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The Ten Foot Polecats - Boston's New Masters of Deep, Raw Blues Roaring into the Spotlight

By Rachel Lee of The Boston Blues Society
September 2009

Our feature this month is an exciting look at the Ten Foot Pole Cats, a unique and unforgettable three-piece band with origins in the Boston blues-rock band Hoodoo Revelator, but with added sounds of psychobilly and punk-o-billly . Writer Rachel Lee took in a few of their sets at the All Asia in Cambridge, and spoke to guitarist Jim Chilson.

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See the Show Review for Scott H Biram, Ten Foot Polecats, and Wicked Whiskey - Aug 4th at The Middle East in Cambridge MA Please comment to us and Playground Boston's site....let the Deep Punk Country/Blues fans and bands be heard!!

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Check out the review of our Harper's Ferry show with Sasquatch and The Sick-a-Billys & Wicked Whiskey

This is a cumulative collection of all our current reviews and press clipings for The Ten Foot Polecats and their debut CD "Sterno Soup".

It's a long blog...get some scotch, kick back, and enjoy!
 
Press Reviews

TEN FOOT POLECATS - STERNO SOUP 
ninebullets.com ( by Autopsy IV)
I’ll be honest, any time I read “North Mississippi...
I’ll be honest, any time I read “North Mississippi Hill Country style” to describe a band from the Northeast my “bullshit” alarm starts going off. By now you’d think the country music coming out of Brooklyn would have broken my prejudice of the Northeast, but I guess those judgments run deep. Honestly, had the band not provided a handwritten note with their cd, that description coupled with their location might have gotten Sterno Soup relegated to the big box of shit I need to eventually listen to. It certainly would have been my loss.

The trio of Jay Scheffler (vocals/harmonica), Jim Chilson (guitar) and Dave Darling (drums) are indeed stuck in Boston, but they are also indeed playing some damned fine Hill Country blues. Despite being afloat in the land of the Irish bar band, their debut EP , Sterno Soup, has managed to catch a foothold in the community/indie radio market and it’s easy to see why. Recorded live without retakes and overdubs, it catches a hold of the primal blues power that you wanna hear on a Saturday night. So, check it out and let’s hope the full-length they’re in the process of recording carries the same energy as this brief intro to the band.


Cookin' with The Ten Foot Polecats
Real Deep Blues (Blog by Rock Saunders)
Ten Foot PoleCats are just another badass Deep Blu...
Ten Foot PoleCats are just another badass Deep Blues band outta Massachusetts.
Thank Gawd!

They have just released their first ep- a fine little five track affair of covers and I'm just in love with the thing. Drawing heavy influence from the low down,hard and creepy aspects of deep blues heroes like Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside, Hound Dog Taylor, Howlin' Wolf and others Ten Foot PoleCats bring the best elements of North Mississippi, Texas, Detroit, Memphis and elsewhere and channel it thru the dirty back bays and alley ways and side street bar holes of bad'assachusetts.
Here's a little gets to know yas e-interview we did:

Q: Any idea what's in the dirty water y'all are drinking up there? I mean how the hell can anyone explain the Massachusetts thing for the blues? J.Geils, Aerosmith, Tarbox Ramblers, Whoa Man Jesus, Ten Foot Pole cats. Whats the deal?

A:  Yeah and don't forget The Scissormen as well (even though I think they are in Nashville now). Anyways, we don't know actually, it is either water or the taxes.......unfortunately there are a ton of good bands doing all sorts of styles of blues but the number of places to play are dwindling, so it is getting tough out there....especially when competing against clubs that used to exclusively have Blues & Roots music but now have changed over to top 40 cover bands & DJs/Karaoke. It's funny, every time we hit a room with young college students they love it....they have no idea what it is, but they love it. However, it seems like a lot of places are scared to stay away from cover bands/DJs etc.

Q:  Jim plays a five string diddley bow? wtf? Tell me about this thing. Homemade or...?

