Premiere: Handmade Moments, in Grandma’s Hands

Duo does up Number One hits for homerun

With a lineup of rotating instruments such as sousaphone, alto sax, bass clarinet, acoustic bass, beat-boxing, guitar, one might not expect an indie-folk take on Erykah Badu’s song “Phone Down,” to garner 4.5 million views on Facebook but Handmade Moments handily beat the odds. No wonder: the duo gives birth tosingular renditions of classics and modern songs on their upcoming forth album, Number Ones.

After five years, three albums, moves from their hometown of Fayetteville, AR to Argentina, Oakland, CA and New Orleans LA, a near-fatal car crash and the loss of all their equipment, tours and live concerts with Yonder Mountain String Band, Ayla Nereo, Steve Poltz, John Craigie, and many others and this summer’s tour of 25 cities across Europe, Handmade Moments are still thrilled to move forward. Their viral video success precedes the release of the national release of Number Ones featuring hook-laden, indie-Americana versions of songs by a wide range of artists, including Aaliyah, DRAM, Bill Withers, Erykah Badu, Rufus & Chaka Khan, Blondie, James Brown, Louis Armstrong and The Grateful Dead.

Number Ones opens with a sousaphone and beat-box backdrop with Moss’ vocals soaring atop on the Bill Withers tender classic, “Grandma’s Hands.” Inspired by frequent stops in the Delta to visit Moss’ grandmother—and grandma’s pecan pie— “Grandma’s Hands” hits home for touring musicians hungry for family connections.

Singer Ann Moss told Elmore, “Bill Withers is my dad’s favorite musician, and I’ve been singing along with him since I was a kid. His voice and storytelling made me a lifelong fan. One of my favorite tracks is the slow, soulful song, “Grandma’s Hands.” When we first started covering this song, we weren’t expecting the audience to get so into it, but they always dance and clap along. Maybe it’s because of the sousaphone, or maybe it’s like what Bill Withers experienced when folks would come up to him after the show and say, ”I dug my grandma, too.’

“When we play this song at live shows, we often tell stories about our grandmothers. Joel’s Grandma is from Chicago, and she’s always pushing course after course of homemade food on us. If we say we are not hungry, she reminds us of how skinny we look and how we NEED TO EAT! When driving from our home in New Orleans to go on tour, we always make a stop to see my Grandma Gene in the Arkansas delta and have a slice of her incredible pecan pie. “