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Icecream Hands (also seen as Ice Cream Hands) are a power pop[1] 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 guitarist, Arturo "Arch" Larizza on bass guitar, his brother Dom "Benedictine III" Larizza on lead guitar and Derek Smiley on drums.[2][3] They shortened the name and released a self-titled extended play on Rubber Records in 1992. After a year Douglas Lee Robertson had replaced Arch on bass guitar.[4]
Icecream Hands | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | power pop |
| Years active | 1992–2004, 2007–2008, 2011, 2019 |
| Labels | Rubber, Shock, BMG, Not Lame, Dust Devil |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
| Website | icecreamhands |
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."[5] They were twice nominated for an Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Music Awards.[6]
While on hiatus from 2004-2007, Jenkins pursued his solo career before briefly reuniting the band which released another album, The Good China, in 2007. Jenkins then issued his third solo album in 2008, while other band members became involved in separate projects.[7]
1992-1998: Travelling... Made Easy & Memory Lane Traffic Jam
Charles Jenkins 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.[4][8] 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.[9] Their debut release, Ice Cream Hands was a six-track Extended play (EP) on independent label Rubber Records and distributed by Shock Records.[2][4]
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".[10] In Australia they released their second EP, Supermarket Scene in 1994 followed by two more EPs Olive in November 1995 and Here We Go 'Round Now in July 1997.[2][4] On 11 June 1997 the band performed on the RMITV show Under Melbourne Tonight.[11]
In 1997 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 on Not Lame Recordings.[2][4] 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".[5]
1999-2003: Sweeter Than the Radio & Broken UFO
Sweeter Than the Radio, co-produced by Icecream Hands and Wayne Connolly,[4] was released in 1999. Just prior to the recording of the album, Marcus Goodwin (ex-Yolk) had replaced Dom Larizza on lead guitar. One of the singles, "Nipple" was written by Jenkins about an early girlfriend who attracted his attention at a bus stop.[9] With a lack of commercial success they nevertheless achieved critical acclaim when the album was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album in 2000.[6] Their next album, Broken UFO, produced by Shane O'Mara and East Van Parks,[4] contained the track, "Rain, Hail, Shine" which was nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Independent Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 2002.[6]
2004-2006: hiatus
In 2004, Rubber Records released a 2×CD greatest hits collection, You Can Ride My Bike: The Best of the Icecream Hands.[12][13]
While on hiatus, Jenkins pursued his solo career to release two albums, Bungalow (2004) and The City Gates (2005) on Parole Records.
2007-present: occasional reformation and solo careers
Icecream Hands briefly reunited for The Good China, released 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.[7][14] Robertson (as "Doug Root") joined Melbourne-based alternative rock group Root! in 2008, he had guested on their debut album, Root! (2007).[15] They released a second album, Get Up Yourself in 2009.[16] Smiley also briefly joined ROOT as Smiley Root and recorded Surface Paradise with them before moving to his next project Buff Uncle. As from January 2010, Goodwin and Smiley performed briefly as a duo, Buff Uncle.[17]
In early 2019, the band reformed for a tour commemorating the 20th anniversary of the release of "Sweeter Than The Radio". On August 21, 2020, they released No Weapon But Love, their first album in 13 years. Due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the band were unable to perform an album launch until January 2021, when they played at the Northcote Social in Melbourne.
- Charles Jenkins – vocals, guitar
- Derek Smiley – drums, vocals
- Douglas Lee Robertson – bass guitar, vocals
- Marcus Goodwin – guitar, vocals
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [18] | ||
| Travelling... Made Easy |
|
— |
| Memory Lane Traffic Jam |
|
— |
| Sweeter Than the Radio |
|
— |
| Broken UFO |
|
84 |
| The Good China |
|
— |
| No Weapon But Love |
|
— |
Compilation albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| You Can Ride My Bike: The Best of the Icecream Hands |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Ice Cream Hands |
|
| Supermarket Scene |
|
| Olive |
|
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Sweeter Than the Radio | Best Adult Contemporary Album | Nominated | [6] |
| 2002 | "Rain Hail Shine" | Best Independent Release | Nominated | [6] |
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