Jeff Conrad

Mr. Hand, a three-piece rock band from Norfolk, will have music from its second full-length CD, "treats," used in upcoming episodes of the MTV show "Undressed."

Answering an open invitation for music submissions, the group was contacted by a representative of the show. New episodes for the third season of "Undressed" are in production and will air soon.

The band, consists of members Jeff Conrad, Jeff Lickfelt and Bret Nellor. The CD has received airplay on Norfolk, Sioux City and Omaha radio stations. One track, "Naked," was used in the local independent film, "The Dean's Boys."

Mr. Hand formed in 1995 and was trimmed to three members last October. The band was also voted "Siouxland's Favorite Local Band" by a regional entertainment paper.

More information about when the shows will air is available at MTV's website at www.mtv.com or Mr. Hand's website at www.mrhand.com.

- The weekender

Mr. Hand, a three-piece rock band from Norfolk, Neb., will have music from its second full-length CD, "treats," used in upcoming episodes of the MTV show "Undressed."

Answering an open invitation for submissions of music, the group was contacted by a representative of the show. New episodes for the third season of "Undressed" are in production and will air soon. Viewers are encouraged to check MTV's website, www.mtv.com, and Mr. Hand's website, www.mrhand.com, for further details and airing information of the new episodes.

The band, consisting of members Jeff Conrad, Jeff Lickfelt and Bret Nellor, released 'treats' in October of 1998. The CD has garnered airplay on Z92 and 89.7 The River in Omaha/Council Bluffs, Z98 in Sioux City, and 94.7 KNEN in Norfolk. One track, "Naked," was used in the local independent film, "The Dean's Boys."

- Local Paper

Mr. Hand

Mr. Hand's friendly, outgoing website is apparently a reflection of the personalities of the four members that make up Siouxland's Choice for favorite band.

On their message board, entitled "Handprints", fans leave a diversity of messages, mostly with the theme "You guys rock!" In a previous Weekender story, Larry Mortensen, the band's former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, explained the appeal of Mr. Hand songs. "A Mr. Hand song is real edgy. It's got catchy melody. It's got harmony. It's hard edge pop."

Fans of Mr. Hand describe their shows as "fun &.electrifying."

Brett Nellor describes his job with the band as "Tastiness. I have to put in all the guitar stuff that people will hopefully say, 'Oh that was cool.' I add a little texture, flavor."

Nellor sent me the following e-mail less than 12 hours after I signed my "Handprint on Mr. Hand's website message board: "Thanks for signing our guestbook at mrhand.com! We really appreciate the kind words. Since you have both of our CDs, you need to get a Mr. Hand T-shirt. They're only $5. We'll be at Rhonda's Speak Easy on April 13th & 14th, so come on out and we'll get you set up with a shirt."

In a phone interview, Nellor said, "Our connection to our audience comes from us having fun up there on stage. We love to play and would play together even if we didn't attract the big audiences. But I think the draw is the fun, spontaneous energy we have when we're together and that catches on to all of the people dancing and jumping around, just having a great time."

- By Amy Hilgren Peterson

They have received several positive reviews on their second album titled Treats! Their most recent accomplishment comes in the placement of their song "Naked" in an Omaha written, produced and filmed movie, The Dean's Boys. And they kicked off year 2000 with being nominated as one of Omaha's best local bands of 1999. "We could legitimately claim that we're the best band in Omaha that never plays there," said Bret Nellor, lead guitarist for Mr. Hand. Things like that just seem to happen for Mr. Hand. Like their song "Naked" being chosen for a movie. The four-man band has a few of their original tracks featured in the Mr. Hand Listening Room on the S.L.A.M. Omaha website (www.slamomaha.com). "This guy e-mailed me out of the blue and he was like 'Hey, we listened to one of your songs on the site and we'd like to use it for a movie. Let me know what you think.' We all agreed to let them use it," said Nellor.

Mr. Hand, a local band that calls four cities home, was conceived in 1995 out of friendship and the desire to write, record and perform. Drummer Jeff Lickfelt resides in South Sioux City and toured professionally during the 80's with lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and Sioux Cityan Larry Mortensen. Nellor, who calls Omaha home plate, and Bassist Jeff Conrad who resides in Norfolk, have been honing their skills together in numerous Northeast Nebraska bands since childhood. The four members studied Audio Engineering at Northeast Community College in Norfolk. While working on studio projects in college, they discovered a unique chemistry developing. In July 1995, at Nellor's wedding reception, Mr. Hand was born.

