Scott Radinsky is my oldest friend I think. I will always remember meeting him because he was playing drums in a pre Scared Straight band called SOF (stands for Secure Our Future) alongside a few other founding Scared Straight bandmembers. They were playing at a Simi Valley California ?Battle of the Bands? gig that was held in a roller rink in town. It was arguably the first time I saw a punk band, watching these little kids jam on Fear and Aggression covers. Funnily enough, they won the contest. And they were going up against some very professional cover bands that did Y&T covers and even the band Lizzy Borden played.
I desperately wanted to be friends with these guys, and luckily I could sort of draw, which more or less was my way in. I later saw the band Scared Straight form and watched them go through a few lineups when all of a sudden Scott became the singer. Even weirder, he had presence and could actually sing..sort of. A little while went by and I was in the band! My first ever band!
I seemed to hit it off the most with Scott, and it was Scott that I was the closest with. I watched after I moved away (via letters and scene reports and packages in the mail) Scott?s baseball career unfold (which I know nothing about by the way..I was never a sports fan) as well his dual identity as singer for Ten Foot pole and eventually Pulley. Something else that you have to admire about him is that he actually gave back to the community of Simi Valley by opening a skate park in town, Skatelab. I don?t really know of anyone else ever that has done anything like this, providing a place for kids to go and having somewhat of a positive influence to boot. The last time I saw him was over four years ago and while I was tripping out on Skatelab, there was a show going on there the night I was back in Simi Valley. As the sun was going down I marveled at how many moms that were dropping off their teenage kids might have been classmates of ours back in Simi Valley High. Well, it was weird.
Finally, any would be promoters take note: the gauntlet has been thrown down. If there is anyone out there Canadian enough and could provide gear, a place to practice and a good sized tour of eastern Canada where we all more than break even, give me a call. Scared Straight is ready. No really?we are!
Explain to me again how long that you were playing pro baseball? Also, can you recount the pitching while tripping on acid story, or is that going to get you into trouble?
Scott: Well going into this season it will be my 26th in professional baseball, I played for 17 yrs and took one summer off before I started coaching which is what I?m currently doing now,, the acid story was kind of an exaggeration I guess, I was up in Oakland for new years eve and had this acid, I put it in my wallet forgetting about it for 6 months, one day I just happened to be cleaning out the wallet and found it so I ate it, it was about 1 in the afternoon, by the time I got to the field I think I was feeling a little something? Maybe I just wanted to believe I was, I?m sure there was still a little potency to it but not like I was totally tripping during a game,, I can at least say I did it.
I only ask because I don?t know?.what exactly happened after I move out here? How long did Tim play drums before Scared Straight broke up? What happened to Eric Swift, and was this when Mike Harder was brought in to play bass? How long did that last?
Scott: Well if you remember, while on tour in 85 when you decided to go to Raleigh we headed home to start finding a drummer, Eric our bass player had a friend who played drums, he was a little more advanced than us at the time and played our songs easy, we continued playing gigs and writing music, somewhere in there we recorded a full length album for mystic that would be put on the shelf for a couple of years while they relocated down to San Diego, Tim was only in the band for about 7 or 8 months , we did a tour over the winter of 85-86 and you went with us to play drums,, after that tour it was pretty much Jordan on drums and Mike on bass, Eric and Tim were out, they just weren?t into like we were I guess.
When did that second Mystic record get recorded? Was it ever finished? Did you guys even like it, and what do you think of it coming out? Didn?t it come out against the bands wishes?
Scott: One day two years after it was recorded my friend comes running up to my house with a copy of the scared straight album, I shit and said where did you get that? He had bought it at tempo records old home of the infamous Brian Walsby who updated there punk selection quite well. I can?t say that I didn?t like the record it?s just we never had any involvement with it, we left these raw unmixed songs on tape and that?s what we got, I guess looking back it was better than nothing even though it came out two years late.
You were already playing baseball during all of this I assume. That must have been something else. Obviously you had to devote your time to baseball, or did you already figure out that you wanted to pursue the band, or a band in the off season? Was there a time when there was no band, be it Scared Straight, Ten Foot Pole or Pulley?
Scott: I started playing baseball professionally the day after I graduated high school, the band never stopped, that?s when Mike and Jordan took over full time and we started getting better musically and with our song writing,, I can?t think of anytime there has been down time with any of the bands other than the 8 month season, sometimes we felt what we would accomplish during that time was more than a lot of full time bands do without all the stress of trying to make a living at it.
What were all of the other members doing during this blurry time and what made the band decide to go for it with a new name change? How did Jordan get involved? This was ?Swill?, right?
Scott: After high school we all committed to the five months we would get to playing shows and writing, Dennis was going to school and Steve had a carpet cleaning business, Mike and Jordan both worked 9 to 5 jobs so we were all pretty much on the same schedule during that time,, when we recorded Swill we actually were still Scared Straight and it wasn?t until we printed 3000 cd?s that we decided to change the name, as we were releasing the cd and doing all the press stuff we started realizing we were a different band now and wanted to separate ourselves from the eighties and start new, it wasn?t like we had built this legacy and were gonna milk for all it was worth, so Ten Foot Pole was born.
