Most people know Ted Poley from his days with Danger Danger. But, he's had a life beyond that band and, for years, he's been making great music. Back when I was writing for a local newspaper, I spoke with Ted in order to do an article, which never happened because the paper no longer had a use for my services. I had an interview on tape, which was still somewhat fresh, it just needed to be updated a bit. So, I gave Ted a call and we updated the interview, which I can now share with you.

Paul Autry: Since most people know the Danger Danger story, can you give us a brief rundown of your career with them?

Ted Poley: Well, I believe we sold over two million records world wide between the three albums. I toured the world. I warmed up for about three years on two different Kiss tours, all around the world, the U.S., through England, Scotland and Wales, that was a lot of fun. We were the opening act for Alice Cooper. We headlined a lot in Japan and the U.S. We did co-headlining tours with Extreme, of course we made it on to the top ten countdown, MTV...they made fun of us on Beavis & Butthead, the whole thing. I had a great time with it. It's part of my history. I loved it and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I loved what I did and I loved the fans and I hope they decide to check out all my new stuff.

Paul Autry: After Danger Danger, you went with Bone Machine.

Ted Poley: Yeah, I didn't really go with it...I started that. That was my next band. I always start my bands. I started up Bone Machine and that was a lot of fun. We actually released three albums, which are still available. They're doing great. That band was a little heavier, we had no keyboard player and I was more angry at the time. But, the first CD was called "Dogs," it came out in 1994, it had a picture of my dog on the cover. We toured a lot. We put out a live video and a live CD. The CD was called "Search & Destroy." Then we put out a great record called "Disappearing Ink," which won awards in England. Now there's the new stuff, which is my latest project, Melodica.

Paul Autry: How did you go from Bone Machine to Melodica?

Ted Poley: Well, Bone Machine did it's thing and the guys in the band were really borrowed from other bands. They were friends of mine. But, they all had their other projects to do. So, they were never really a full time thing. So, I really sort of semi-retired after that. We did small tours of England, we did three CD's, it was a really fun band and I loved the guys. But, they all had other bands and they couldn't commit. So, I basically moved away and I was more involved with my real life for awhile. I sort of gave up the music business only to get back in it. My partner, Gerhard Pichler, he's from Austria. When he came to the United States, we teamed up, wrote some songs and I was back in the music business again with Melodica.

Paul Autry: Are you an original Pennsylvania resident?

Ted Poley: Nope, New Jersey. I moved here about four years ago. I really like it, I love it here. It's much nicer here. It's a lot less crowded. People who live here know the secret (laughs). Now, when I look back at New Jersey, it was nice to grow up. But, I enjoy living here now. It's really nice.

Paul Autry: Can you tell us a little about your releases?

Ted Poley: The first one was "Long Way From Home," the second one was "Acoustica," which was acoustic versions. Then we put out the third one which was "US-Acoustica," which was the United States version. It's actually very different, it's not just a reprint of the other one. It's got five or six different songs on it. That's doing very well. Finally, there's "Love Metal," it's just a rocking summer record. It's great for cruising and cranking, it's real melodic, you know, back to the name Melodica. We try not to get too heavy with this band. We don't try to save the world with our songs. We just try to provide the soundtrack to your summer so you have a good time. We don't try to get real deep. We leave that for other bands.

Paul Autry: What album do you think Danger Danger fans would enjoy?

Ted Poley: Well, "Love Metal" is actually as close as I have ever gotten to Danger Danger. It's not on purpose. I don't really set out to sound like anything when we start to write a record. But, if you like Danger Danger, you'll enjoy this album. Start with this album and work your way back.

Paul Autry: What about your band?