Once the band was formed, they began writing songs for their first CD, Scheme of Things, released April 1996. It features 11 original tracks written and produced by Mr. Hand. Soon after, they began playing in support of the CD. "One of the biggest things we ever did when we first started, before we even played a show, was to put together a CD," said Mortensen. "That was our first goal. We actually recorded the CD and started taking it to the bars. And that immediately sets you apart. We wanted to have a CD before we even started attempting it." According to Conrad those times were some of the best but also the most challenging. "That was some of the hardest the band ever worked. When we first started, we practiced every weekend for six months. Then we released Scheme of Things. That was fun times. Back then we played a lot of free shows." Lickfelt agrees, "It took a couple years of taking some hard knocks and playing some low money gigs to get people to know us."

After a year and a half of finding their identity as a live band and writing more songs, the band decided to do some more recording and released a cassette single. The single/EP contained two tracks, "Why Don't We Write A Movie?" and "Living The Now." "Movie" received moderate airplay in Northeast Nebraska and is a mainstay in the band's live show. Mr. Hand released their second full-length album titled Treats! on Halloween weekend of 1998. The CD contains eight original tracks, written and produced by Mr. Hand and Cory Delp. Jim Minge of the Omaha World-Herald called the disc "A beefy set of edgy pop-rock tunes that deserves regard." This CD, plus previous releases are available at Musicland in Sioux City, Skini's, On Cue and Hasting's in Norfolk, all Homer's locations in Omaha and at all Mr. Hand shows.

What's a Mr. Hand show like? Well in a nutshell, it's fun. Mr. Hand's chemistry is best displayed at their live performances; where they support their original music yet still enjoy playing crowd-pleasing covers. And you can be sure that Mr. Hand will hold nothing back on stage. There's a confidence and trust among them that creates a can-do attitude and an electrifying stage presence. "I like to be on stage. I love it," said Conrad. "There's a chemistry with the four of us," Nellor comments. "We know what the others are going to do without really saying it," said Lickfelt. "It's trust," adds Mortensen.

In light of their many accomplishments, the time has come for a third Mr. Hand CD. The guys are in the process of throwing ideas around and doing some writing. "I'm hoping by mid-summer we can have songs written," said Conrad. "It's in the very early stages right now." Mortensen and Nellor compose most of the songs then bring it to the others to make it into a Mr. Hand song, or to coin their term, to "Mr. Handize" it. What is a Mr. Hand song? "A Mr. Hand song is real edgy. It's got catchy melody. It's got harmony. It's hard edge pop," said Mortensen. "We're all melody misers."

The most difficult thing for the band at present is finding the time to do it. "The hardest thing for us is just being able to sit down with it, since we play every weekend," said Lickfelt. But when they do get together this time around, things are going to be a little different. "We want to take a different approach with this one. The last two albums we produced, we recorded, we mixed it, and we did all the work on it. We're thinking about having someone else do it this time," said Mortensen. That may seem strange considering they all studied Audio Engineering in college, but they have their reasons. "Instead of worrying about moving faders and worrying about the sound, we just want to lock ourselves in the studio for about a week," said Conrad. "We want to keep the creative process going as musicians."

- Story and photos by Angela Parsley

Mr. Hand
Fueled By The View
By Jerry Conover
8/29/02

Mr. Hand has been around Siouxland for a few years now, and as the years have passed they've become more creative and come into their own identity as a band, leaving the cover band scene almost completely behind.

The band's latest CD, "Fueled by the View," is filled with all original material, and it rocks.

"Back to You" and "Fueled by the View" the CD's title track, are fun and could be compared to the Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, or 3 Doors Down.

"Brand New Day," is another great track, kind of a romantic song for these guys. "'Til The End," gives me even more reason to compare these guys to 3 Doors Down, because they give off the same energy.

Mr. Hand is holding strong as one of Siouxland's great local bands and maybe it's time they got even more MTV exposure than they did on "Undressed," which featured their work last year. Get this album; you'll love it if you love rock.

- The weekender

Rock-n-roll band, Mr. Hand music to be on MTV show

Jeff Conrad and Bret Nellor, Beemer natives, and members of Northeast Nebraska rock-n-roll band, Mr. Hand, will have music from their second full-length CD, 'treats,' used in upcoming episodes of the MTV show 'Undressed.'

Answering an open invitation for submissions of music, the group was contacted by a representative of the show. New episodes for the third season of 'Undressed' are in production and will air soon.

