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.
The Buffalo Club
Ten Hands Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't belong to the Buffalo Club
But I sure would like to wake up in the morning
And find out it's all been a terrible dream
Does anybody see it as a warning
Have you been out there on the street
Pretty lights above your head
Pretty bricks beneath your feetClean off the spray paint on the walls
Clean the kids and clean their minds
Until there's nothing left to clean except the sky
Have you been checking out the changes
I hear so many names
I see so many different faces
All the suffering from the same disease
Did you find out young that life is short
And try to take the easy way out
There's no easy way out
How I wish that I could be naive
I long to be taken in
Tricked into believing again
The lyrics to Ten Handsโ song The Buffalo Club reflect a deep sense of dissatisfaction with the current state of the world. Slavens sings about not belonging to the Buffalo Club, a reference to the exclusive private club in downtown Dallas, but the desire to wake up one day and find out it has all been a terrible dream. He questions if anyone sees the state of the world as a warning, and asks if anyone has walked out on the street and noticed the pretty lights above their head and the pretty bricks beneath their feet. However, he is also aware of the problems that exist, as evidenced by his call to clean off the spray paint on the walls, and to clean the minds of children until there is nothing left to clean except the sky. Despite this awareness, there is a sense of longing to return to a simpler time when he could be naive, and could be tricked into believing again. The song may be interpreted as a call to action to fix the problems that exist, while also recognizing the potential for loss of innocence in the process.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't belong to the Buffalo Club
I am not a part of the privileged class
But I sure would like to wake up in the morning
I wish for a better tomorrow
And find out it's all been a terrible dream
To forget the horrors of reality
Does anybody see it as a warning
Is there anyone who recognizes the impending doom?
Have you been out there on the street
Have you experienced life on the streets?
Pretty lights above your head
Lights that distract from the darkness below
Pretty bricks beneath your feet
The materialism that surrounds us
Clean off the spray paint on the walls
Removing the symbols of rebellion and dissatisfaction
Clean the kids and clean their minds
Conditioning and indoctrination of the next generation
Until there's nothing left to clean except the sky
Aiming for absolute control and dominion over everything
Have you been checking out the changes
Have you noticed the societal changes?
I hear so many names
So many voices, yet so little action
I see so many different faces
A world fragmented and divided
All the suffering from the same disease
The root cause of all societal problems
Did you find out young that life is short
Realizing the fragility and impermanence of life at a young age
And try to take the easy way out
Attempting to escape the hardships of reality
There's no easy way out
There is no shortcut to happiness and fulfillment
How I wish that I could be naive
Longing for blissful ignorance
I long to be taken in
To be caught up in something bigger than myself
Tricked into believing again
Being deceived and misled back into the illusions of the past
Lyrics ยฉ O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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