10 Foot Pole

Dennis Jagard - Lead Singer

An interview with AMZ's Bushman

Also Check Out	"Unleashed" Review
	TFP In Concert

"Ten Foot Pole’s" newest release, “Insider,” which a friend pointed out
reads like a bad Beavis and Butthead joke if read with the band's name,
was officially launched at a CD release party at the Troubador in
Hollywood. These Epitaph veterans have amassed a following through
years of touring around the world, and steadily following their chosen
path of the "good time" punk band.

After bypassing the line of kids gathering before the doors were
even open, foreshadowing the sold out numbers that would fill the club
that night, I got a chance to sit and talk with "Ten Foot Pole's"
singer, Dennis Jagard.

AMZ - What is punk?

DJ - That’s a tough question. In fact, I went to U.C. Berkeley, and
there was actually a class called “What is Punk?” or "Punk Defined," or
whatever. Punk 101. They have some kooky classes. "Student defined"
courses where you could get 3 units by studying the background and
evolution of “punk.”

AMZ - I think contemporary music in general has been overlooked for
too long, considering how much music ties people together and is part of
our culture. I think it deserves to be taught.

DJ - Oh, definitely. There’s definitely a sociological function and
psychological function of music.

AMZ - Especially the last thirty years or so. . .

DJ - I’d even say before that. There were people who listened to
classical music, but you didn’t have the personal home stereos and
stuff. Music was important in the past, but in the past, it was
more like people singing their owns songs as opposed to carrying around
Walkmans. So yeah, that’s an interesting point. There are people now
who just wear their Walkman all the time and are constantly in the field
of music, as opposed to 200 hundred years ago, when it was ”Ok, I’m
going to see the symphony, and then we’re gonna sing a few bars of the
favorite family hymn and that was about it. Maybe sing in church, or
whatever, but that‘s an interesting point that has nothing at all to do
with your question.

AMZ - That’s Ok. So what did the Punk 101 class teach you?

DJ - Actually, I dropped out of it. It was just too much. I couldn’t
hack it.

AMZ - You do see the irony in that don’t you?

DJ - It actually really annoyed me. It annoyed me to hear 30 different
people tell their perspective on what punk is. That’s why it’s funny
you asking me that question, because I wouldn’t want to hear me say what
it is to me.

AMZ - Then are you comfortable wearing the "punk" tag, even though
someone might not be using it correctly?

DJ - I think that there is no real definition other than what we right
now decide it’s going to be. I think that the word has been used so
many times, that anyone who grabs that word and puts it on their chest
and says “I’m Punk” is gonna be misinterpreted by most people. Nobody
is going to know what they mean, so it’s pointless to do it. It’s kind
of sad if people have to do that anyway, people having to say "I'm this"
so that everyone who sees them realizes they have this set of rules and
ethics and principles. But I can see why someone would do that because
you want other people to respect the choices that you made, and that
your living some kind of "principled" lifestyle. I think principles are
important, but its sad if you have to go back and have a label stand
for your principles instead of people just respecting you for the way
you've behaved.

AMZ - You guys got Ryan Greene to produce your album. How did that
come about?

DJ - He's basically become (at least from our perspective) the best
producer for getting great sound, developing your music, and really
tightening up your music, to make it interesting and short for a very
low budget. Well, not super-low budget like recording in your garage,
but for a real studio with a 24 track or more, he's the guy that can
make it all happen within a reasonable budget. He does a great job. I
actually worked with him maybe 10 or 15 years ago doing sound in parks
for jazz bands. My dad has a sound company.

AMZ - You mentioned you run sound sometimes here (at the Troubador).

DJ - I've been doing sound for years and years - like since I was 12
years old doing sound for bands and concerts and live events. I met
Ryan Greene in Thousand Oaks. His mom put on some show that had
something to do with one of those Beatles tribute bands. I was loading
in stages and sound equipment. Years later I heard Ryan Greene produced
"NOFX," and was like That couldn't be the same Ryan Greene. I knew
that he went to recording school and he worked EMI for a long time and
was doing pretty good. The next thing you know, he's in Punk rock and
now he's probably the foremost producer in the Indie field - the place
you go before you go to the major label where they're going to spend
millions of dollars.