A:  Nothing homemade as Jim isn't that smart or good mechanically to create something like that.....Shit, it's odd enough he plays guitar so well...but I guess everyone is good at something! Basically Jim is almost playing like a cross between a banjo player and a bass player, but on a semi-hollow body electric guitar. He primarily uses an open F tuning but he removed the very bottom string (C string in this case). Jim really hits that F string hard to keep rhythm and a thumping bass and the sixth string seemed to always get in the way, so he just removed the sixth string as he hardly ever used it. If you use five strings the bottom string (bass string) is now an F. However, this could be wrong.....it could be possible that Jim has run out of 6th string and is just too cheap to buy ALL 6 strings or too lazy to head to the music store.

Q:  I recall reading in a book about the old blues guys straining shoe polish for the alcohol or drinking sterno. Is this how the cd title "Sterno Soup" came about?

A:  That is exactly how it came about....in fact, drinking sterno (in excess I assume) was rumored to be the cause of death of Tommy Johnson. It popped into our heads when we found an old can of Sterno behind some old roach motels in the basement. So we figured let's dress it up and advertise "Sterno Soup" as it was a special at a roadside diner. So we included a spoon and a sign and that was it. In case you are wondering if you add a little sugar the Sterno goes down much better.

Q:  How long have you guys been playing together?
Is this the original configuration?

A:  Before The Ten Foot Polecats we were part of a five piece band called Hoodoo Revelator. That group played blues as well but more of a mix between Chicago/Texas Style Blues. We have been together since Fall 2004. The Ten Foot Polecats actually spawned from a duo which was a side project when we were still in Hoodoo Revelator. Jay Scheffler (vocals/harp) asked Jim Chilson (guitar) to join him for a local restaurant gig where they played acoustically as basically "background music". But our background music was pretty cryptic for a restaurant crowd...like "Nobody's Fault But Mine", and "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was the Ground", and some Skip James stuff, etc. Frankly we didn't do it that well but the restaurant liked it. We kept doing that for a while - mainly because the food and booze were great and FREE!
However, one night when playing we said to each other we need a drummer to fill this out. Out of that The Ten Foot Polecats were formed when our drummer from Hoodoo Revelator, Dave Darling, was asked to join.

Q:  How come everybody hates bass players these days? Is it from helping to haul those heavyass bass cabinets upstairs? I mean, personality-wise, it's not like they are keyboard players.

A:  Ha! Those cabinets are heavy as all hell but that wasn't the reason....well partly the reason but not completely. Basically we wanted the freedom of just taking any particular song anywhere without an reason. For instance changing song keys at a whim and such....it made it easier to do so without another person trying to follow along the randomness. It is funny,John Lee Hooker used to do that all the time and if you ever talk to a musician who has played with Hooker you will probably see them shaking their heads at the thought because they never knew what he was going to do. So instead of confusing another band member we just formed the band as is.

Q:  Did you really record this ep live with no overdubs? And you really only spent two hundred bucks on the recording? Cause it sounds great! I know a few bands who should/could take a hint by listening to your recording.

A:   We really did.....it's a true live recording. No overdubs, no individual mixing. It really helped the vibe of the CD, however of course it had some drawbacks. We had 2 other songs we would have liked to put on the CD but volume level wise it couldn't be done. If we just could have tweaked those songs after the fact we could have put covers of "Dryspell Blues" by Son House and "Spoonful" by Willie Dixon on Sterno Soup. But if you are curious to hear those songs we do throw them on our myspace site from time to time.

Q:  You guys obviously have a deep love of Howlin' Wolf.
How did y'all happen to come across Junior Kimbrough?

A:  Oh yeah, we love The Wolf and JL Hooker too...and the intensity and rawness of Hound Dog Taylor. I think what we were trying to do was build our sound based off The Wolf, Hooker, Hound Dog and the sound of the Hill Country and mix it all together, and hopefully creating our own sound and style. I mean we never talked about that specifically but you can hear it in our sound. We all knew about the Hill Country sound/artists like Junior, RL, Jesse Mae Hemphill, Robert Belfour, T-Model Ford and back to Mississippi Fred McDowell but really never delved into it musically until a few years ago. Basically we wanted to add this sound into our previous band but it just didn't take because that band was going to more towards more of a rock-blues sound.....not a raw gut-bucket type sound that we desired.