Okay, why the name change to Ten Foot Pole? Who was in the band when this happened, and how did the band get hooked up with Epitaph Records?
Scott: Well the name change was an easy transition for us and was actually a great thing, it was a new name and a new band and a new direction musically, we reprinted the swill cd?s and put them under Ten Foot Pole, giving away 3000 cd?s in Europe with a Ten Foot Pole sticker on top of the Scared Straight logo, was kind of cool I guess, a major loss to the band but turned out to be good promotion,, one of the promo cd?s was sent to Brett at Epitaph, I remember being at my house with Dennis writing a song when the phone rang, it was Brett, he was only on the second song because I could hear it in the back ground and said, I want to sign your band, I said cool that?s why we sent you the cd, that?s how we got on Epitaph.
Obviously you know that I wasn?t the biggest fan of the whole Epitaph/Fat records thing, but it certainly was a change and things exploded. I know that you already have explained this to me but what was your take on all of that, having known some of those people and witnessed that whole deal? You said that you guys were able to pull it off, but how exactly do you mean that?
Scott: Well those were pretty damn exciting times in so cal again, the feeling of something happening was going on like it did during the 80?s, punk rock had pretty much burned out and everyone was getting into metal and slower grungier stuff, Bad Religion led the way with their melodic sound but kept the music driving with fast beats, it appealed to us and we felt right at that time with the name change that was where we wanted to go with our sound. It was challenging at first especially because I had to learn how to sing and not just scream, well at least try to learn how to sing,, but it started coming easy and we are writing good songs and it seemed like things were picking up again.
Now a painful question maybe?you either were quit or removed from Ten Foot Pole. In the kindest way possible, what was going on with that? Apparently the rest of the band didn?t want to center the band around your baseball schedule? I can?t imagine that Scared Straight reunion with Dennis anytime soon, right?
Scott: Well, after our first Epitaph release we were finally in a position after all those years before to get on good gigs and make a little money, we had just completed a US tour with NOFX and Face to Face in 93 I believe when we were realizing we could maybe do this for a living.
Well?I had a pretty good job I couldn?t leave to tour over the summer, so we continued playing during the 5 months I had off and it was really good, by the summer of 95 those guys didn?t want to work their regular jobs anymore and didn?t want to turn down any tours so they asked me to leave the band I started 12 years prior to that. At the time I was like, yeah I can?t blame you guys but whatever, they wanted me to start up my own band and they would be the musicians. I laughed and said no thanks and good luck, so the next day I called Jordan and Mike and said let?s start Pulley, we had a record deal with Epitaph in a week and were recording our first record 3 months later, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened for me in music, I finally was playing with friends and we were back to having fun and not worrying about the money.
Mike Harder is a good guy and was one of my best friends back then. Give me the best thing that you can say about Mike, since he has been with you all along in Pulley.
Scott: The best thing I can say about Mike is he is loyal, one of the hardest working guys and a realist, he knows what we are all about and keeps it all in perspective, and at 41 he can still jump pretty high on stage, he?s just more sore the next day now.
What is your favorite Pulley record, and why? Also, you guys have seemed to have settled into a comfortable existence where you just do it when you can for the fun of it. Do you ever see that changing, or is that you think the reason why you are still a band?
Scott: My favorite Pulley record is the first, just how it all came together so fast, the times back then, things were still new and exciting and that style hadn?t been so over done yet. As far as now we still really enjoy what we?re doing, with everyone having regular jobs it makes going to rehearsal or playing a gig fun,, we don?t need to worry about paying our bills through the music, we have outlasted so many other bands because of that. The whole purpose for starting this band was to have fun and I couldn?t ever see changing that.
You have been married for a long time and have children, and I know nothing about this life. Describe life at home. How many children do you have? Do they listen to your music?
Scott: Well I have been married for 18 years, I am not sure how but I am.. 3 kids that have come along the way, 2 daughters and a son, they are all into different kinds of music but always know when its Pulley being played. They have come to shows and had fun watching people go crazy. When my oldest daughter was in kindergarten we were playing a show in LA and my daughter was on the side of the stage telling me to get her teacher up there with her, she was in the crowd getting smashed up against the barricade, so I think after that she thought it was cool?her teacher at her dads gig.
What is Pulley going to be doing in the future recording wise?
Scott: As far as future recordings, we are currently recording 3 songs for a 7? and writing for another full release sometime during the winter.
Okay, last question. I get asked about Scared Straight all of the fucking time. How about you? Is it a trip to be asked about a record by kids that weren?t born when we recorded that seven inch? I only ask because that happens to me all of the time. Would you be into doing a reunion at the end of the year if we can find some sucker promoter willing to fly us to Canada? Apparently the name is big up there.
Scott: I have not heard as much about Scared Straight as I used to but could see us playing if the situation was right. Tell you what Brian, you find the right promoter and we can do a whole tour of Canada. It is a trip to see all the kids that are aware of the old scene. Thank god for the invention of internet, it will help preserve all the really cool shit we got to listen to first hand on your old record player, I miss those days.
Source: http://introvertedloudmouth.blogspot.com/2011/01/interview-with-scott-radinsky.html
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