The Handful

80% ROCK, 20% ROLL, 100% PURE SWAGGER.

Formed in the 21st Century by New Jersey natives Mark Duda and Jason Mischel, The Handful, based in NYC and NJ, represents the best in what rock is supposed to be. The Handful's surprise debut CD, "Palmistry" (recommended by David Jeffries' review at All Music Guide to "overdrive...through some crusty, beer stained speakers") was released in July 2004 and immediately became Number 1 on amazon.com's "Early Adopter Indie" and "Early Adopter All Music" charts, outselling The Beastie Boys, The Cure, The Hives and Alanis Morrisette for a period of weeks following the release date. In December 2004, no fewer than seven (7) songs from Palmistry charted on www.atlantic-satellite.com, which documented the top 2,500 downloaded and/or streamed songs available on the internet at that time.

In 2007, The Handful released its sophomore effort, Second Hand Smoke, to glowing reviews, including the following:

"The Handful has a handful of fourteen songs on this disc, yet the kicker is that there is not a single weak song in sight. Unbelievable! Gasp! What!!" - Anna Tergel, www.metallian.com

"Interesting outfit that lazy journalists will have big trouble in categorising – you simply can't – they have their own unique ways of style." - Glenn Milligan, www.metalliville.co.uk (8 out of 10 stars)

"The Handful are a completely original act...There are 14 tracks on album, and I can add that all of them are tight. I wouldn't reccommend one specific song over another, but from first to the last track, their album is a positive listening experience." (Barikada in Bosnia review)

"Not just a Handful, but a couple of fists full of molten lava, quick-cooled to a rock hard solid groove." - Michael Buffalo Smith, www.gritz.net

"Fast and nasty with clear poetic lyrics that worked the music like a a pair of aces...I would recommend this cd to anyone that likes their rock gritty and dirty with a sound of it's own." (www.newartistradio.net)

and maybe the best of all:

"If you don't like these guys you don't Rock." (P. Grabowski, www.ballbuster.com).

After recording their first two CDs as a duo, The Handful officially released Wooden Indian as a full band in August 2011. Reviews included:

"Like a chariot storming the gates of Troy, this band digs in. When I first put this CD in my player and heard nothing but ambient noise I got prepared to be bored for the next several minutes. However, these guys had other plans because out of the murmur came the squeal of a guitar with some undeniably bluesy riffs and that lovely Hammond organ sound causing me to exclaim, “Yes!”

You know a band is doing something right when your foot picks up the groove under its own volition. Sometimes overindulgent soloing is just awesome. The solos on the first track aren’t the Malmsteen type, but they soar over the all the right parts you know that these guys are about to deliver an aural ass-kicking courtesy of rock ‘n’roll. Let me just harp on the keyboards for a little. I usually think the keyboardist/pianist/organist is completely pointless in a metal/hard rock band. What do they really do? Rhythm? No, bass and drums have that covered. Leads? That’s what the guitars and vocalist do. Fills? Anyone can do them. Solos? Sorry, but, keyboard solos are best left in the ‘70’s. However, thanks, Jason Mischel for actually being a tolerable organist. Mark Duda is awesome, I love his voice—it reminds me of Buzz Osborne from Melvins and Ben Ward of Orange Goblin. His voice is undeniably manly but not in an annoying Viking Metal way. It sounds like he gargles gasoline, eats asphalt and washes it all down with nails. It’s just that awesome. It’s always so great to review a good band from my native Jersey, one of the most fun things I’ve heard in a while. In A Word: Swaggering." - Dejon Turner, The Aquarian - 12/1/10

"Rockers from New Jersey who's vocalist, Mark Duda sounds like a bullfrog version of The Cult's Ian Astbury. H/L's include the opener 'Walk Into The Light' 'The Key' with its excellent chorus and instrumental section; 'Lines Are Down'; the Sabbathy like 'Your Loss Is Freedom'; the excellent ballad that is 'Ashes'; the slow but angstus 'Ain't No Way' with that submarine like ending sound and the closing 'Junkie' that weirdly reminds me of the theme from the film 'Grease'. They still mix in the best sounds of the North, Central and South of the USA. Excellent as ever. 10/10" - Glenn Milligan, www.metalliville.co.uk, January 2011

"The Handful are back with a hard edged new release called Wooden Indian. The opening track, “Walk Into The Light” falls somewhere between the nastiest Molly Hatchet track and Metallica. It rocks, baby. To quote Spinal Tap, “This one goes to eleven.” Mark Duda is a powerhouse rock singer, and the band just kicks serious ass from start to finish. Say you love the sounds of Taylor Swift? Then you are at the wrong party, baby. The title track, “Wooden Indian