Withered Hand

Withered Hand

Withered Hand performing at the Lexington in London on 25 September 2011.
Background information
Birth name Dan Willson
Born London[1]
Origin Edinburgh
Genres Indie rock, folk rock
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 2009-present
Labels Absolutely Kosher Records, Slumberland Records, Fortuna Pop!
Associated acts Meursault, King Creosote, Enfant Bastard
Website witheredhand.com

Dan Willson, better known by his stage name Withered Hand, is a Scottish indie rock musician. His first studio album, Good News, was released in 2009 in Scotland, and was re-released on 15 March 2011 on Absolutely Kosher Records in the United States.[2] His new album, entitled New Gods, was released in March 2014 through Fortuna Pop Records in the UK and Slumberland Records in the USA. He performed at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas in 2014, as part of the Scottish Showcase.[1]

Biography

He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness in Scotland,[3] as well as in Bishop's Stortford. As a kid, he was not permitted to attend school assemblies, birthday parties or Christmas celebrations.[4] He was worried throughout his childhood that his voice was too high, so he didn't begin singing until his late twenties,[5] and he originally wanted to be a visual artist.

Musical career

He began his solo musical career at age 30, after one of his close friends died and his wife bought him a guitar for his 30th birthday.[5] As Withered Hand, the first song he wrote was Cornflake. Willson studied at Art College in London, and moved to Edinburgh with his then-girlfriend, to whom he is now married, in 1996. Shortly thereafter, Willson tried his hand at being a visual artist, but eventually abandoned his work in the field. He attributes this in part to his "lack of success in expressing myself visually."[6] He was guitarist in Edinburgh band Barrichello, which he joined in 1999. This band broke up amicably in 2002.[7] His second band was known as "Squits," and later became a short-lived art rock group named "Peanut." He was also a member of the short lived anti-folk group The Love Gestures alongside Cammy Watt of Enfant Bastard and Neil Pennycook of Meursault.[8]

His wife gave him an acoustic guitar for his 30th birthday; Willson says when this happened it "stripped away lots of baggage."[9] He has said that his upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness "gave [his] fledgling artistic temperament a lot to think about," and that since he was taught that the world would end very soon, he began to "read everything as a sign."[9] The first song he ever wrote as Withered Hand was "Cornflake."[9] He has cited Teenage Fanclub and Eugenius as two of the bands he listened to most often growing up, and as the reason why he was so glad that Eugenius' frontman Eugene Kelly appeared on New Gods. Willson, in fact, named his son after Kelly.[1]

Reception

Marc Riley has named Withered Hand as one of his favourite artists, and has had him perform sessions on his show, BBC Radio 6 Music, on at least two occasions.[10] Robert Christgau has also written favorable reviews of both his albums, naming Good News the 14th best album of 2011 [11] and New Gods the 3rd best album of 2014.[12]

Band

Willson's current band consists of, in addition to him, Malcolm Benzie of Edinburgh band eagleowl (guitar & mandolin), Fraser Hughes (bass) and Alun Thomas of The Leg (drums). They are also occasionally joined by Pam Berry of 90s US band Black Tambourine & various members of the Second Hand Marching Band. Previous members include Hannah Shepherd (cello) & Neil Pennycook of Meursault (banjo). [13]

Fence Collective

Withered Hand is an active member of the Fence Collective and its offshoot the Alter Ego Trading Company, making appearances at their Fife based events The World Tour of Crail and Bunfight at the OK Karail.[14]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Single

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dingwall, John (17 March 2014). "SXSW Festival: Withered Hand reach out to new audience in Texas". Daily Record. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  2. ↑ Records, Witheredhand.com
  3. ↑ Harrell, Phil (18 May 2011). "Withered Hand: A Ruler Across The Knuckles". NPR. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  4. ↑ Interview: Dan Willson on his indie alter ego Withered Hand
  5. 1 2 Withered Hand Profile, Absolutely Kosher Records
  6. ↑ Morrison, Alan (2 March 2014). "Wither ing heights". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  7. ↑ Withered Hand Biography
  8. ↑ McLaughlin, Milo (9 May 2008). "I Hear a New World (May, 2008)". The Skinny. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 Meighan, Nicola (2 August 2012). "Art In A Different Place: Withered Hand Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  10. ↑ "Withered Hand". BBC. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2012). "The Dean's List: Christgau's Best of 2011". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  12. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2014). "Christgau's Pazz & Jop Ballot 2014". Village Voice. Retrieved 22 Jan 2015.
  13. ↑ "Withered Hand". Discogs. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "A royal renaissance sparking creativity for King Creosote". The Herald. 27 December 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
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