Ted Poley: Well, my partner has always been the same, that would be Gerhard. He's really cool. He's a world class engineer and a really good guitar player. He's been my co-writer on everything. When I was laying low in the music business out here in Pennsylvania, gardening and having a good time, he had a record deal pending and he sort of searched me out because he needed a singer and he knew me from the Danger Danger days. So, he asked me to work on that. But, that deal didn't work out because we actually took a bigger and better deal when it was all said and done. We started working together because of that and the rest is history. We also have Joe Slattery, he's the bass player. I met him back when I was fifteen. On drums, we have Marty Brasington and his wife, Laura Diamond is on keyboards and vocals and she's amazing. She's got a good solo career going on her own.

Paul Autry: I'm sure there's some people out there, younger people, who have probably never heard of you. What would you say to them to get 'em to check out your music?

Ted Poley: I think they're the coolest of 'em all because I'd rather be newly discovered to tell you the truth. You know, I don't sound like I did back in the day and I don't particularly sound like what's going on now. We just have our own sound. Check it out for yourself and if you like the band, we always have CD's for sale. We do this for the fans!

Paul Autry: I heard your also an art collector or something like that...is that true?

Ted Poley: Well, I love to collect antique toys, sure. So, if anyone's reading this and you have any old toys you wanna sell, contact me through my web site for sure. I collect anything...I collect things from the 60's and the 70's back to the 1860's or the 1870's. Robots, old trains, whatever.

Paul Autry: What's Ted Poley the non-musician like?

Ted Poley: I'm completely opposite of what you might think. No kids, I have my animals...five cats and two dogs. I love gardening, I love cooking. It's not really rocking around here unless, of course, that's the task at hand, you know? Otherwise, I'm pretty mellow. That's pretty much it. I'm pretty much down to earth.

Paul Autry: How would you describe your studio experiences with Melodica as compared to Danger Danger?

Ted Poley: Well, we used to be able to spend three hundred thousand dollars to make a record. But, now that we're paying for it, it's under ten thousand. We do our best. We've learned how to make records on a shoe string budget. In the old days, you couldn't do it. Now, with computers and things, you can do a lot of things you couldn't do in the old days. With the success of "Love Metal," we've actually been able to build our own studio, digital studio. We're keeping everything in house now. It's more relaxed because now we've got all the time in the world.

Paul Autry: How do you feel about people who do still get your stuff...bootleg's, online trading, stuff like that?

Ted Poley: Thank God they know who I am, that's all I have to say. Most people reading this article will be like, who is this guy? Thank God for those people. I was a fan. I used to buy bootlegs. That's some of the coolest stuff. I don't mind if you bootleg me...just send me a copy for my collection.

Paul Autry: You did another release after "Love Metal," can you tell us about it?

Ted Poley: Yeah, I have a new CD out. "Love Metal" should've actually been a double record. But, it gets too expensive for people. So, we split 'em up. The new one is called "Big" and, of course, you can listen to it for free on our web page. We have sound clips and stuff. So, you can listen before you buy.

Paul Autry: And that album wasn't released under the Melodica name, right?

Ted Poley: Uh, no, it was under Poley/Pichler. It's basically the same band. But, we wanted to change the name because people didn't know Melodica was me.

Paul Autry: How well did that album do?

Ted Poley: Real well. You know, it never goes into the millions like in the old days. But, nobody really does without MTV and Metal Edge Magazine. I'm a lot bigger over in Europe, I have a lot of fans over there. I do about five/ten thousand copies, which is really well for an independent release.

Paul Autry: How did this release differ from "Love Metal?"

Ted Poley: Actually, "Love Metal" is the heavier of the pair. This one is more refined I guess you might say. It's still rock. It's very much melodic, as we always are. It's got our best songs ever, real good stuff. It's hard for me to describe my own stuff. But, if you liked "Love Metal," you'll certainly like this one. I never changed my style. It's the same as it's always been in the 26 years I've been in this business, playing professionally.

Paul Autry: If I'm not mistaken, didn't Gerhard leave shortly after this?