Q:  You play really well together. It sounds like you have played together a long time. Really tight but with the looseness that comes from being familiar with what the other guys are gonna do. It's got that hard deep blues sound with what sounds to me like almost a psychedelic element thrown in, which could be taken as variation on the north Mississippi hill country trance vibe
done Massachusetts style. Care to comment on how you think the hill country sound has informed what you all do?

A:   Oh Man, the Hill Country Sound was the main reason why we created The Ten Foot Polecats. Granted, like we mentioned before we love the Wolf, Hooker, etc but what really got our juices flowing was that hard groove and trance sounds of the North Mississippi Hill Country. The sound, in our opinion, is probably the most original of all the Blues styles because it felt so freeing and loose. We felt we could take the music anywhere, while still maintaining the vibe/groove yet playing crazy and wild at the same time. It is almost like a controlled chaos that has no limits or boundaries.

Q:   Did any of you ever have the opportunity to see R.L. or Junior or any of the other North Mississippi guys live?

A:   Unfortunately, the only one who got to see them live was Jay. In around 1996 or 1997 a few of the Fat Possum artists played the old House of Blues in Cambridge Mass. The artists who played that show were Junior Kimbrough, T-Model Ford, and Hasil Adkins. It is not really known, but we think T-Model had Jack Daniels to drink that night...however, it was rumored he did not spend any time in jail that night. Although neither can be confirmed or denied.

Q:   Looking at your setlist on Sonicbids shows me that you guys are, shall we say, interpreters of other peoples songs. Do you do any originals? It seems to me that the versions you do are unique enough that you don't have to.

A:   Oh yeah...thanks for reminding us....we probably have to update that list. But we have incorporated originals into our sets, and we plan to move more into that when we get some time freed up from our real jobs! The covers have come to us relatively easy because we do them our own way, so we are not too particular on how it sounded originally. Basically, Jay has thousands of lyrics in his head, and Jim and Dave have a lot of rhythms up their sleeves....so basically Jim & Dave will hit a rhythm and Jay will get some lyrics on top of it and there you have it.

Q:   How was your western tour this summer? Any particularly memorable gigs? Any places you played that other bands show check out besides the always awesome Ax and Fiddle in Cottage Grove Oregon?

A:  Put it to you like this.... 8000 miles, 11 days, approximately 40 hours of sleep for each person (224 hours awake each!). But even though we were ultra tired by the end , the tour out west was great. We only had a chance to play a few gigs, due to work schedules and what not, so it ended up more of a cross country vacation than anything The Ax and Fiddle was a great venue where the crowd got into in a hurry. Actually the Ax and Fiddle was the basis of the whole trip, Stacy DeHart heard our music and said you got to play here......and considering she is suburban Bostonian native, like we are, it took little convincing! Stacy is fantastic....hopefully we can get out there again on a weekend this time! We just need these gas prices to keep going in the downward direction! Besides that, the Skylark Cafe was fun - very funky place - more into the punk/rock scenes. But we gave them a dose of the deep blues sound and they really dug it. Very friendly people out in the Northwest. Considering we are just a bunch of Mass-Holes we almost felt out of place! (just kidding). And then we played in Taos, New Mexico at a brew pub called Eske's. It was there first outdoor show of the year and it might have been the only day where it didn't rain on that vacation. Big thanks to Marv and Althea as they were very hospitable to us. Our most fun of the trip might have been, not sleeping for 44 hours and then coming up on Beale Street in Memphis...and say "we can't go to bed now...it's Beale Street"....so we go get some 5 dollar 40 ounce beers and grab a meal of alligator and craw daddies...and head out on Beale and that is where we ran upon Richard Johnston playing on the street...and I should say playing the street because he had the entire street in the palm of his hand.....what a great time it was seeing him perform live!.....one of most memorable portions of our tour!

Q:  Best live show The TFPC has played so far?

Wow, that's a tough one...because we just opened up for Bob Margolin. As well as just touring throughout the country - which was a new experience for Dave and Jim. We don't know if we have a particular favorite, that's hard to say. It is probably best left to say the best shows we have played so far are shows where we are playing with other bands in a different genre. The reason why we say that is because we get so many people, both other bands and their fans, coming up to us and asking us about the music we play, or even about the unique set-up of the band. These people have not been too familiar with this particular type of Blues - so it is like we are helping them get turned on to a whole new genre of music. Between sets we will tell them about RL, Junior, and current artists such as Richard Johnston, Bob Log, and more...

