Review: Invisible Hand by Tom Mullen

“If you like deep thought, self awareness, and swell Alternative licks, go ahead and stand up: Tom Mullen’s Invisible Hand is your stop. The song cruises along to a keen melody played in a stellar, shimmery sixties guitar tone to low key sparse drumming, while Mullen’s whimsical vocals calmly drop deep economic theory from Adam Smith to a supremely catchy tune, droll, well informed, and entirely unbothered.

Invisible Hand’s instrumentals are fantastic, featuring tight drumming and a beautifully toned guitar and bass playing fabulous retro melodies, excellently executed with a slightly staccato feel that keeps the track lively, interesting, and thoroughly alternative. The song’s lyrics are candid and knowledgeable, dropping easy references to economists Summers, Friedman, Keynes and a trite shoutout to author Ayn Rand, in the midst of its treatise, while also giving personable, less high-minded warnings about trusting the system for a combo that is both intelligent and approachable. Mullen brings great, Alternative vocals that are easy to listen to, while plenty of instrumental flourishes, including brief but satisfying solos beginning at approximately 3:18 keep the piece lighthearted and fun through and through.” – Mary Wildsmith

About the Reviewer:
Mary Wildsmith is an FM Radio DJ, and has been involved in both on-air work and radio production for five and a half years, in addition to working the past decade in and out of the live entertainment industry. She has experience with the fickle nature of the music industry, selecting singles to promote or discard for radio play, and engineering stage to audience sound systems. Having worked balancing, troubleshooting, and running audio rigs has enabled her to be both sensitive, and sympathetic, to the finesse and nuance of quality recording. Mary is passionate about promoting new and independent artists, and has spent extensive time in round-table environments discussing music and audio critically, and collaborating with artists to enable them to put the best possible foot forward with their art.

New Tom Mullen single, “Invisible Hand,” available today!

Middleport, Sept. 22, 2020. Skepticsongs is excited to announce the release of, “Invisible Hand” by Tom Mullen, the first single off Mullen’s forthcoming album, Into the Twilight, which will be available on October 6.

“I’ve had the chorus of this song cycling in my head for over ten years,” said Mullen. One day last year, I was humming the chorus and the first line of the first verse just popped out. So, I sat down to write the rest of the song before I forgot what I’d just done.”

Invisible Hand has already been downloaded by over 200 radio stations worldwide and is beginning to get significant airplay in Europe. A music video will be released within the next two weeks.

The single can be heard now on most popular music platforms, including:

Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and more.

For more information, including booking, contact:

Harold Palms
716.475.3834
hpalms@skepticsongs.com
www.skepticsongs.com

The Skeptics’ full-length CD Be Satisfied available for download now!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Skepticsongs recording artists The Skeptics have re-released their 1995 CD, Be Satisfied, 25 years after it made CMJ charts in several U.S. markets. The group’s debut CD features Tom Mullen on lead vocals and guitar, Mark Buckley on bass, Michael “Hairy” Harrier on lead guitar and vocals, and Tim Kelly on drums.

Be Satisfied is available for download on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and most other digital music outlets. Sound samples and download links can be found here.

Mullen will perform all ten songs from the album acoustically tonight on Facebook Live  on what has become the #1 rated show in Royalton, NY for that time slot. A link to his Facebook Live feed is here.

World Tour dates are not yet confirmed.

Bio

The Skeptics

Tom Mullen: lead vocals, guitar
Mark Buckley: bass, vocals
Dave Levin: lead guitar, vocals
Dan Komanski: drums

Past members:
Mike Harrier: lead guitar, vocals
Tim Kelly: drums
Christ Swist: drums
Todd Krueger: drums

The Skeptics’ unique blend of melody and edge, harmony and power is gradually bringing them to the forefront of the alternative music scene in Western New York. Their first CD, Be Satisfied,  received airplay at over 100 college and commercial radio stations, several of which reported The Skeptics on their weekly College Music Journal (CMJ) airplay charts. The band released their latest EP, Reloaded, in 2019, which included Global Music Awards Bronze Medal winner, “South Beach.”

The Skeptics are known for their high-energy live performances, including headline shows in New York City, Pittsburgh, Rochester and Buffalo. Notable appearances include opening for national recording artists, 10,000 Maniacs, an appearance on Channel 4’s Nickel City Scene and two appearances on Channel 7’s A.M. Buffalo. The Skeptics have received heavy rotation on WEDG 103.3 FM, CKEY FM 101.1 The River, WBNY 91.3 FM, and numerous other radio stations.

The Skeptics have been described as “hard-driving, guitar-based rock ‘n’ roll,” with a “listener-friendly style” by Anthony Violanti of The Buffalo News, while Dale Anderson of Artvoice described their sound as “infectious.” Popular Australian music blog The Music Injection calls South Beach “a super catchy song.”

For more information, e-mail Harold Palms at contact@skepticsongs.com.

Below is the title track from Be Satisfied:

The Skeptics to Re-release Be Satisfied for 25th Anniversary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Skepticsongs recording artists The Skeptics will re-release their 1995 CD, Be Satisfied, 25 years after it made CMJ charts in several U.S. markets. The group’s debut CD featured Tom Mullen on lead vocals and guitar, Mark Buckley on bass, Michael “Hairy” Harrier on lead guitar and vocals, and Tim Kelly on drums.

The new release will be available for download on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and most other digital music outlets within the next few weeks.