Ted Poley: Yeah, he went back to Austria. We had our own record company where we did everything ourselves and he decided it was a little tough to make it here in America, it's not the old days. Ten years ago, we would've been a huge act just like Danger Danger. But, these days, it's pretty low scale. So, he couldn't really make a living at it. That's why I buy and sell antiques, that's my real job. I actually do that to finance the music hobby and to stay alive. Gerhard didn't have any other gigs going on. So, I bought out the company and he went home. It's still the same band on the "Big" CD, which are my friends. They're all great musicians. The new guy is Steve Massa, who's one of the best guitar players I ever worked with. This guy is just amazing. It's taken the band to a whole new level and I wanna get back in the studio with him. But, we've been concentrating more on live gigs for now though. The band sounds great. We have three singers. So, the vocals are really good, keyboards, it's pretty cool. It's a great band and I hope the people come out to see us live. We've been playing New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and we'll be going back to Europe again.

Paul Autry: Now, is this Out Of Danger?

Ted Poley: No, that's actually a new project. It's the same band. But, with that it's...I love my band and we love to play so much. So, if we have a weekend off from doing the national stuff, which is the original stuff, which we do all over the place. We do original Melodica stuff and I also play some Danger Danger stuff. Of course, as you know, they have a new singer. They went on without me. But, they don't sound anything like they used to sound. But, with my band playing and me singing, it's an all original sound. So, it sounds exactly like the first two CD's that you loved from back then, you know.

Paul Autry: I actually have those. They were the only ones I thought sounded any good.

Ted Poley: Thank you. Yeah, they changed their sound later on. I'm sure they have their own fans. But, when I sing it, I can hit all those high notes and it really sounds just like the CD's. It's a lot of fun and I think the fans of that stuff really enjoy it. Anyway, what we started to do, when we came out for an encore, we would play songs that we really like. So, we started playing some cover songs, whatever we feel like, be it Journey or, my keyboard player's a woman and she's a great singer, so, we might do a Vixen song or Cheap Trick or Van Halen...something cool. Well, the crowd loved it and we loved it. So, we thought, why not make ourselves into a cover band in addition to the original thing. We can get more work and do what we do as musicians. That's what the project Out Of Danger is. I still might throw in a Danger Danger song or two. But, we'll do a lot of stuff from the bands I mentioned, maybe Def Leppard, Heart, Joan Jett, a little bit of everything. We played with Vince Neil, Firehouse and Quiet Riot and, of course, at those shows, we play all our own stuff.

Paul Autry: I know a lot of people who will be reading this will probably have one question running through their mind. So, I might as well ask it. Is there any chance for a Danger Danger reunion?

Ted Poley: I would say at this point, well, I would never say no. But, I will say, it's not really up to me. I approached them for the first time this year, a few times, with that thought in mind. Now that the music's back and all these bands are touring again. If we would have reunited, we might've gotten an opening slot on a Poison tour or something bigger, you know? Even if we didn't reunite permanently, it would be a lot of fun for just the summer because fans of their music and my music could be updated with what we're doing. But, they didn't seem too interested in doing it. So, it's up to them. If they don't wanna do it, I could care less. I still go out and do my own thing. I've thought about it and I thought it would be a great idea. But, like I said, they were pretty unresponsive to it.

Paul Autry: What's the deal with the video game connection? You wanna talk a little about that?

Ted Poley: On Sonic, I did the theme song for the character Big, which is a big purple cat. I sang that. It was sort of a cartoonish song, it wasn't very rock. But, it was what they presented. They liked what I did. So, when Sonic 2 came around, they came to me and I was more involved. They had some music and then I wrote the melody lines and the vocals for my song. They released the songs seperate from the games, which was kind of cool. I got to hear the finished product but I never really played the game.

Paul Autry: Final comments?

Ted Poley: Well, as always, I wanna thank the fans. They're the ones who keep us going...and please, keep us going. Like I said, I have a real day job. So, the reason I continue to do this is for the fans and because I have a real love for the music. So, catch us live if you can, come on out and we'll all have a party together.

http://www.tedpoley.com

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