AMZ - How do you perceive Epitaph as a label? Indie or Major
considering their visibility and money.

DJ - I consider them an Indie label. I think they have visibility. I
don't think that they have money. Our budgets are definitely Indie.

AMZ - Well it seems a lot the core punk scene seems to have turned
their backs on Epitaph stuff just because they are the ones making the
money. I mean, as far as money ever being made off of punk, Epitaph by
far has made the most.

DJ - Lookout and Fat Wreck Chords are probably running a close second.
Certainly, a lot of money came in, but how much money went back out?
Right after all that, they came out with all these catalogs and they
expanded. There are so many bands on Epitaph. A lot of people have
financial expectations that are drastically different than the financial
reality. Expectations of how much they should work and how much money
they should be making for the work they do. A lot of people have no
concept of what it takes to pull a profit. The amount of money that
goes into a project is just ridiculous. And its not just music, its
any business. There's some statistic (whatever it is) that 90% of
businesses fail or something. That's because people are optimistic
about how much money they are going to make on things, and they don't
realize how much things are gonna cost. They forget about all the
different things that come up. That's why bands break up so much.
Music is about playing music, but if you're going to do it for very
long, you also have to pay for your rehearsal space, your equipment,
your van, your insurance, and on and on. If you're going to be on tour,
and cant work another job, you still need to pay your rent. Its a
serious thing. Even bands like us, who've been around for years and
years, some of the guys in the band and me still go head to head about
how much money we should be making. You know, we make some money, and I
use it to pay bills and they're like How come we didn't get to take
home the money after the gig? and I have to explain We have to pay our
van payment or insurance payment.

AMZ - You guys have toured a lot. Who's your favorite band to tour
with?

DJ - Um. . .High Standard from Japan. Great Guys. Super friendly.
Super understanding, respectful, just great high energy shows. We
toured across Canada with them, toured Europe with them on the same bus,
and six or seven shows in Japan.

AMZ - What are your opinions of the state of popular music as the
century closes?

DJ - I think attention spans might be getting shorter, where different
types of music are blending together, and people are working harder to
make interesting music. But the labels, and especially the major
labels, seem to have the attitude: Lets take this one band, lets make
a hit and That's the end of it. If the band has a hit, then they're
big. If they don't, then shelve them and its gone. An Indie label, like
Epitaph, keep their budgets super-low, and support a band through the
bands life-cycle. I think pop music has evolved to where it produces a
lot of flash-in-the-pan one-hit-wonders, because they are not getting
the support they need to keep going. Sometimes I think the press has
this constant need to write about something new, and with the advent of
the internet and satellite TV, There's so many venues, and so much
information going on out there about bands and things things in general,
There's this hunger for something new to write about. I think that
actually precedes what really happens. For example, in the fashion
industry, everyone jumped on the grunge thing, then immediately jumped
off it and said grunge is dead, but they kept playing grunge music
on the radio for the next 5 or 6 years.

AMZ - Still do.

DJ - Its just not called grunge because its over, but in reality,
what is all that other stuff that was on? Like Stone Temple Pilots and
that stuff. To me That's all the same genre. They said grunge was
dead and then spent the next 5 or 6 years playing that music.

AMZ - What do you think the music world will remember about the 90s?

DJ - That's a tough one. That's right the 90s are almost over. I don't
know. I've had my head up my ass just writing music and just doing my
thing, and to me, I don't think there is any one thing. Its a lot
different than in the days of Elvis or the Beatles or somebody, or when
one type of band dominated. At least I cant think of one star that
dominated the 90s. Its more eclectic. There's bands like Radiohead. I
love Radiohead. They didn't sell a huge amount of records, but
they were respected and I love that. I love it that music like theirs
became popular enough that they were a successful band, and I think
That's great. Then There's the Offspring. They wrote some great songs
and did really well with it. I don't think the 90s will be remembered
with them, I think they will be like one little footnote. And I don't
think anyone will know who DJ was, but maybe if I keep writing songs for
the next ten years Ill come up with a good one.