Q:   If you could open for any band living or dead who would it be?

A:  Well, last month we opened for Bob Margolin, and we were thrilled about that....not only because he himself is fantastic artist, but opening for the Muddy Waters' guitar player.....that is one step away from playing with a musical legend. But considering our influences think opening for Howlin' Wolf or John Lee Hooker would have been amazing. Currently, we would love to open for artists like Richard Johnston, Hillstomp, Rollie Tussing, Left Lane Cruiser, etc. There are some really great blues artists out there that are really taking the music to new areas, we would love to be a part of that too.

Q:   If you could back up any artist living or dead who would fit best with what you guys do?

A:  I think backing up RL Burnside would be great.....however when you have Cedric and Kenny Brown in tow, that's a tough rhythm section to compare to. Actually, with Jay's gruff vocals - pinning him (and us as a backing band) behind Jesse Mae Hemphill would be interesting, as you would have an interesting variation of vocals.

Q:   Any up and coming bands in your area we should know about?

A:   The Delta Generators are a great Deep Blues band that just won the Boston Blues Challenge (we hope to participate in that competition next year). For an acoustic Duo - there is a band called Whalebone Farmhouse who do some very interesting interpretations of songs from Skip James to Blind Willie Johnson, as well as originals. Jon Short and TJ Wheeler do some fantastic solo delta & hill country material as well.


CD Review " Sterno Soup" - The Ten Foot Polecats
musesmuse.com (by Chip Withrow)
Artist: Ten Foot Pole Cats
Album: Sterno Soup

...
Artist: Ten Foot Pole Cats
Album: Sterno Soup

Website: http://www.myspace.com/tenfootpolecats

Genre: Blues/Roots Rock
Sounds Like: Howlin' Wolf, early ZZ Top

Technical Grade: 9/10
Production/Musicianship Grade: 9/10
Overall Talent Level: 9/10
Songwriting Skills: 9/10
Performance Skill: 9/10

Best Songs: Goin' Crazy, Dead Shrimp, Work Me

CD Review: Ten Foot Pole Cats’ Sterno Soup is just about what I think of when I think of blues – stripped down, snaky, and soul-stirring. This is music that can give you hoodoo chills and make you get up and boogie, often in the same song.

Recorded live in the studio with no overdubs, Sterno Soup is crisper-sounding than the seminal blues which inspired it, but still urgent and immediate. The standard “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” is a fitting opener, a nod to the decades of history behind this sound. It rises and falls in intensity – Jim Chilson’s wicked guitar picking pushes Jay Scheffler’s vocal to growling heights and confessional depths.

Because there is no bassist in this trio, Dave Darling’s crackling, persistent drumming drives the band. Because of Darling, the pulsing “Goin’ Crazy” sounds like a Howlin’ Wolf number set to a Sun Records rockabilly swing.

“Thought I Heard” is creepy, bumping and grinding – Chilson’s slippery, minimalist guitar floats like a ghost around this one. Then comes the rocking blast of “Dead Shrimp,” one of the straight-ahead grooviest songs I’ve heard in awhile. Chilson’s careening solos inspired me to try to play along. The weird lyrics (and the “woo” that Scheffler tosses in) makes me think Little Richard could have torn this one up in his heydey.

“Work Me” is blues bordering on soul, hypnotic and sexy - think a grittier version of the sound ZZ Top achieved on their classic "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide." And just like that, this five-song EP is over, doing just what it should – making me want to hear more. (And, therefore, I go back and listen to "Work Me" again.)



Sterno Soup CD Review by The Boston Blues Society
Bostonblues.com (by Georgetown Fats)
The founding fathers of Mississippi Delta music of...
The founding fathers of Mississippi Delta music often had to rely on word of mouth for publicity for gigs at the local gutbucket juke joint. When literacy isn’t the norm amongst fans and patrons, publicity flyers are useless.

