Hands| From The Eye Of The Storm
Written By: Levi Macallister

From where I now sit in Lakeside, OH – the real-life Truman Show of a dainty, utopian community – at the edge of Lake Erie, and overlooking the sun setting beneath a horizon that spills over into the Canadian border, Shane Ochsner pleads, painstakingly, through my earbuds: “be still and know that I am God…” The words act as parallel to the circumstance, the screams antonym to the quiet, and the soundtrack contradictory to the “still”, but the ripples ebb and flow like the rise and fall of the record, and after a long, silent stint from the band whose very existence was in question among many Unawares in the scene, Hands’ is back with Give Me Rest. Vocalist Shane Ochsner fills us in on the process of transforming from band dudes to family men, and the inevitable changes that accompany time lapsing into growth and age.

Why don’t you wear all black and synchronize your headbangs and tell kids: “All right Cornerstone! This is your last chance!” right before you play a breakdown in the middle of your songs?

Shane Ochsner: (Laughs) Great way to kick off this interview! I actually do wear all black most shows. Guilty. But synchronized headbangs? Don’t even get me started. I could rage for hours. Next question.

So you’re a father now… Is it even describable? Can you try? What’s your daughter like? How have your experiences and interactions with her changed the way you view and interact with the rest of the world? Has she inspired any songs on this album, lyrically?

SO: I can’t describe it. The first time I seen her face to face, it shook my world. Everything changed. It was seriously the most intense experience I have ever had. As a father, I view everything a little differently. All of my priorities have changed, and so many of the things that I put at the top of the list in my life, just don’t seem as important anymore. Lyrically, there’s a few things here and there on the new album that stemmed from becoming a father for the first time. Mostly, in the song “Jovian”.

Not a lot of people know what’s going on with Hands anymore since you guys aren’t out on the road. Fill us in. How does the band dynamic work now that you’re not touring anymore? Do you have any future expectations for the band? What expectations should your fans have for the “show-playing” Hands?

SO: Yeah, it’s kind of a non traditional arrangement we have going on here. We’re no longer a touring band. We sold the van and trailer, I’m living in Kansas City and the other guys are in Fargo, and all of us have full time jobs. So getting around for shows is much more difficult for us. However, we are still going to be playing a few of the festivals, and doing a few shorter tour runs within the next year. We’re still laying out the plans, but we will make something happen! But hey, if Give Me Rest goes platinum, we’ll start touring full time again!

Let’s talk recording: Last time we really had a heart-to-heart was on last year’s Facedown Young & Wreckless Tour, and you talked about how excited you were to record this next album with one of your production heroes… I wanna hear all about it. Did your expectations and excitement about the process culminate into the result you’d anticipated? How were you stretched as a band through the opportunity?

SO: We were originally scheduled to record with Matt Talbott, of the 90′s space rock band HUM. But shortly after setting the recording dates, Holly and I found out we were having a baby! So the time frames changed, and Matt was not available. So the album was done in Kansas City, with my good friend Joshua Barber at Covenant Studios. It’s insane the way this album came together, crazy story! I’ll sum it up for you: I was in the hospital waiting for our little girl to be born, and our drummer Josh calls me and says he won’t be able to make it down to Kansas City to track the drums due to a rather unusual injury. If any of you know Josh personally, you know he is no stranger to things of this nature. So because of this, and a few other time related issues, I ended up having to track the entire album by myself. And if that wasn’t crazy enough, I had a full time job, and a new born baby at home! Craziest month of my life! But it all worked out, and the album is finished.

Overall, the album feels pretty weighty. Did you write all the lyrics for this album in the studio after you’d freaked out about it coming down to the wire, or was this one a little more calculated? Is there a concept to this album? Can you please tell me about the emotions and questions that fueled those within the title track?