AMZ - What was the first concert you ever went to?

DJ - The first punk concert I ever went to was "Black Flag" playing at
Davenshire Downs, which is now basically Cal State Northridge. My dad
was doing the stages and the sound for it. This was in the old days.
Now, Punks are people that go to punk rock shows and are basically
nice kids. Skateboarding kids or whatever, but basically normal
people. A few years ago, it was all the outcasts. Everyone was greasy
hair and black leather and you were sure they had a switchblade in their
front pocket (some of them did actually, I know for a fact). So anyway,
I go
to this show with my dad, and my dads this real anal type, well, I
don't know if anal is the right word, but he charged in there and said
Alright, lets start tearing this stage out and I said Dad, ah,
they're still playing and he said Nope. Its two o'clock and they're
supposed to be done, so you grab that side and Ill grab this side and
well tear the stage down. I'm looking around, and that was one of
those moments when you look at your Dad and you know My Dad can
get his ass kicked right now. Its kinda funny when the guy that
yells at you when you're a kid, and you've got this total fear when this
guy dominates your world, and now you see him in the context of There's
800 scary people here and my Dad doesn't care what they think. So I
somehow converted him and we just watched the show for awhile. Then we
tore the stage out. That was my introduction to punk rock. One of the
second shows I did was for the Cramps, and there was a cow tongue on the
stage afterwards. That was my introduction to punk. It was pretty
gross.

AMZ - That's pretty punk rock right there. That would have been a good
answer to the What is Punk question. Cleaning up a cow tongue off the
stage after a Cramps show. That's punk.

DJ - Y'know we should go back to the What is Punk rock question
because I got off on that whole tangent. I think there is a whole
different spectrum of punk. One spectrum is the Cramps and cow tongues
and spitting on people and just fuck you its all about me. That's
the part of punk that I really hate. I hate all that shit. Epitaph has
some shirts that say Fuck the World and I hate it. I hate people being
disrespectful. I hate people being rude to each other and saying
Oh its punk. I'm cool. Fuck the system. Because the bottom line is
if you're screwing over other people, what's the point? Just thought
Id get that off my chest. But the other side of punk is the side I got
into, which is the bands like "7 Seconds" and "Minor Threat." Not
necessarily straight edge because That's getting a little carried away
with the set of rules, as Ian puts it. But just the whole concept of
I'm going to do something and its not going to be necessarily
commercially successful, but I'm gonna do it because I believe in it.
I'm gonna sing songs about things I believe in,write music that I
believe in and that has some reality for me, and live my life
not fucking people over. That, to me, is still punk, but its a
different side of punk. That's the side of punk that I like.

AMZ - what's the stupidest band you're willing to admit you listened to?

DJ - "Fear." I don't know if they are stupid or offensive, but I liked
them. They were catchy and I sang along and everything, but then I
started thinking about the songs and the lyrics and later on they got a
little weird too. "Styx" is pretty stupid. Part of them I really like,
and part of them is sooo cheesy, sooo bad. Like "Renegade." Renegades"
a cool song, but along side "Renegade" you have - trying to think of
one of their cheesier songs - Too much time on my hands, or they
had that whole Paradise Theater album that was really cool. The whole
album was about a theater that rose from the ashes and was a popular
place and then died and went bankrupt. But they wrote a whole album
about that and I think That's pretty cool.

AMZ - Howard Stern - God or Anti-Christ?

DJ - I don't think either one. Its maybe you love him or hate him. I
think he is mildly annoying and sometimes, mildly amusing. he's
intellectual sometimes and says things that are common sense, then other
times he's just totally asinine. I don't really get into any of the
spanking or Mr. Fartman or any of the stupid parts. But his
autobiography was interesting. he's a smart guy, but some of the stuff
he does - I don't hate it just because its tasteless, I hate it because
its tasteless and boring to me.

