March is here and spring is upon us (at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere). And with spring we are granted new life, nice weather, and that great American pastime known as baseball. This week we’re getting a little bit of everything! Our artist this week is one of those great California skate-punk bands that should have been much bigger than they ever got to be, but it’s ok because their following is comprised of devoted fans who really appreciate their music. Ladies and gents, your artist of the week is the great Ten Foot Pole.
There are two different origins that people consider when thinking of Ten Foot Pole, there’s the “nardcore” straight-edge band of the 80’s that was the precursor to Ten Foot Pole called Scared Straight. Then there was the new life the band gained with the early 90’s incarnation when Scared Straight changed their name to Ten Foot Pole and started recording albums. Either way, the band began as Dennis Jagard, Steve von Treetrunk, Jordan Burns, and (then future) MLB pitcher, Scott Radinsky.
As with the origins, there are also two different Ten Foot Poles that people typically associate with: the Radinsky Ten Foot Pole and the Jagard Ten Foot Pole. With Scott Radinsky, the band released its first two albums, Swill and Rev, with his vocals bleating out the tracks. It’s often this particular sound that people associate with Ten Foot Pole. But due to Radinsky’s career as a Major League pitcher he was kicked out of the band and Jagard took over on vocal duties. Though his voice was not as nasally and his themes slightly changed, the band kept the same edge and life as with Radinsky. Fans of the early Ten Foot Pole albums and followers of Radinsky likely followed him to his subsequent band, Pulley.
Ten Foot Pole demonstrates the power and energy of other punk bands like NOFX, Lagwagon, and Bad Religion, but they were seemingly more deserving of the attention. Their albums, while excellent, show that the band is truly meant to be listened to live. Their content is a range from positive influences to failing relationships to bad days at work to wanting privacy from the pictures relatives passed away so they can have a moment to rub one out in peace. While punk usually has an aggression or a seeming anger to go along with it, Ten Foot Pole never really gets to the point neither of anger nor of writing things off as too soft. While adrenaline filled and mosh-pit inducing, their music seems to maintain a balance of the crooning punks and the in-your-face anger.
While Ten Foot Pole has been around for some time and has put out several albums, their last endeavor was 2004’s Subliminal Messages. Though their music production seems to have slowed, you can still catch live shows here and there. And if you’re a fan of punk, you’d definitely enjoy one of their live shows. The fact that the band never really acquired commercial success, the atmosphere is extremely intimate. The fans sing-along, push each other, and have a great time, the way punk should be. Hopefully we’ll hear more from them in the future, but until then get your fix here. Enjoy!
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