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Vintage REAL VIDEO of Gaston & Purcell with Don Polec, circa 1998. No Real Player? Download Real Player NOW! (BASIC Real Player is FREE) | ||
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Bruce Ken Gaston & Purcell |
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What began as a seemingly harmless stunt by an adolescent with too much time on his hands soon developed into an all- consuming passion. From the moment he awkwardly squeezed a tortured version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” from his blistered palms, Bruce Gaston
sensed what destiny had in store for him. Initially inspired by childhood
friend and fellow musical hands pioneer Al Manero, young Bruce plunged into a
lifelong pursuit of palm pumping artistic excellence. Undaunted by the excruciating difficulty
of learning his chosen instrument (and unable to locate any Mel Bay books on
the subject), he practiced night and day in stairwells and bedrooms, cars and
buses, at work or at play---wherever the opportunity to “squeeze a breeze” presented itself. He relentlessly rehearsed and refined his technique and gradually, oh so gradually, improved. He mastered
the “Colonel Bogey March” along with
the “Andy Griffith” theme and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. His
perseverance and tenacity were finally paying off. He was on his way to becoming a virtuoso. In 1974, after winning a talent show hands
down at Bloomsburg University in PA, Bruce realized that he had finally become a
MANUALIST!!! Later in the
1970’s he met Ken Purcell, a musician who recognized Bruce’s extraordinary
talent. They dabbled at the notion of
making a sincere effort to play music together, but this did not occur until
years later. |
For over twenty-five years Ken Purcell has been entertaining audiences that are as diverse as his repertoire. As an accomplished guitarist and pianist, Ken sings with a warmth and enthusiasm that spans a wide range of emotion and invites the audience to join along as he leads them down the musical road less traveled. With a wealth of material ranging from the silly to the sublime, Mr. Purcell’s tuneful renditions bridge generations with memorable melodies that audiences of any age can relate to. Nursery schools and nursing homes as well as street corners and concert stages have all echoed with the many moods of his music. Specializing in Irish, Novelty, and Americana, Ken’s ever expanding repertoire is a musical grab bag that features SENTIMENTAL BALLADS, POP STANDARDS of the 20’s & 30’s, FAMILIAR FOLKSONGS, CHILDREN’S FAVORITES, COWBOY CLASSICS, TENDER LOVESONGS, WHIMSICAL DITTIES, RIP-ROARIN’ RAGTIME, CAMPY CAMPFIRE SING-A-LONGS, SHOWTUNES, AND NUTTY NOVELTY NUMBERS. Whether
accompanying himself, Manualist Bruce Gaston, or the Novelty
maestros “The Three Tendons”, Ken Purcell’s
musical merriment is a perfect way to perk up parties, picnics, Banquets,
receptions, or any event LARGE OR SMALL! |
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Gaston & Purcell first performed publicly
in 1992 and have been delighting and mystifying audiences of all ages ever
since. Their performances shamelessly
pander to their own offbeat taste for music often far removed from the
musical mainstream. Gaston’s unorthodox
instrument soon gained the attention of the media and he eventually earned
the respect of the musical community for his unparalleled quality of tone,
exceptional range, and exactness of pitch.
In 1995, the duo received an Honorary Master of
Manualist Arts degree from Philadelphia television personality Don Polec on a
special entitled “Amazing Achievers”.
On the show Ken sang his paraphrased version of Pat Ballard’s hit “Mr.
Sandman” in which he refers to Bruce as “Mr.
Handman”. THE NAME STUCK. As a result
of international attention
received from appearing on CNN in 1996, Mr. Handman has played his musical
“mitts” on hundreds of radio stations from Altoona to New Zealand. It was this enthusiastic worldwide
response to Mr. Handman’s phenomenal ability that
inspired Gaston & Purcell to retreat to a troglodytic studio where, for two years, they
labored under the discerning ear of Clark Ferguson, the audio alchemist, who
recorded the unique sounds captured on the album “Amazing Feats on Musical
Hands”, now available at handman.com. Fittingly, for a
manualist, the recording phase of the project was completed on Palm Sunday, enabling
Gaston & Purcell to finally emerge from their subterranean laboratory
with this debut recording effort, the only full length CD of its
kind!!!  |
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