AMZ - Marilyn Manson - Antichrist or Flaming Idiot?

DJ - You know what, I've never seen them live, and I've never watched
their videos or anything, but I love some of their songs. They have
some great songs. Its like the Misfits or something. Its cheesy or
corny or whatever, but if you like the songs. . . I think they have
some really good songs, but I cant say anything about the persona
because my only thing is hearing them on the radio. But, compared to the
other songs on the radio, they're cool.

AMZ - You lost your original singer to professional baseball and there
have been other member changes. Who is the original core of Ten Foot
Pole?

DJ -It depends if you call it Ten Foot Pole or Scared Straight. We
actually started as Scared Straight and evolved into Ten Foot Pole.
The original core of the band, at least the one that made it through
most of the years is me, Scott and Steve (our current guitar player).
I'm actually the only original member who started off playing the
instrument they play, and now that I sing I've given that up too,
basically. I started as the guitar player and evolved into the guitar
player/singer. Sieve's the original 2nd guitar player, so he's been
there all these years. Scott actually was originally the drummer but we
went through 2 or 3 singers. One day Scott kicked out the singer because
we were recording a compilation for Mystic Records and Scott just went
in and sang because, supposedly, the singer just didn't show up, he
flaked. But I don't know even that. So I was upset about that. I was
like How can you just kick him out without asking anyone in the
band?! and they said It was our day to record. He wasn't there. I
was there and I did it. So I said Alright.

AMZ - Where's the weirdest place you had to go to the bathroom on the
road?

DJ - Lets see. Steve is actually the guy who is more into that kind
of stuff. He once crapped on the window of a car in a parking lot in
Germany. I don't know whether it was a junk car, or he was mad at the
person, or what the deal was. Y'know there were no toilets, we were
locked out of the club, it was freezing cold, he was angry, and he just
went up on top of this car and just shat on their windshield.

AMZ - Given the power, what laws would TFP enact?

DJ - You know what would happen if TFP had the power to enact laws? We
would sit in congress for about 3 months fighting over what the laws
should be. We have four band members who have just completely
different views on how life should be. Wed hammer it out after awhile,
but its hard to say. Maybe wed lower the age of consent.

AMZ - Ok. Stock questions. Give me the first answers that come into
your head. Who is an asshole?

DJ - Y'know there are people, but I probably shouldn't say.

AMZ - Ok. Easier one. Who's a Saint?

DJ - I cant think of anyone. Everyone's got a good side and a bad
side to them. Its kind of like saying I'm Punk. You know its a
caricature wanting to put a label on somebody and people are complex.
There are people that I love and people I cant stand, but even the
people I cant stand have good sides, and I respect certain things they
do. Then the people that I love have bad sides, so I cant say they are
Saints, because they aren't. But I have some really close friends who
I really respect. My wife, who I respect and love. Even the guys who
work for us at Epitaph, team kick ass, our new team at Epitaph, is
doing a great job. But I get in fights with them once in a while about
budgets, and how much tour support we need, and what's really a
reasonable amount of money to pay for our per diem or something.

AMZ - what's the coolest?

DJ - The coolest is seeing people do nice things for other people. It
sounds sappy, but in real life its cool when you see peoples generous
side. Y'know, like somebody lets you in traffic when its a tough day
and tough traffic. Or somebody who's normally selfish and just pops off
and does something nice for someone. That's cool.

AMZ - what's the lamest?

DJ - The lamest is the selfish part in the first place. The lamest is
people who think other people should do a lot of work for them and not
show that they are grateful. The lamest is people who take things for
granted and have no concept of what's involved with the work, time and
effort that goes into life in general, and assuming that everybody is
your slave.

AMZ - Give me the names of some bands that people should be listening
to but probably aren't.