Thankfully literacy is now the norm, and with a little creative license by Dick Armey; Al Gore created the Internet, which has become an incredibly powerful tool for both the musician and the fan.

In this age of social networking, the artist is now able to communicate to a mass audience at the touch of a button, and a music fan has the opportunity to check out a new act without actually committing to a night out at the local bar.

On the off chance the music fan encounters a local act worthy of checking out additional shows, the Internet provides a great way to track the next time the local act is coming into the area. And as Jim of The Ten Foot PoleCats will attest to - a way to repeatedly inquire as to when the first release will be available.

Sterno Soup, the Promotional EP/CD by The Ten Foot PoleCats, arrived in the mail in late January. It was immediately downloaded to my iPod, and loaded into slot 3 of my car’s CD player.

It was still in both audio tools for a long time.

Recorded at Nobscot Studios for less than $200, this minimalist approach to recording is the only way this band should ever record.

This is just three guys playing a style of music they truly love. The Ten Foot PoleCats is not a band playing Delta blues music; they are a contemporary Delta blues band playing a refreshing gutbucket boogie.

From Jim Chilson’s first finger-picked riff on his 5-string electric hollow body diddley bow, and Dave Darling laying down the rest of the rhythm section on the drums for Blind Willie Johnson’s “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” The PoleCats capture a sound and vibe Led Zeppelin could never have ripped off.

Sure, vocalist Jay Scheffer doesn’t have Robert Plant’s range, but Scheffer does possess an authentic Delta blues voice that isn’t crafted today with studio gimmickry. The PoleCats consist of three-fifths of the Hoodoo Revelators, and from the opening track it is clear their history together allows them to make an awful lot of music out of three tracks.

“Going Crazy” is an up-tempo boogie tune which will inspire foot tapping and finger drumming right from the start. Chilson’s guitar work sets the scene; Darling’s drum work continues the boogie, and Scheffer’s warm and weathered vocals keep it all together.

“Thought I heard” is a slow steaming track, an appropriate soundtrack for a sweltering country bar where Budweiser is considered a high-end beer, and grain alcohol is on the menu. In keeping with the theme and approach, Scheffer adds a brief run on the Mississippi saxophone which adds just enough to the song to be noticed but to not detract from the song itself.

In a remake of Robert Johnson’s “Dead Shrimp,” once again Chilson sets the groove on his diddley-bow. Darling continues the groove with his minimalist drum play, and Scheffer adds additional color with the vocals. Proving it is not what you play, but how you play it, in “Dead Shrimp,” Chilson’s guitar drops out of the mix for several bars. Darling keeps hammering the groove on the drum set, and Scheffer raps lyrics over the drum groove. It is a brilliant section on a fantastic cover song which sums up why The Ten Foot PoleCats are just so good. Nothing is forced, and only the necessary core elements to the song are included. Layering of tracks provides additional color, but it also hides a lot of mistakes.

On “Work Me,” the final track, the Junior Kimbrough influence smacks the listener right in the face. It is another slow burning track which could have been included on the Black Snake Moan soundtrack.

The Ten Foot PoleCats are currently in the process of gigging with their other band, The Hoodoo Revelators, and taking smaller gigs as The Ten Foot PoleCats, plus recording a full length CD. Hopefully they will resist the temptation to stretch the budget and divert from their minimalist approach.

From the hand made graphics, to the live recording of four tracks at most, this CD is perfect. In a style of music which the artists often shortened their own life spans by giving into excess, excessive recording and tinkering is the only thing which could take away from this masterpiece.



Live Show Review - Live at The Georgetown Grille
Bostonblues.com (by Georgetown Fats)
Sometimes a room not suited for a traditional blue...
Sometimes a room not suited for a traditional blues audience has the ability to swallow a blues band whole. Normally it's a room that features clientele who prefer, "both styles of music: country and western."

Then there are other times when a seasoned blues band, in spite of the audience geared for contemporary music, has the ability to convert an audience from curious listeners to a sweaty dancing throng.

July 12 at The Georgetown Grille was one of those special nights in live music.

