The Right Hand (band)

The Right Hand is a Neo-baroque/gothic band from Santa Barbara, California formed in early 2001 by Peter Alaric DeSimone (the stage name "O.H. Lee" was used until being dropped in 2008 for being what Peter referred to as a "pointless charade"). Stylistically, The Right Hand fuses elements of archaic music composition with modern instrumentation, arrangement styles and production technology. Examples of this notably unique style include the songs “Heaven” (set to the melody of the chorale prelude “Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ” by Johann Sebastian Bach) and “Kingdom By The Sea” (a spoken-word song based on Edgar Allan Poe's “Annabel Lee”). Numerous guest vocalists, musicians and songwriters have contributed to the project, but Peter remains the central figure and driving force behind its success.

On July 7 of 2007 (7/7/07), The Right Hand's debut album "Fate, My Enemy" was released through Criminal Soul Records, The Fossil Dungeon and various online retailers. On September 9 of 2009 (9/9/09), The Right Hand's second album "Kindred Spirit" was released for free under the provisions of a Creative Commons license. It is currently available for download from the Internet Archive. This second offering further illustrates the band's classical roots by employing reworked classics for six of the eleven songs (two remixes bring the total track count to 13). These pieces include works by Bach, Handel, Chopin, Schubert and Barber.

The band remains active in the Southern California music scene, having appeared live on numerous occasions. The songs "Leap of Faith" and "Fate, My Enemy" are on the soundtrack of the feature film "Butterflies in the Wind" directed by Vic Alexander, and the album version of "Fate, My Enemy" also appears on the soundtrack of the Danish action film "Tour de Force" directed by Kim Sønderholm. The band currently has three music videos; "Can't Escape", "Fate, My Enemy" and "Savior". The first two were produced by Camilla Stenmark and Lukas Lukasik of Small Sun Production, San Francisco, and the third by Peter himself using stock footage he obtained from the Department of Defense. This video premiered at the "Kindred Spirit" release party on 9/11/09, and was purportedly edited entirely that morning.

External links

• The Right Hand's "Official" Site
• The Right Hand's MySpace page
• "Kindred Spirit" download page at Archive.org
• Gothic Paradise reviews "Fate, My Enemy" and "Kindred Spirit"
• Transit Magazine review (French)
• Erba della Strega review (Italian)
• Ver Sacrum review (Italian)
• GearWire interviews O.H. Lee: Part 1
• GearWire interviews O.H. Lee: Part 2
• GearWire interviews O.H. Lee: Part 3