SO: As always, I wrote all of the lyrics hours before going into the studio to record them. It’s easily the most frustrating week of my life. Lots of late nights, very little sleep, and a ton of pressure to finish. I tried writing lyrics for this album months before we started recording, but I can never do it. I spend 10 hours, and I’ll only get one line down. But it always works out, and I am always happy with the lyrics when everything is finished. “In my mind, everything was so fabricated and self-indulgent. It didn’t take long, to become jaded and angry at everything. I had no idea who God truly was, and why I believed in him. Who his followers were, and why I considered myself to be one of them.”

I grew up in a Christian home. With DC Talk’s “Jesus Freak” blasting through my stereo, my life was changed. If Kevin Max said there was a God, well then in my eyes it had to be true! I spent all of my teenage years in Christian bands, and even preaching from stage about how great a relationship with Jesus was. But within the last few years, things have changed. I have been questioning everything I believe, and quickly came to the realization that my “relationship” with God, wasn’t a relationship at all. I had all of these questions, but never actually had taken the time to search for them. Life within the hardcore music scene did not help. In my mind, everything was so fabricated and self-indulgent. It didn’t take long, to become jaded and angry at everything. I had no idea who God truly was, and why I believed in him. Who his followers were, and why I considered myself to be one of them. It’s not that I ever thought he didn’t exist, I just totally fell off and needed to start over. Give Me Rest is about that struggle. Being able to see through all of the garbage that gets thrown in front of us, and making a direct line of sight with God.

The title track came out of nowhere. This album was supposed to be 9 tracks. But about a week before we started tracking, I went into my basement, turned my amp on, and shut the lights off. 2 hours later, came out of the dark room with a new song, with lyrics and all. Not once in my life has this ever happened to me. I have my own vision for the song, but I don’t want to ruin it for anyone else that hears it. I love that song, and I think it’s a great way to end the album.

Have the frustrations that you alluded to during previous interviews with the state of Christianity within the scene influenced you, topically? How have you wrestled with that over the year, and do you think you’ve found a balance between righteously contending for your convictions and trusting the Spirit with what is beyond your control?

SO: Other than joking about it with a few friends here and there, I am over it. I think the last time we talked about this stuff, I was on my way into that “jaded and angry at everything” period I mentioned earlier. It’s a waste of time to sit and judge other people. or other bands on what they are doing or how they are handling themselves. You just have to look forward, and trust that God is in control. Some of the crazy things that changed my life as a kid, I would have verbally assaulted had I been the “mature and all knowing” adult I am today.

Can you tell me about the cover art? Who did it? Explain how it relates to the album, conceptually, and/or why it was chosen as the final piece which would represent your release. How does (or does it?) visual art inspire your written art?

SO: Dave Quiggle did the art for the new album. I basically told him I wanted something really simple. I had given Dave the album, and told him to do whatever he wanted. I love what he came up with! We sat on the phone for an hour one day, and just talked about the feelings and emotions behind the music on the album. We didn’t talk about artwork, or crazy ideas. Just the place and state of mind it had been written from. The cover is supposed to represent omnipotence, within the eye of God. We have an 18×24 print coming out in a few days in our online merch store, that represents chaos.

How have your priorities shifted from being a “band dude” to a “family dude”? Do you ever miss the road?

SO: I will always miss being on the road. Playing music and traveling with my best friends, is one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. It could go on forever talking about the things I love about being on the road. But I am happy at home! I can’t imagine leaving my daughter for those long periods of time, I have no idea how all you touring dad’s make it work!

Are you a reader? Is there anything that you’ve read (books, articles, memoirs, Scripture, etc) during the writing process for this record that specifically pushed you in a certain direction? Can you suggest three “necessary reads” to Hopecore readers? (If you’re not a reader, replace with “films” – or do both.)

SO: I am not much of a reader, but a good friend recently gave me a book titled “The Invisible War”. Totally crazy book, and every page just rocks me. Another book I would recommend, is Johnny Cash “The Autobiography”. And actually, I don’t have another book, but I do have a TV series to recommend. Do we have any LOST fans out there? That show is phenomenal, and I can honestly say it inspired some of my writing on this album.