The restaurant is a small new, up-scale pub in the center of town, which arrives as other bars are shying away from booking live blues. (The Georgetown Grille actively books live blues.) Without the ocean side deck to bring in a summer audience, the Grille has already made a strong local showing dishing out up-scale pub food and pouring real good drinks at a reasonable price.

The Ten Foot Polecats, consisting of Jay Scheffler on vocals and harp, Jim Chilson on guitar, and Dave Darling on drums, have a deep passion for the North Mississippi Hill Country, and Delta blues. The passion for these raw blues styles is easily apparent, as it is contagious to the uninitiated listener. Also, all three are former members of The HooDoo Revelators, a successful local blues act from which they amicably parted ways to put their focus behind this former side project.

Their style of play is infectious.

With sets relying on the John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf catalogs, each cover is given an electrified North Mississippi Hill Country and Delta blues treatment.

The night opened with Hooker's "Serves You Right to Suffer." Scheffler's weathered vocals mixed the qualities of the great John Lee with the contemporary feel of Peter Wolf. As "Serves You Right to Suffer" evolved into "Peaches," the crowd was quickly won over. By the time The Ten Foot Polecats got to ripping through a rendition of "Little Red Rooster," Chilson's fiery work on his five-stringed diddleybow helped convert this up-scale pub into a gut-bucket gin joint.

After rocking versions of Otis Redding's "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay," and "Spoonful," made famous by the Wolf, the Polecats finally gave a moment for the sweaty dancing mass to re-hydrate at the bar.

In between sets, I had a chance to speak with band members, who I knew must have been still riding high after a tour which took them to gigs in Oregon, Taos, New Mexico; and Memphis. Chilson was excited to share that Shred, of WBCN fame, has recently begun booking shows for The Polecats and opening new opportunities for this act.

With the style of music they play, The Ten Foot Polecats will not be able to rely on extensive airplay, and a beaming Scheffler proudly acknowledges that this fact is just fine with him. The music is their first and only concern.

When the discussion made the way to the recent tour out west, Scheffler was more interested in talking about being blown away by a Hill Country Troubadour by the name of Richard Johnston. What was refreshing about the discussion about Johnston was rather than trying to steer the conversation back to Ten Foot Polecats- related news, Darling and Chilson stressed that meeting and hearing Johnston was one of their favorite highlights of the tour.

For the second set, the Polecats featured some of the material released on their Sterno Soup EP. "Goin' Crazy," "Dead Shrimp," and "Nobody's Fault but Mine," came off with a refreshing jam band vibe. Not interested in playing note-for-note renditions of the previously recorded cover tunes as the crowd got more and more raucous, the Polecats were certainly up for the challenge. Thankfully "Dead Shrimp" still featured extended sections of Darling hammering away on a drum groove while Scheffler rapped lyrics over the groove.

"Tears on a Windshield," an original, had the majority of the crowd who had just purchased Sterno Soup to see if it was included on the EP. After an abbreviated break, a third set featured covers of "Smokestack Lightning," "Work Me," which is also featured on Sterno Soup, as well as an extended jam based around the recently passed Bo Diddley's "Who Do you Love?"

As the night came to a close, and gear was ushered out into waiting cars, Chilson wanted to hip me to the fact that The Ten Foot Polecats had a potential opportunity to open for Bob Margolin on Aug. 9 at the Lucky Dog Music Hall in Worcester.

Certainly an opportunity to open for "Steady Rollin'" means this gamble to pursue a side-project instead of the more commercially viable band was a chance worth taking. The gig with Margolin makes it clear that this is a band on the rise.

Having witnessed another live performance, this is hardly a surprise.

Check the schedules of the local pubs or breweries near you, The Ten Foot Polecats live show is night of live gut-bucket gin joint music which should be experienced.


