Five Eyed Hand | The Band
Five Eyed Hand is a Santa Cruz based quartet that forges into new musical territory while embracing and fusing the traditional roots of jazz, psychedelic rock, folk, funk and beyond.
They blend expansive instrumental jam compositions with fun and catchy vocal tunes to form an engaging and captivating music experience that inspires dance floors to quake and tail feathers to shake. One never knows what surprises these guys might pull out.
The band sees each show as a special opportunity to participate in creating magic with the audience and with each other. Every set is created with that particular performance in mind; each show is a new experience.
| Derek Bodkin sits behind the drum kit, but one learns quickly that he has many other talents. Although it is rare for a drummer to lead on vocals, Derek does so with strength and grace while holding down a fluid groove and tight rhythm. His penchant for storytelling and eclectic musical background results in songwriting that has been featured on television, radio and live theater. To top things off, this multi-instrumentalist regularly shows off his award winning whistling, acoustic guitar and bluegrass banjo skills. |  |
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Mikey “The Fiddler” Henderson is a virtuoso on electric violin and mandolin. He brings a unique and captivating sound to this band that is elevating, searing, soothing and even ground breaking. Ukulele is his most recent pursuit on his long list of instrumental endeavors. |
| Jeb “The Bass Man” Taylor was struck by lightning while hiking in the Himalaya as a child. He bought a bass shortly after and has rarely parted from it since. He now has an amazing sonic touch and an extensive musical vocabulary from which he creates an impressive, melodic groove. His solos and jams are bone shaking. |  |
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The wacky guy with the amazing guitar chops is Chris Zanardi. He blends his early rock influences with his later love of jazz and jamming into a tonal experience that stands alone. In a world of guitar impressionists Chris is driven to seek his own path. He is prolific with his compositions which are musical journeys reflecting from his everyday experiences. “Z” as he is often called, also incorporates a synthesizer with looping (and other fun toys) to further expand this diverse and eclectic band’s sound. |
Notable Performances and Accolades: Winner of “Best New Groove” - Jambands.com (Relix Magazine’s online journal); “New Artist Feature” - High Sierra Music Festival 2008; Harmony Music Festival (2008); Bobolink Music Festival (2008/09) and The Summer Solstice Festival (2009).
“The Hand” has toured the Left Coast playing over 100 shows from Seattle to Santa Barbara at venues like: SOhO’s, The Boom Boom Room, Fillmore Poster Room, Cafe Du Nord, The Opal Lounge, Moe’s Alley, The Goodfoot Lounge, The Hopmonk Brewery, Don Quixote’s and many more. They have played with the legendary lap steel performer, Pete Grant, incredible fusion guitarist, Fareed Haque & Eric Levy (Garaj Mahal), Asher Fulero , Eric McFadden (Pfunk, Stockholm Syndrome, James Whiton on stand up bass as well as members of Tea Leaf Green, Hot Buttered Rum, Garaj Mahal, New Monsoon, Izabella and Blue Turtle Seduction.
