LONG
ONG before the mainstream,
pened, Scott Radinsky, known to scenesters
as just "Rad" for short, released the anthem
"Skate to Live." To him, skateboarding has
been his lifestyle and his cause. Three bands
and thirteen years later, he now unleashes
the most talked about conglomeration of
hybrid Cali, "cream of the crop" musicians
to top off Pulley and their asphalt rippin',
debut release, Esteem Driven Engine. Rad
finally speaks up in this rare interview, for
he usually hates the press.
Pulley is a super-group made up of the best of
the best, who played in what band?
Matt, our bassplayer, played with Face To Face
and is also in No Use For A Name. Jim, the guitar
player, played bass in Strung Out, so he's kind of an
old fogy. Jordan, the drummer, has played in Strung
Out, Ten Foot Pole and Scared Straight. When he
was in Scared Straight, we recorded the album, then
we changed the name on the record to Ten Foot
Pole. Also on guitar is Mike, and I met him in high
school. He wrote songs with us back in Scared
Straight and helped out a little on bass.
You paved the road back in 1984 with
Scared Straight, what did you see when you
looked in the crowd back then, and how
has it changed?
In the '80s, it was a lot of leather jackets, spikes
and studs. Now it's a lot of kids wearing big, old,
baggy skater clothes. It's just a different scene now.
It's way less violent. It seems like a more productive
scene. The same kids in Europe, same kids in
Canada, same kids in the US, it's the same style of
kids all around the world. There are still kids who
put out their own fanzines, kids putting on their
own shows. It's not the same amount as before, but
there are still some who do interviews at shows for
their little stapled-together, third generation, Xerox
fanzine, kids who do stuff for the scene to keep it
going. The attitude now is more like, "We'll look out
for each other," whereas back then it was, "How
drunk can I get?"
What's the difference between playing
arenas vs clubs?
We played in this hall where there were like 2,000
people, a huge punk show. Then we played some
city in Germany, and there was like maybe 140 peo-
ple there, but the place was absolutely packed.
The roof was 8' high, so everyone was really close
to the roof, and when they'd jump, they'd smash
into the
People
ceiling. were holding each other up
and throwing 'em across the crowd, some guy was
pinned up against the roof, the place had sweat
coming off the walls, it just rocked! That is the most
intimate thing you can do, play to a crowd that
becomes part of the show. The kids were 6" from
your face, it was awesome. Not to mention we were
in a different country. Then, in an arena, there's 180
people in the pit alone. They're both a pretty good
high, but that small atmosphere, when the kids are
right in your face, nothing compares to it.
Old school vs new school, what's the appeal?
Well, what is old school and new school? We
just played with some band in Europe that
called themselves a hardcore band, but I always
d the Circle Jerks were hard-
thought that Fear and t
core bands. What's hardcore, and what's punk? I
always say punk rock band, but is it punk rock? Is
it new school? There are so many different styles
of punk rock, but isn't punk rock the attitude
behind the music? When people say old school, I
think of Agnostic Front and the old punk bands I
grew up listening to. But now, what is considered
punk rock? Rancid? Green Day? Is NOFX a new
88 THRASHER
PULLEY
school band? There's rock n' roll, heavy metal,
acid rock, why do we have to label it at all? Just
enjoy it for what it is.
What hobbies do you have?
Matt is a full-on Sony Playstation freak. He'll play
video games nonstop. We went on tour up west in
California, put a TV and a Playstation in the back
of th
of the van for him, and he just stayed occupied for
hours on end. Jordan's got this motorcycle video
project he's involved with. It's like a punk rock
soundtrack with motorcycling. He's got a video
camera and I is a always out trying to film funky shit.
We were in Europe, and they had a computer with
Internet access, so he surfs the net and finds out
that a motocross race is going to be happening
where we're e going to play, and, sure enough, we
pulled into the sports arena there, and they had
all the big mountains of dirt where everyone
rides. It was cool, we were just right there, on the
Iming these
floor, filming these guys while they were practicing.
Mike is an airplane mechanic, and Jim is full-on
S&M, that's the biggest hobby he's got. He's mar-
ried, though, so he said his hobby is spending
time in the closet tied up, while his wife is work-
ing at thome. Maybe she ties him up and puts him
there, I don't really know, but he digs it.
Skateboarding?
I fuckin' love it. In 1984, when I wrote "Skate to
Live," skateboarding was my whole life. Today, kids
are finally coming to the shows, yelling at us to play
it. When I was a kid, skating, that's what I wanted
the punk rock scene to be, and now it is.
Isn't punk rock today just a matter of
leaving the mainstream
group to conform with
another group?
The kids that go to shows
for that reason, or are
involved with that particular
scene, are a very small
minority. When I was in junior
high, there weren't too many
of us punks who had shaved
heads or wore funky clothes.
That's what the skater kids are
now. It is fashion today, but
the ones that go to the shows
to be trendy are a small per-
centage of their peers. There
are still the real ones setting
the trend for everyone else.
What have you observed
about the scene in other
countries?
of
It's not too far off from what a
street punk in LA would be. You
go to some of these squats in
Germany, and this is their way
life. These people live on the
sweet
streets, literally. They're not bad
people, they don't steal or
r rip
people off, they're just squatters.
They overtake a building and
got a barricade over the stairway
to keep the police from coming
up. People outside the US are so
much more politically involved.
These are people living harsh
realities of life and concerned
about where their next meal is
coming from. I'm not saying
they're dirt poor, but politics play
a bigger part in their lives than it does in ours. We've
had bands like the Dead Kennedys, who had real
smart lyrics with people who knew what was going
on in the world, but it's not the same here. We
don't experience the same oppression. So, that's
why we formed a band and hit the road, we didn't
want to be a part of the everyday guy.
You had cancer while you were touring last
year. How is that going?
In the beginning, it sucked, but I also knew it
could be cured. That was the light at the end of the
tunnel. It made me think, "Life's not that bad, all I
have to do is get through chemotherapy." I got sick,
there were good and bad days, but, for the most
part, I kept myself as physically active as I could. I
just tried to keep positive thoughts, full mind over
matter. I'm not trying to sound like a motivational,
late night TV infomercial, but the fact is, I was just
this average Joe-off-the-street kid who was told,
"This is what you have to do if you want to beat this
cancer," and I was slike, "I can deal with it." I had to
adapt to adversity. That
y. That is what going through
everyday is. That's how you grow up, by adapting
and changing to do things you have to do to get by
in life. You might not like the shit you have to do,
and sometimes you sure as fuck didn't ask for it, but
it's in your lap, and y
d you've got no choice but to
deal with it. We recorded the Ten Foot Pole album
Rev and played numerous shows while I was getting
chemo and radiation. It wasn't going to slow me
down. Two months after radiation, we toured with
NOFX. They say I'm all better now, and what
doesn't kill you makes you stronger. -Jon Stain
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