Mullen will perform all ten songs from the album in an upcoming Facebook Live show, date to be announced. Mullen currently appears regularly 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM EST each Wednesday night on what has become the #1 rated show in Royalton, NY for that time slot.

World Tour dates are not yet confirmed.

Bio

The Skeptics

Tom Mullen: lead vocals, guitar
Mark Buckley: bass, vocals
Dave Levin: lead guitar, vocals
Dan Komanski: drums

Past members:
Mike Harrier: lead guitar, vocals
Tim Kelly: drums
Christ Swist: drums
Todd Krueger: drums

The Skeptics’ unique blend of melody and edge, harmony and power is gradually bringing them to the forefront of the alternative music scene in Western New York. Their first CD, Be Satisfied,  received airplay at over 100 college and commercial radio stations, several of which reported The Skeptics on their weekly College Music Journal (CMJ) airplay charts. The band released their latest EP, Reloaded, in 2019, which included Global Music Awards Bronze Medal winner, “South Beach.”

The Skeptics are known for their high-energy live performances, including headline shows in New York City, Pittsburgh, Rochester and Buffalo. Notable appearances include opening for national recording artists, 10,000 Maniacs, an appearance on Channel 4’s Nickel City Scene and two appearances on Channel 7’s A.M. Buffalo. The Skeptics have received heavy rotation on WEDG 103.3 FM, CKEY FM 101.1 The River, WBNY 91.3 FM, and numerous other radio stations.

The Skeptics have been described as “hard-driving, guitar-based rock ‘n’ roll,” with a “listener-friendly style” by Anthony Violanti of The Buffalo News, while Dale Anderson of Artvoice described their sound as “infectious.” Popular Australian music blog The Music Injection calls South Beach “a super catchy song.”

For more information, e-mail Harold Palms at contact@skepticsongs.com.

Below is the title track from Be Satisfied:

Tom Mullen Facebook Live Acoustic Show Wednesday May 20, 2020

Skeptics/Holly Days front man and Skepticsongs recording artist Tom Mullen will do a live solo acoustic performance on Facebook live Wednesday May 20 at 7 PM EST. Mullen will perform selections from his solo and Skeptics songbooks, as well Holly Days’ singles and other covers.

The show is scheduled for 30 minutes (hey, that’s all the Beatles played for) so don’t be late!

Link to live feed here: https://www.facebook.com/live/producer/1948170291994448

Tom Mullen Live Acoustic on Facebook Wednesday March 13 7 PM

Skeptics/Holly Days front man and Skepticsongs recording artist Tom Mullen will do a live solo acoustic performance on Facebook live Wednesday May 13 at 7 PM EST. Mullen will perform selections from his solo and Skeptics songbooks, as well Holly Days’ singles and other covers.

The show is scheduled for 30 minutes (hey, that’s all the Beatles played for) so don’t be late!

Link to live feed here: https://www.facebook.com/live/producer/1948170291994448

Tom Mullen Live Acoustic on Facebook April 29!

Skeptics/Holly Days front man and Skepticsongs recording artist Tom Mullen will do a live solo acoustic performance on Facebook live Wednesday April 29 at 7 PM EST. Mullen will perform selections from his solo and Skeptics songbooks, as well Holly Days’ singles and other covers.

The show is scheduled for 30 minutes (hey, that’s all the Beatles played for) so don’t be late!

Link to live feed here: https://www.facebook.com/tommullenmusic/live/

 

The Holly Days say ‘Happy Birthday’ to Buddy Holly with new single, Words of Love

Buffalo, N.Y. September 7, 2019. The Holly Days paid the ultimate tribute to their inspiration, Buddy Holly, by releasing their second single on the rock and roll founding father’s birthday, September 7. “Words of Love” was originally released on the Coral Records label in 1957 and has been covered extensively since, including a notable version by the Beatles on their 1964 album, Beatles for Sale. The Holly Days’ version combines elements of both.

“We love both Buddy’s original version and the Beatles’ cover, so we incorporated parts of each of them,” said lead singer and guitarist Tom Mullen. “I played the guitar intro more like George Harrison but the rest of the song more like Buddy. Of course, George and I both played Buddy’s original guitar solo note for note – you don’t mess with perfection!”

Bassist Gregg Deinhart found inspiration in Paul McCartney’s 1964 bass line. “Words of Love’ is a perfect song for my 1967 Hofner Beatle bass, said Deinhart. “The Beatles did a great cover of this beautiful song and the McCartney bass line creates a nice pulse under the rich harmony and bright guitars of the song.”

However, drummer Dan Komanski found the Latin rhythm of the original more to his liking. “I wanted to capture the spirit of the original, which was inspired by all the Latin rhythms popular at the time, said Komanski. “To get a warmer, unique sound, I played with a pair of Hot Rods and made sure the snares were off.”

While Mullen and Deinhart have been singing this beautiful duet together for decades, Mullen overdubbed the harmony part with his own lead vocal, as Holly did on the original, which was an innovation in rock music at the time.

“We’re very pleased with the way the track came out,” added Mullen. “Getting Buddy’s rhythm guitar part up front, which is buried in the original mix, together with Dan’s work on percussion and Gregg’s bass line produced something that really swings more than any recording of the song I’m familiar with. We hope the fans find it faithful yet fresh and original.”

Sound samples and downloads are available at the most popular distribution sites (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) here.

More information can be found at the Skepticsongs website.