The Secret Handshake

The Secret Handshake

The Secret Handshake performing on July 16, 2010.
Background information
Origin Houston, Texas, United States
Genres
Years active 2004-2011
Labels Triple Crown, 679, Doll House
Associated acts Of Legends,[2] Mystery Skulls
Members Luis Dubuc

The Secret Handshake was the electronica/soul musical project of self-taught musician Luis Dubuc. Dubuc sings and plays all instruments on the band's studio albums, including guitar, synthesizer, piano, percussion, and sound effects which he creates on his computer.[3] He has two new musical projects, a Metal band called Of Legends and an Electro band named Mystery Skulls.

Background

Luis Dubuc was born in New Orleans, LA. He speaks Spanish fluently, but chose The Secret Handshake as his stage name, saying, "I didn't want people to think I was a Latin singer like Enrique Iglesias. Not because those people are bad, because they make great music. But I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I wanted a nondescriptive band's name so that the music can speak for itself."[3]

Dubuc first got his start playing drums in a couple of bands with his friends, most notably in the hardcore unit Thirty Called Arson.[4] Inspired by artists like Michael Jackson and Daft Punk, he eventually began writing and recording some songs as a side project in his Dallas-based bedroom with a laptop and Wurlitzer to assist him.[4] By November 2004, Dubuc had self-released his first full-length album, entitled Antarctica. Less than a year later, he followed up with the EP This Is Bigger Than You and I, which was issued through Doll House Recordings. Momentum began building around his distinctive electronica laptop pop/rock, and The Secret Handshake developed a devoted fanbase. Another EP, Summer of '98 (referring to the summer before he started high school),[4] was released in early 2007 through New York's Triple Crown Records,[5] anchored by the vocoder-heavy title track. The full length One Full Year followed, becoming his full length Triple Crown Records debut.

In 2008 The Secret Handshake was featured on the Punk Goes Crunk compilation/covers album, where he covered Skee-Lo's rap classic "I Wish".[6]

2009

On April 29, 2009, The Secret Handshake released his third studio album, My Name Up in Lights. The album was recorded entirely in Dubuc's apartment in Dallas.[7] In 2009, the album reached #17 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart[8] and #45 on the Independent Albums chart.[9]

The Secret Handshake opened for the Alternative Press Tour 2009, entitled The Fall Ball, which also featured You Me At Six, Set Your Goals, The Academy Is..., and Mayday Parade.[10] Luis Dubuc was featured on the subscriber-only cover of Alternative Press November 2009 issue, along with the lead singers of the other bands featured on The Fall Ball tour with a feature article.[11] The Secret Handshake toured in Australia from November 26 to December 6.[12]

2010

The Secret Handshake finished a two-month tour in the summer of 2010 with Every Avenue, Sing it Loud, and There for Tomorrow on the Motel 6 "Rock Yourself to Sleep" tour.[13]

The Secret Handshake's new album Night and Day was released on August 17, 2010.

Night & Day was released with a bonus album. The "Day" album has a more motown, soul-influenced sound with 11 tracks, while the "Night" bonus album contains Electro remixes of 9 of the "Day" tracks. Each copy of Night & Day will include a download card for the "Night" album, or the two albums can be purchased separately on iTunes.

Sound In The Signals complimented the new style found on the album, but criticized Dubuc's vocal ability.[14] Alternative Press noted the new Motown sound was a risky move but stated that Dubuc "obviously had the skills to pull it off".[15]

Luis Dubuc was interviewed in the Alternative Press October 2010 issue, in the feature article titled You Can Hurry Love.[16]

The Secret Handshake hosted the Luis & The Handshakes Tour - a full U.S. headline tour featuring A Cursive Memory.[17]

The End Of The Secret Handshake

On September 21, 2011, Luis Dubuc posted on his Twitter "so by this point its obvious but TSH is pretty much over. Done with the past. Proud of what I accomplished but ready to move on."[18]

Members

Luis Dubuc - All instruments (2004–2011)[19]

Touring members

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Mixtapes

Compilations

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1908942
  2. ↑ "Of Legends Revealed - News Article". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  3. 1 2 Tarradell, Mario (2009-04-20). "Secret Handshake's Luis Dubuc likes that his stage name doesn't tell you much". The Dallas Morning News. Vibe Media Group. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
  4. 1 2 3 Apar, Corey. "((( The Secret Handshake > Biography )))". allmusic. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  5. ↑ "The Secret Handshake discography". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  6. ↑ Mueller, Chelsea (2008-04-09). "Notes: Punk Goes Crunk, Handshakes and Highfives on iTunes - Dallas Music - DC9 At Night". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  7. ↑ Freedman, Pete (2009-04-23). "The Secret Handshake - My Name Up in Lights (Triple Crown)". The Dallas Observer. Vibe Media Group. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
  8. ↑ Charts, Billboard.com
  9. ↑ Charts, Billboard.com
  10. ↑ "// AP: NEWS - The Secret Handshake added to the AP Tour Fall Ball". Alternativepress.com. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  11. ↑ http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqhxmySGyP1qzic9xo1_400.jpg
  12. ↑ "// AP: NEWS - The Secret Handshake plan Australian tour". Altpress.com. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  13. ↑ Smith, Raewyn (2010-07-12). "Every Avenue - "Rock Yourself To Sleep"". Hollywood Music Magazine. Vibe Media Group. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
  14. ↑ http://soundinthesignals.tk/2010/08/secret-handshake-night-and-day-album.html
  15. ↑ http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/the_secret_handshake_-_night_day/
  16. ↑ "Alt Press: Magazine #267 (The State of the Scene)". AltPress.com. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  17. ↑ "Secret Handshake Tour Dates - News Article - AbsolutePunk.net". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
  18. ↑ https://twitter.com/Kingofhangs/status/116671028314386432
  19. ↑ http://www.worldsend.com/images/SecretHandshakeAP.jpg
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.