Cool Hand Luke

Cool Hand Luke is a Christian band variously classified as alternative rock, progressive pop, indie, and emo and signed to Lujo Records on March 16, 2008. History Cool Hand Luke was formed by Brandon Morgan and Jason Hammil in 1998 while attending Middle Tennessee State University. The band's early music had a punk rock influence, although the range and scope of Cool Hand Luke's sound changed quickly after Mark Nicks joined the band. With Nicks on drums and lead vocals, Cool Hand Luke became known for playing with their backs to the crowd, lengthy, emotively expressive songs, and introspective lyrics. The band signed to Floodgate Records in 2002 and released two full-length albums (2003's Wake Up, O Sleeper and 2004's The Fires of Life). After an extended hiatus (during which Nicks played drums for The Chariot), Cool Hand Luke released The Balancing Act, a career retrospective that fulfilled their contract with Floodgate. The Balancing Act contained songs from the band's early independent releases plus its Floodgate discography. In October 2008, Cool Hand Luke released The Sleeping House on Lujo Records. The album, produced by Matt Goldman and showing such diverse influences as Shudder to Think and Keane, comprises twelve piano-based songs of a depth, intensity, and relative darkness unseen before in Cool Hand Luke's work. The artwork-intensive album, complete with an enhanced CD, featured lyrics, explorations of each song, a music video, and in-depth exploration of the meanings contained within the artwork.