Vile Bill's Music Spotlight:  The Ten Foot Polecats
by Vile Bill....(of course)
The Ten Foot Pole Cats

The Ten Foot Pole Cats c...
The Ten Foot Pole Cats

The Ten Foot Pole Cats create complexity within simplicity and redefine the well-worn as something new and raw in what, to my ears and eyes, is the musical equivalent of a ‘51 Buick barreling down a dusty Mississippi road on a July evening. This tough and jittery 'Deep Blues' three piece -- front-man Jay Scheffler (who also works the mouth harp), guitarist Jim Chilson, and drummer Dave Darling—push each element of the rhythm and blues format to its limits, revealing the full potential of a music that in less committed hands often lays flaccid and lame (or is overly polished and precious). These boys are no mere purists who treat the music like some delicate museum piece to be roped off and admired from afar; they handle the songs and grapple with the tunes and scuff them up in the process, allowing the music to push back, exposing the strengths of both the songs and the musicians. The genius of a TFPC performance is that they strip down the songs to their essentials (drums, guitar, and vocal), and rip away the play-it-safe conventions that encumber many, exposing the ragged and raw edges of the form. At the same time, they play each song like they really f’n mean it, like it matters, with balls and grit. This music rolls and roars, filling a room with raucous energy. Notably absent are the feeble posturing and grandstand gestures of lesser talents whose shows often play more like historical reenactment or rock star trips than vital and authentic experience.

Their performance during Geezer’s Garage Nite at the Granite Rail in Quincy on February 27th filled the room from first note to final cymbal crash. Through a set of electrified Mississippi/Delta blues that showcased influences like John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf, the band made songs like “Spoonful,” “Tears On My Windshield,” and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” sound like they’d never been played before and like they might never be played again. The details of each musician’s playing confound the listener. Dave Darling laid down a back-beat so solid, loose, and wild that it almost surprised me to see only one guy behind the drum kit. This solid foundation opened up the possibilities that Jim Chilson coaxed and wrestled out of his guitar. He played with, off of, and against Darling’s beat, strumming out chords, fingering the frets, picking out notes, and generally wailing the rhythm and lead simultaneously. All the while, Jay Scheffler rode the crest of this compact musical wave, groaning, pleading, and howling in a voice reminiscent of the Wolf, but which remained entirely his own. Add to that Scheffler’s harp accenting the melody, and the TFPCs produced a full, edgy and undeniable sound; a sound at once old and familiar yet new and engaging. They call it “electric gut bucket whiskey swilling boogie,” and that seems about right to me. In the words of Larry Tate, make mine a double.

Music Notes - "Polecats to play from debut CD" 
The Salem News - by Larry Claflin Jr.
The Ten Foot Polecats don't just play the blues; t...
The Ten Foot Polecats don't just play the blues; the band performs "Electric Gut Bucket Whisky Swilling Boogie," its take on the North Mississippi Hill Country- and Mississippi Delta-styles of music pioneered by Mississippi Fred McDowell, Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside and others.

"It's just not your typical blues experience," said Jay Scheffler, singer and harmonica player for the Polecats, of the band's live show. "It's really high-energy, and it's a lot of fun."

The trio — which also includes Jim Chilson on guitar and Dave Darling on drums — will play the Georgetown Grill on Route 97 on Saturday, April 11.

They'll play music from their debut CD, "Sterno Soup," and songs from the above-mentioned styles, such as "See What My Buddy Done," "Dead Shrimp, "Smokestack Lightning" and "Boogie Chillen'."

"We do cover songs — but mainly songs people have never heard of unless you are into or with some knowledge of Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker," Chilson wrote in an e-mail. "We really try and make these songs our own."

"There's definite structure in the songs we do, but inside those songs there's a lot of room for improvisation," Scheffler added in a phone interview. "We do our own thing with it."

Scheffler, Chilson and Darling are former members of another Massachusetts band, Hoodoo Revelator, which they left in 2007 to form the Polecats. Hoodoo Revelator specializes in Texas- or Chicago-style of blues, while the Polecats play the rural Mississippi-style, rediscovered by Fat Possum Records in the mid-1990s, according to Scheffler.

In May, the band will support "Sterno Soup" with a short tour to Chicago, Minneapolis and Cleveland and in July it will return to Minnesota to play the Deep Blues Festival. It will be the only band from New England to play this concert this year.

"I was always into Delta blues," said Scheffler, who has a handle on its history. "It's an enriching experience digging into this stuff."



Do you know the blues? 
Middlesex Daily News & Milford Daily News - by Peter Reuell

Thanks to the success of blues-tinged rock icons...