DJ - "Catch 22" is a really good ska band, and I don't even like ska. We
are actually doing a bunch of shows with them on an upcoming U.S. tour,
and they're really good. I was amazed at how good their disk is. I
mean, I never really heard of them. Did I mention I like" Radiohead?"
Did I mention "High Standard?" That's about the best I can do right
now.

AMZ - Any opinions on the state of politics in this country as the
century closes?

DJ - I'm amazed by all this impeachment stuff. First president That's
ever been impeached for having consentual sex with an adult. That
blows me away.

AMZ - (I don't think that pun was intended!)

DJ - I mean, its not because he had sex. Its obvious that he lied to
a jury, which is a crime, and so forth.

AMZ - Do you think punk still has the same credibility for speaking out
against the system that some of the 80s punk bands had? Meaning, since
the genre has become more profitable and marketable, do you think the
bands that have been getting most of the attention are as sincere?

DJ - I don't think that it ever really had credibility. I think that
people could be self-righteous and take a stand on something and say
that something's wrong. Or you could even be specific and say Ok,
There's this problem and its wrong, but my view of music is that its
a way that people can have a common feeling and share a common feeling.
But as far as it changing a political situation, I don't see that
happening really. We could do a song about what we think about a
certain political action or Bill Clinton or something, but I don't have
any pretensions that that would change anything in the world.

AMZ - Is there more of a story to the bands name other than to finish
the thought I wouldn't touch you with a. . .

DJ - Not really. We were in a big rush to get a name and we did it and
that was it.

AMZ - Future tour plans?

DJ - We have three tours lined up. The U.S., Europe and across Canada.
The first tour was hard to find bands to commit to the whole tour
because everyone had other plans or thought they were going to get an
offer from a bigger band, or the bigger bands weren't sure what they
were going to do. So we ended up with a whole bunch of different
bands. "Digger," " Catch 22," " Diesel Boy." "The Ataris," they have a
good disk. I just heard a couple of songs off it, and its pretty good.
His voice sounds a bit too much like Billy Joels voice ("Green Day"
not the We didn't start the Fire. . . B.J.), but their music doesn't
sound like a Green Day rip-off. don't get me wrong, just the tone of
his voice sounded like it. Um, Apocalypse Hoboken, There's a whole
bunch of bands on this tour. Its going to be fun, I think. Its going
to be really cool to do different shows.

AMZ - Any last thoughts? Messages to fans and potential listeners?

DJ - Yeah, check out our website! www.tenfootpole.com. Y'know the
best we can do is try to let people know when we have shows and try to
answer the mail. Were struggling to do that. Even answering the mail
and stuff is just (hard enough).

AMZ - Do you find the internet has helped?

DJ - The internet has helped a lot for making it faster, because the
internet mail were up to date on. Glen has actually been taking care
of that and answering the mail right away. But the letter mail, its so
easy to get behind in that just because of the amount of time it takes
to process it. Just to open the letter, read the letter and There's
usually a weird request like Oh, please send me this or that, get out
an envelope, address the envelope, put the return address on the
envelope, put your response in the letter, and when you're talking about
thousands of letters, That's like, it just, I don't know. I guess you
can tell from this interview I am tired. My life right now has been a
process of working about 6 hours a day for the band, then either going
to rehearsal or going and working as a sound engineer for about 6 to 8
hours. So I've basically been working somewhere between 14 and 16 hours
a day for the last year. With no personal time. Its draining, and
sometimes you wonder whether its worth it, but. . .

The show had just started toward the last couple of questions, so the
noise, combined with the fact that this was the second interview Dennis
had done that night, prompted me to let him go and enjoy the show. He
was genuinely impressed at the size of the crowd already gathered and
happily swirling around the floor to the Deviates set. "Ten Foot Pole"
are nice-guy punk, as evidenced by the nice-guy demeanor of their front
man. The set Ten Foot Pole performed mirrored this good time
attitude, as the goal set forth to entertain was achieved.

Great set, nice guys. . .Ten Foot Pole.