughout the 1990s Connolly played in Sydney band The Welcome Mat, who released a series of critically acclaimed albums and EPs through Waterfront Records and id/Mercury...
, was released in 1999. One of the singles, "Nipple" was written by Jenkins about an early girlfriend who attracted his attention at a bus stop. With a lack of commercial success they nevertheless achieved critical acclaim when the album was nominated for an ARIA Music Award, for 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' in 2000
ARIA Music Awards of 2000
The 14th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 24 October 2000 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre...
. Their next album, Broken UFO, produced by Shane O'Mara and East Van Parks, contained the track, "Rain, Hail, Shine" which was nominated as 'Best Independent Release' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2002
ARIA Music Awards of 2002
The 16th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 15 October 2002 at the Sydney SuperDome.-ARIA Awards:...
.
Rubber Records released a 2× CD greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
collection, You Can Ride My Bike: The Best of the Icecream Hands in 2004. While on hiatus, Jenkins pursued his solo career to release two albums, Bungalow (2004) and The City Gates (2005) on Parole Records. Icecream Hands briefly reunited for The Good China, issued in 2007 on the independent label Dust Devil Music. Jenkins returned to his solo work and released Blue Atlas on Dust Devil Music in 2008. Robertson (as "Doug Root") joined Melbourne-based alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
group Root!
ROOT!
Root! is an Australian rock group from Melbourne formed in 2007. Their music combines alt-country, blues and indie rock with elements of spoken word, satire, social commentary and post-modernism...
in 2008, he had guested on their debut album, Root! (2007). They released a second album, Get Up Yourself in 2009. Smiley also briefly joined ROOT as you guessed it Smiley ROOT and recorded Surface Paradise with them before moving to his next project Buff Uncle. As from January 2010, Goodwin and Smiley perform as the duo Buff Uncle.
Members
- Charles JenkinsCharles Jenkins (musician)Charles Jenkins is a musician based in Melbourne, Victoria. He is a member of Icecream Hands and has released three solo albums.Jenkins was born in Mildura, Victoria and soon was moved to Adelaide, South Australia. He started performing solo and later joined The Mad Turks From Istanbul and in 1989...
– vocals, guitar - Arch Larizza – bass guitar
- Dom Larizza – guitar
- Derek Smiley – drums, vocals
- Douglas Robertson – bass guitar, vocals
- Marcus Goodwin – guitar, vocals
Albums
- Travelling... Made Easy (1993) – Rubber Records, Shock RecordsShock RecordsShock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...
- Memory Lane Traffic Jam (August 1997) – Rubber, BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
, Not Lame RecordingsNot Lame RecordingsNot Lame Recordings was a Ft. Collins, Colorado, United States based independent record label specializing in power pop releases. The company was started by Bruce Brodeen in November 1994 but it shut down per November 24, 2010. The reasons Brodeen mentioned were a career switch combined with... - Sweeter than the Radio (1999) – Rubber, BMG
- Broken UFO (2002) – Rubber, BMG
- You Can Ride My Bike: The Best of the Icecream Hands (2004) – Rubber
- The Good China (May 2007) – Dust Devil Music
Extended plays
- Ice Cream Hands (1992) – Rubber Records, Shock RecordsShock RecordsShock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...
- Supermarket Scene (1994) – Rubber
- Olive (November 1995) – Rubber
- Here We Go 'Round Now (July 1997) – Rubber
Singles
- "Dodgy" (1998) – Rubber Records, BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
, Not Lame RecordingsNot Lame RecordingsNot Lame Recordings was a Ft. Collins, Colorado, United States based independent record label specializing in power pop releases. The company was started by Bruce Brodeen in November 1994 but it shut down per November 24, 2010. The reasons Brodeen mentioned were a career switch combined with... - "Nipple" (1999) – Rubber, BMG
- "Spirit Level Windowsill" (1999) – Rubber, BMG
- "Yellow and Blue" (1999) – Rubber, BMG
- "Obvious Boy" (2000) – Rubber, BMG
- "Rain, Hail, Shine" (2001) – Rubber, BMG
- "Why'd You Have to Leave Me this Way?"
- "When the Show Is Over" (2003) – Rubber
- "Come Along" (2007) – Dust Devil Music