Sometime in late 1986, Mike Dillon, Gary Muller, and Matt Chamberlain were playing in Dallas-based band Zane Grey, who actually appeared on Star Search. They did not win, but Muller did get to touch Ed McMahon (specifically, his hand). Meanwhile, Steve Brand and Slavens were playing in a Denton band called the Gonemen. Dillon, Muller, and Chamberlain lived in the same Denton house as other members of the Gonemen, and when dissatisfaction with both groups began to appear, the idea for a new band was spawned.
The first Ten Hands rehearsal (documented on videotape) took place late 1986 in Denton. Shortly thereafter, Zane Grey's manager, Tony Johnson, accepted an offer to manage the fledgling band. For the first year, Ten Hands played mostly small venues in Denton and performed a weekly gig at the Prophet Bar, a seminal Deep Ellum club in Dallas. During this time, a studio recording was made and handmade cassettes were sold and distributed in and around the Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Denton area.
Chamberlain and Dillon were already well-known in Denton as top players in the University of North Texas Jazz program, and interest in the band soon grew. It was also during this time that the New Bohemians were becoming a major draw in Dallas. It happened that several members of that band were friends with a few Ten Hands members, and ultimately, New Bohemians finagled some opening slots for Ten Hands at Deep Ellum's celebrated Club Dada. The Club Dada shows helped expose the band to a much wider audience, and the venue would later host many of Ten Hands' most memorable performances.
In late 1988, Earl Harvin joined the band as drummer after the Matt left to play with the New Bohemians. The band went into the studio to record Kung Fu...That's What I Like. As New Bohemians vacated Dallas for bigger and better things, Ten Hands stepped in to fill the void and began what would be a three or four year run as one of the region's most popular draws. The band won numerous Dallas Observer Awards in 1988-1989, and shortly after the release of their first live CD, The Big One Is Coming, and sold over 20,000 copies. Joe Cripps joined the band to replace Dillon on percussion.
Earl left the band to play with Mike Dillon's Billy Goat and "Big" Al Emert became drummer. Ten Hands started to tour heavily and built a large following with college audiences.
At a SXSW performance, the band was offered a record deal by an independent producer in L.A. Desperate to release an album after two years of inactivity, the band agreed and began work on Be My Guru in late 1991. While the album contained some of the band's best songs, the recording itself was a disappointment and the relationship with the label grew stormy. By the time the band left the label, much of their earlier momentum was lost.
As the band's popularity began to wane, a friend of the band, Byron Wilson, offered to produce a CD. Jazz for Jerks was recorded in early 1993 with the assistance of the band's friend and longtime collaborative producer, Dave Castell.
Steve Brand left the band in 1993. New guitarists, Chris Claridy and Chad Rueffer joined and the band wrote some new songs and continued to gig around the area. In the next incarnation, guitarist, Ed McMahon (in a strange twist of fate), and drummer Greg Beck were hired. A demo record was recorded with the brand new lineup, but the album was never mixed or released.
Ten Hands continues to play, with various lineups, several times a year in the Dallas area.
Badd Stuff
Ten Hands Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everybody talks about love now.
Love, love, love, love, love
Nobody knows what it means
Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex
Everybody just wants to have sex now.
((use protection)...)
Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear Is living in you and me
Out with the Badd Stuff
In with the Badd Stuff
Out with the Badd Stuff
In with the Badd Stuff
Think, think, think, think, think
Nobody wants to think anymore
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
That's all you got to me
Death, death, death, death, death
Death is all around you
And life, life, life, life, life is a cheap comodity.
The song "Badd Stuff" by Ten Hands addresses several societal issues in the form of a chant. The song opens up with "Love, love, love, love, love, Everybody talks about love now. Love, love, love, love, love, Nobody knows what it means." This portrays the superficiality of our society where love is just a word often thrown around without any deep understanding of its true essence. The next line, "Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, everybody just wants to have sex now, use protection," highlights the promiscuous nature of our society coupled with the awareness of the dangers of unprotected sex. The song emphasizes the need for physical protection but also the need to protect oneself emotionally.
The third line, "Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear, is living in you and me," talks about the prevalence of fear in our society. Fear has become an integral part of our lives, and the song points out that it is not something external but an emotion that resides in everyone. The lines "Out with the badd stuff, In with the badd stuff," emphasizes the need to let go of negative emotions and attitude and embrace positivity. The line "Think, think, think, think, think, nobody wants to think anymore," highlights the acceptance of superficiality while dismissing critical thinking. The line "Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, that's all you got to me," portrays a lack of intellectual depth in our society. Finally, the song ends with "Death, death, death, death, death, death is all around you, And life, life, life, life, life is a cheap commodity"--meaning that death is ubiquitous while at the same time tying in a loose theme of death.
Badd Stuff by Ten Hands:
Line by Line Meaning
Love, love, love, love, love
Love is a topic that's brought up frequently
Everybody talks about love now.
It seems like everyone is discussing love nowadays
Nobody knows what it means
Despite all the talk, the true essence of love is unknown
Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex
Sex is constantly on everyone's mind
Everybody just wants to have sex now.
Seems like most people solely desire sexual encounters
((use protection)...)
Stay safe and responsible with protected sex
Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear
Fear remains a constant within all people
Is living in you and me
Fear manifests within every individual and is a part of their existence
Out with the Badd Stuff
It's time to rid ourselves of what's weighing us down or hindering us
In with the Badd Stuff
In its place, let's welcome what brings positivity and building towards a brighter future
Think, think, think, think, think
Thinking and critical thought seem to be unpopular nowadays
Nobody wants to think anymore
It's become uncommon for people to want to think critically
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb
It's disappointing when people don't expand their knowledge to anything more than the bare minimum
That's all you got to me
Not expanding knowledge beyond a single, baseline level is underwhelming
Death, death, death, death, death
Death is always present and inevitable
Death is all around you
The concept of death is ubiquitous
And life, life, life, life, life is a cheap comodity.
In contrast, life is often devalued and considered expendable
Contributed by Gianna P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.