Ten Foot Pole
Encyclopedia
Ten Foot Pole is an American
punk rock
band, formerly on Epitaph Records
.
.
Scared Straight was a Nardcore Punk band from Simi Valley, California. The band was formed in 1983 by a group of friends and was originally called S.O.F, Scott Radinsky, Mike Thompson, Gary Gallanes and Dennis Jagard, who wanted to start a band and enter a "Battle of the Bands" competition at a local skate rink. After going through several members and name changes, They often played with other "Nardcore" bands from nearby Oxnard, California. All of their records were released by Mystic Records.
In the early 1990s they changed their name to Ten Foot Pole. One of the reasons for the name change was to move away from the "straight-edge" reputation that followed the band with a name like Scared Straight. In the beginning, Ten Foot Pole has a reputation of being a more aggressive, hardcore punk band that likes to party and have fun. The band released two albums under their new name with the old lineup: Swill and Rev. After the release of Rev and a split EP with Sweden's Satanic Surfers
, Radinsky was forced to leave the band due to his professional baseball
commitments and Ten Foot Pole's desire to be a full-time touring band. From then on Dennis Jagard took over lead vocals for the band.
The next albums, Unleashed and Insider, developed a new fan base but lost some old time fans who preferred Scott's voice, apparently including decision makers at Epitaph Records. The next album, Bad Mother Trucker, was released on Victory Records, followed by Subliminable Messages on Go-Kart Records. Various musicians joined and left along the way, as the DIY band toured heavily in the US, Europe and Canada, including Glen "Vegas" Murray Eric Cody, John Chapman, Dan Kelly, Chris Dalley, Keith Divel, and Mike Levy who is a Social Studies teacher for Culver City Middle School in Culver City, California, along with Kevin Ruggeri, who is an English teacher for Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. Lead singer Dennis is a sound engineer, who has mixed for artists including Prince and Return to Forever.
The band renamed themselves to Ten Foot Pole ("Three Meter Pole") in the early 1990s
while on tour in Europe, not wanting to be mistaken for a "straight edge
" punk band.
On 4 April 2009, the band was to have ended a three-year hiatus with a show at the Riorock festival in Belgium.
Kevin Ruggeri is a member of the Canadian-based band Four Square. He teaches American and British Literature at Conestoga High School, located in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.
They were also featured 2000 in the Punk Goes Metal
compilations performing a cover of "Love Song
" by Tesla
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band, formerly on Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
.
History
Ten Foot Pole was founded in 1983 as Scared StraightScared Straight (band)
Scared Straight was a Nardcore Punk band from Simi Valley, California.The band was formed in 1983 by a group of friends and was originally called S.O.F, Scott Radinsky, Mike Thompson, Gary Gallanes and Dennis Jagard, who wanted to start a band and enter a "Battle of the Bands" competition at a...
.
Scared Straight was a Nardcore Punk band from Simi Valley, California. The band was formed in 1983 by a group of friends and was originally called S.O.F, Scott Radinsky, Mike Thompson, Gary Gallanes and Dennis Jagard, who wanted to start a band and enter a "Battle of the Bands" competition at a local skate rink. After going through several members and name changes, They often played with other "Nardcore" bands from nearby Oxnard, California. All of their records were released by Mystic Records.
In the early 1990s they changed their name to Ten Foot Pole. One of the reasons for the name change was to move away from the "straight-edge" reputation that followed the band with a name like Scared Straight. In the beginning, Ten Foot Pole has a reputation of being a more aggressive, hardcore punk band that likes to party and have fun. The band released two albums under their new name with the old lineup: Swill and Rev. After the release of Rev and a split EP with Sweden's Satanic Surfers
Satanic Surfers
-History:Satanic Surfers were formed in fall 1989 by vocalist Erik and drummer Rodrigo. Soon after Frederick and Magnus joined on guitar and Tomek on bass, but the band did not release their debut, Skate to Hell, until 1993. Skate to Hell was the first release issued by Bad Taste Records...
