Secret Handshake 'My Name Up In Lights' album

The Secret Handshake will debut "Saturday," the first new song from My Name Up In Lights. My Name Up In Lights will be out April 21st on Triple Crown Records. Look for a tour announcement later this week and don't miss The Secret Handshake at Alternative Press' free SXSW "Kick Up Your Spurs" party on Saturday, March 21st.

The elements that comprise The Secret Handshake’s new album, My Name Up In Lights, aren’t complicated or out of the ordinary. Instead Dallas musician Luis Dubuc has built a collection of songs that embraces an unabashed pop sensibility, drawing on the ‘90s to inspire the disc’s feel-good energy and playful mood. The record follows the success of The Secret Handshake’s previous album—2007’s One Full Year—with more streamlined intent and clarity of vision. “My first record was 14 songs and it was all over the place,” Dubuc says. “It was like looking in my brain. It was full of ideas and all the songs sounded different. This record is really narrowed down. It’s really influenced by Family Matters and Step By Step and the Ninja Turtles and Len and Spacehog and awesome ‘90s radio music. I just narrowed all those influences down and put them into a record.”

Dubuc, who started The Secret Handshake in 2004, began writing songs and compiling demos for a new album as soon as he finished One Full Year, eventually ending up with nearly 60 songs to weed through. Once he had selected the 10 strongest tracks, Dubuc sat down in his home studio to record in December of 2008. Instead of enlisting a producer, like on the last record, Dubuc played, programmed and recorded the entire album himself to ensure that his vision achieved reality. “I wanted to do this record and have it be 100 percent me,” he explains. “I didn’t want anyone else to have input. I wanted to just do it. No one could stop me from doing anything.”

Secret Handshake tour dates
3/14 - Plano, TX - Plano Center (South By So What)

3/21 - Austin, TX - Emo's - Alt Press "Kick Up Your Spurs" SXSW Party (Free)

3/27 - Keller, TX - Keller Town Center

Secret Handshake biography
“I wrote some songs cause I love her/And played some shows in the suburbs/It was the middle of summer in Texas.” -Taken from “Summer Of Love”

It may be set to a drum machine and singing synthesizer, but the lyrics quoted above sum up the music of The Secret Handshake better than any biography ever could. Originally formed in 2004 by Dallas native Luis Dubuc, the idea that started as a side-project has become an underground phenomenon made evident by The Secret Handshake’s recent signing to Triple Crown Records as well as the sold-out shows Dubuc has played with just a few self-released recordings to his name.

Initially a metal drummer, Dubuc quickly felt limited playing aggressive music, and after witnessing a life-changing Mouse On Mars show, he bought a laptop and began experimenting with electronic sounds. “It was really liberating,” Dubuc explains. “Suddenly there was a new way for me to create music without a stereotypical band.”

However, he didn’t realize how successful these bedroom anthems would be until he took his show on the road. “I did a month-long DIY tour playing in every basement and garage in the world and it was awesome,” Dubuc says about TSH’s early days. “I’d toured before, but never in that personal way.”

One of the people who instantly latched onto Dubuc’s sound was Triple Crown Records owner Fred Feldman, who flew out to see The Secret Handshake after hearing a demo of the band’s breakout single, “Coastal Cities.” The song features an instantly recognizable piano melody, electronic flourishes and an infectious chorus that soars above the any skyline. But despite instantly accessible tracks such as “Coastal Cities,” Dubuc is quick to point out that The Secret Handshake has many more sides to it.

In March 2007, The Secret Handshake released its widely-received Summer Of ’98 EP, which featured remixes by Spank Rock and P.O.S. This fall, the band will put out its debut full-length, One Full Year recorded by Ocelot, an up-and-coming production team comprised of Cory Kildruff and James Welsh. The 14 songs on One Full Year are as varied as Dubuc’s myriad of influences. Although …And You Know Us By The Trail Of Dead’s bassist, Neil Busch, lends his skills to a few tracks, the album is ultimately Dubuc’s seemingly disparate influences recontextualized into one cohesive collection. “I want this record to surprise and shock a lot of people, you know?” Dubuc says. And whether it’s the shredding guitar solo on “Gamegirl” or the glitchy “Too Young,” there are plenty of moments that will catch each listener off guard on the disc.

Dubuc plans on packing up the SUV and touring for most of 2007 on every type of bill from emo to hip-hop. Oh, and don’t be surprised if you hear a new song or two live. “I’ve already demoed four songs for the new album which will come out in, like, 2009,” the prolific songwriter explains. “Funny enough, it sounds completely different than anything else that’s coming out.”

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Secret Handshake - My Name Up In Lights