Viewers can check MTV's website, www.mtv.com, and Mr. Hand's website, www.mrhand.com, for details and airing information of the new episodes.

The band, consisting of members Conrad, Nellor and Jeff Lickfelt, released 'treats' in October of 1998. The CD has garnered airplay on Z92 and 89.7 The River in Omaha/Council Bluffs, Z98 in Sioux City, and 94.7 KNEN in Norfolk.

One track, 'Naked,' was used in the local independent film, 'The Dean's Boys.'

Mr. Hand formed in 1995 and was trimmed to three members in October of 2000. Readers of the Weekender, an entertainment paper published in Sioux City, recently voted the band 'Siouxland's Favorite Local Band.'

Mr. Hand, was formed in August of 1995 out of friendship and a desire to write, record and perform music. Their name comes from the eighties blockbuster movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." The band has spread their music across Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. After trimming their lineup to three members in October of 2000, Mr. Hand continues to perform and record their music.

Mr. Hand's chemistry is best displayed at their live performances; where they support their original music yet still enjoy playing crowd-pleasing covers.

"Our connection to our audience comes from the fun, spontaneous energy we have when we're together and that catches on to all the people jumping and dancing around, just having a great time," Nellor said.

There's a confidence and trust among them that creates an electrifying stage presence.

"I like to be on stage. I love it," Conrad added.

The band was also voted among the "Best Local Acts of 1999" by Omaha World-Herald readers.

Mr. Hand released its second full-length album titled "Treats" in October of 1998. The CD contains eight original tracks, written and produced by Mr. Hand and Cory Delp.

The track, "Movie" (previously released as "Why Don't We Write A Movie?"), received moderate airplay in Northeast Nebraska and is a mainstay in the band's live show.

This CD, plus previous releases are available at Skini's, On Cue, Hasting's in Norfolk, all Homer's locations in Omaha, and at all Mr. Hand shows.

Once the band was formed they began writing songs for their first CD, "Scheme of Things." They released "Scheme of Things" in April of 1996. It features eleven original tracks written and produced by Mr. Hand. "Superhero", "Uncertain", and "How Are You?" were singles from this album. Soon after, they began playing in support of the CD.

After a year and a half of finding their identity as a live band and writing more songs, the band decided to do some more recording and release a cassette single. The single/EP contained two tracks, "Why Don't We Write A Movie?" and "Living The Now."

- West Point News

What better time to debut a new album than in front of a few thousand fans?

That’s exactly what members of Mr. Hand thought about this Saturday’s Summer Concert Series at Divots in Norfolk with Rick Springfield, Loverboy and Night Ranger.



The area band will hit the Jagermeister Stage at 3 p.m. and have the new album, “Second Start,” available to fans for the first time.

“We thought it would be appropriate to have the CDs for Summerfest,” guitar player Bret Nellor said. “It’s a big show, so with the CD ready, it really came together at the right time.”

Although this is the fifth album Mr. Hand has released in it’s 15-year span, Nellor said this is the first CD with drummer Craig Verbeski, who joined Nellor and Jeff Conrad about three years ago.

“Second Start,” which is also the name of one of the songs on the album,” features nine cuts, including a cover of The Outfield’s 1986 hit, “Your Love.” Nellor said Mr. Hand has played the song live for five years, and fans have always enjoyed the band’s version.

As for the eight originals, Nellor said the album kicks off with the uptempo “20 More Ways,” which really sets the tone for the CD.

“It’s an uptempo rocker with great melody and vocal harmony, which is a Mr. Hand trademark,” Nellor said. “This song really set the bar high and was a good starting point and centerpiece for the CD. I think people will hear the energy in it and love it.”

Nellor said there’s also a lot of energy in the title track, a song written by Conrad and about people needing a second chance and finding the right path.

“It’s really a good message song,” he said. “We meet a lot of people with different stories. People are always looking for the next opportunity or second start. It’s a song that really resonates with people.”

The only song that’s re-recorded, Nellor said, is “All For You,” a song Conrad wrote as a tribute to his daughter. It was originally recorded acoustically two albums ago, but Nellor said the band wanted to change the format and present it in a different manner.

Looking back over 15 years, Nellor said Mr. Hand has matured significantly over the years. However, if listening to the five albums back to back, he said fans will recognize them all as Mr. Hand cuts.

“Capable musicians can play anything, but, on the other hand, writing and playing as a three piece, you find out which style of music or song doesn’t really work or fit,” he said. “I think people can hear similarities in all five albums. There are some things that just sound like Mr. Hand.” - Norfolk Daily News