Born from the Dallas suburb of Denton, TX, in the mid-'80s, Ten Hands brief… Read Full Bio ↴Born from the Dallas suburb of Denton, TX, in the mid-'80s, Ten Hands briefly enjoyed heaps of acclaim and an impressive following in their home state. Their music tended to be high in energy, syncopated and funky. Matched with Paul Slavens]' charismatic vocal stylings and political assertions that denigrated the ruling elite, the complacent middle class, and environmental evils, Ten Hands was one of the more politically oriented Texas bands of the era. They rarely forgot to be fun, however, and their musical playfulness and frequent lyrical absurdism belied any pretensions they may have had.

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.

Old Eyes
Ten Hands Lyrics

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(Slavens)
I met you in an earlier time
We had just one thing in common
That was the only thing in my life
I remember that one spring day
When we drove out in the country
Flying past houses, farms and fields
I would give anything

To be with you again
I would give anything
To hear you call my name
I would give anything
To see your smiling face
To see you with my old eyes
That wasn't so long ago
When we were both quite naive
Oh the things that I believed
I remember the summer with you
When we lived out in the country
So much life and so much time
Time is changing
Now my life is rearranged
There's so much trouble
We got lost
I could not find you

Had to leave you far behind
But I will be with you again

Overall Meaning

The song "Old Eyes" by Ten Hands tells a story of a person who looks back to an earlier time in their life when they met someone special with whom they shared a connection. Despite having little else in common, they spent time together, driving out in the country and experiencing life's adventures. The singer recalls the feeling of being with this person and longing to be reunited with them. The memories maintain their power, even as the reality of the present has shifted and become more complex. The song expresses a wistful sense of looking back, wondering what might have been, and hoping for a chance to recapture a lost moment of happiness.

The lyrics of "Old Eyes" hint at the passage of time and the way in which life's experiences can shape and alter us. The song suggests a kind of nostalgia for the simplicity of the past, contrasting that with the complicated present. The singer remembers a time when they were "quite naive" and believed in certain things that may no longer seem possible or true. The longing for the past may be a way of coping with a present that feels overwhelming or oppressive. The line "we got lost" suggests a sense of confusion or disorientation that has come with time, but the final refrain is hopeful, suggesting that even after all that has changed, it may be possible to be reunited with the person who once meant so much.

Line by Line Meaning

I met you in an earlier time
I first met you a long time ago

We had just one thing in common
The only similarity we had was a single thing in common

That was the only thing in my life
That one thing was the most important in my life

I remember that one spring day
I still recall that day in spring

When we drove out in the country
We went on a drive through the countryside

Flying past houses, farms and fields
We zoomed past a lot of homes, farms, and fields

I would give anything
I'm willing to do anything

To be with you again
Just to spend time with you again

To hear you call my name
To listen to you say my name just once more

To see your smiling face
To look at your happy face again

To see you with my old eyes
To see you with the same eyes I had when I was young