Hands

The band changed its name from Ibis to Prism and continued to record and play gigs while incorporating more and more originals into the set list. Clay felt that the original compositions the band were starting to play with would benefit from having a string player in the band. Through a newspaper ad discovered by Rousseau, Paul Bunker joined the group. From that point, the band took on a completely different sound and a seriousness of purpose. Finally, citing artistic differences and an increasing reticence to work together, Barreyre was asked to leave the band. While that particular rift was brewing, Myers had returned from Los Angeles where he had met flutist and composer Skip Durbin, who was asked to join Prism. Solell retired from Prism and Durbin quickly joined, and the sound of the group changed again to a more melodic and flowing sort of sound. Myers' father came to a rehearsal one night with one of his associates. Hearing the sincerity and originality of the band, he invested a sum of money for the band to make a recording. Meanwhile, Rousseau had been busy making contact with the promoters of a Gentle Giant concert that was scheduled for the Dallas area. Through sheer persistence, Rousseau secured the opening spot for the Gentle Giant concert. Spurred on by the great reception they received playing the Gentle Giant gig, the band entered January Sound in fall of 1977 and recorded what would be, some 25 years later, the Hands CD.

1978 was a year of grueling practice and songwriting. The group had to endure another practice-room change, to a storefront warehouse in East Dallas, and, learning of the Canadian band of the same name on Arista Records, had to change their name. After a series of long discussions, they finally decided on Hands. The name seemed to sum up a great deal about the band; just a coordination of hands moving about to make music. The name actual predated many of the minimalist names that would appear throughout the early '80s.