, Radinsky was forced to leave the band due to his professional baseball
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
commitments and Ten Foot Pole's desire to be a full-time touring band. From then on Dennis Jagard took over lead vocals for the band.
The next albums, Unleashed and Insider, developed a new fan base but lost some old time fans who preferred Scott's voice, apparently including decision makers at Epitaph Records. The next album, Bad Mother Trucker, was released on Victory Records, followed by Subliminable Messages on Go-Kart Records. Various musicians joined and left along the way, as the DIY band toured heavily in the US, Europe and Canada, including Glen "Vegas" Murray Eric Cody, John Chapman, Dan Kelly, Chris Dalley, Keith Divel, and Mike Levy who is a Social Studies teacher for Culver City Middle School in Culver City, California, along with Kevin Ruggeri, who is an English teacher for Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. Lead singer Dennis is a sound engineer, who has mixed for artists including Prince and Return to Forever.
The band renamed themselves to Ten Foot Pole ("Three Meter Pole") in the early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
while on tour in Europe, not wanting to be mistaken for a "straight edge
Straight edge
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs. It was a direct reaction to the sexual revolution, hedonism, and excess associated with punk rock. For some, this extends to not engaging in promiscuous sex, following a...
" punk band.
On 4 April 2009, the band was to have ended a three-year hiatus with a show at the Riorock festival in Belgium.
Kevin Ruggeri is a member of the Canadian-based band Four Square. He teaches American and British Literature at Conestoga High School, located in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.
They were also featured 2000 in the Punk Goes Metal
Punk Goes Metal
Punk Goes Metal was the first compilation album to be released as part of the Punk Goes... series created by Fearless Records. It features covers of heavy metal songs by punk rock bands and was released on August 1, 2000....
compilations performing a cover of "Love Song
Love Song (Tesla song)
"Love Song" is a power ballad by the band Tesla, from the album The Great Radio Controversy, released in 1989. When the video was placed in heavy rotation on MTV, the song rocketed to number ten on the U.S. charts, becoming one of the group's biggest hits....
" by Tesla
Tesla (band)
Tesla is an American hard rock band formed in Sacramento, California in 1984. They have sold 14 million albums in the United States.-Formation and Mechanical Resonance :...
.
Discography
- (1993) SwillSwill (Ten Foot Pole album)Swill is Ten Foot Pole's first recording on the band's own label, Ten Foot Records.-Track listing:#"People Like You" - 2:06#"Skywalker" - 2:17#"Pete's Shoes" - 2:32#"Life" - 3:25#"Home" - 2:43#"Ultimatum" - 3:04#"Forward" - 1:39...
- (1994) RevRev (Ten Foot Pole album)Rev is the second album by Ten Foot Pole, and the last to feature Scott Radinsky.-Track listing:#"Never Look Back" - 2:20#"My Wall" - 2:50#"Old Man" - 3:44#"Fade Away" - 3:11#"World's Best Dad" - 2:14#"Co-Song" - 1:43#"Closer To Grey" - 3:08...
- (1995) Ten Foot Pole & Satanic Surfers Split EP
- (1997) Unleashed
- (1998) Insider
- (2002) Bad Mother TruckerBad Mother Trucker-Track listing:All songs written by Dennis Jagard, except "Happy Daze" and "Shelter" by Kevin Ruggeri#"Plastic" - 2:20#"Giving Gravity A Hand" - 2:33#"Do It Again" - 2:25#"Happy Daze" - 2:48#"Armchair Quarterback" - 2:16#"Nova Scotia" - 2:34...
- (2004) Subliminable MessagesSubliminable MessagesSubliminable Messages is the sixth album by Ten Foot Pole. The title refers to a Bushism.-Track listing:#"Wake Up " - 2:42#"Kicked Out of Kindergarten" - 2:48 #"She Looks Like" - 1:52#"Rachel Corrie" - 2:57...
External links
- Official website
- Official MySpace
- [ Profile and discography of Ten Foot Pole] at Allmusic
- Partial discography of Ten Foot Pole at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...