Thanks to the success of blues-tinged rock icons like Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones and even the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan, most music fans like to think they know the blues.

One listen to the Ten Foot Pole Cats, though, and it's clear: all those folks don't know squat.

The three-piece band, made up of Franklin and Maynard residents, plays a rootsy, traditional Mississippi Delta style of blues rarely heard in the Northeast, but one that's beginning to win fans.

"We played one show in Quincy recently; we were kind of with a Dropkick Murphys-type band," said guitarist Jim Chilson, of Franklin. "Their show is really in your face. We opened for them, and we had people just staring at us, like, 'What are they doing?' So, we're getting people's attention."

It's not the first time Chilson, lead singer Jay Scheffler of Maynard and drummer Dave Darling, a Franklin resident, have earned attention on stage.

All three are former members of another blues-influenced band, the Hoodoo Revelators, but left the band to pursue the grittier "deep blues" sound of the Pole Cats.

"It was kind of a compromise for me to do Hoodoo," explained Scheffler. "I started turning on Jim and Dave to more of the Delta (blues) stuff, and we just kind of had to do our thing."

For Scheffler, the attraction to the blues began at an early age.

"I've been into the dirtiest blues I can find since I was 14," he said.

Like others, his attraction began with blues-inspired rock bands, like The Rolling Stones.

"If you look into it, you (find out) someone else wrote those songs," he said. "I'm like, 'I got to hear that.' And once (you) hear John Lee Hooker and Robert Johnson, it was, 'OK, who did they listen to?' The more you listen, the more you realize how great they were."

But for a devotee of blues greats like Robert Johnson and Son House, Scheffler said it was frustrating to see traditional blues overlooked.

"If you listen to any of those quote, unquote, 'blues channels' or 'blues shows' on the radio, it's depressing," he said. "It's Eric Clapton and right after that, the Allman Brothers."

The Pole Cats' brand of blues, however, is beginning to win some converts.

Besides shows scheduled throughout MetroWest and greater Boston, the band has a show coming up in New York state, and was even invited to play a series of shows in Oregon and Washington state, a growing epicenter of the traditional blues music scene.

The band has also gained popularity among local booking agents.

Denise Kaufman, the booker at Fat Boy Bill's in Milford, first got to know the Pole Cats as members of the Hoodoo Revelators, and agreed to book the band as a favor - these days they play in Milford every other month.

"I've been booking bands at the club for almost two years now, and there is definitely no other band out there that sounds like the Pole Cats," she said. "I could almost swear I was in some Mississippi blues bar every time I hear them, not little old Milford, Massachusetts.

"They are unique for around here, with their foot-stomping, butt-shaking blues. They definitely make the music their own."

"We've gone into rooms and started playing, and you can tell, the first few songs people are like, 'What the hell is this?"' Scheffler said. "The next thing you know, they're just dancing and having a great time."

That great time may soon be something fans of the band can take home with them.

Though the band has recorded an EP - in true blues fashion, the five-song EP was recorded virtually live, with no overdubs or mixing, for just $200 - Chilson said the next step is to put out a full-length CD some time next year.

"It's tough trying to get tuned into the scene," Chilson said this week. "I think our first step is to get that original CD out there. We're going to work on that...and see where it takes us."

The band has already written a number of songs for the disc, Scheffler said.

"I don't think anybody goes into this style because they want to get rich," he said. "Anybody that does this 'deep blues' style, they're doing it because they can't not do it."
 

UPDATED - August 5 2008

If you were wondering...hmm..how can I help those Polecats?  Well, we have an answer...request us on the following radio stations....most of these stations can be streamed online (what will they think of next!) so you can check out a radio station 3000 miles away without adjusting, or adding foil to, your antenna

Check out the station and ask for your Ten Foot Polecats today!




ILLINOIS

Springfield -  WGLT 89.1 FM & 103.5 FM
Illinois State University
"Live Blues" with Delta Frank Black
Fri & Sat 7pm -12am
(other shows Sat 12pm-5am,  &  Sun 12pm-6pm)
Studio Line 309-438-8910
http://www.wglt.org


LOUISIANA

New Orleans -  WWOZ 90.7 FM
"Sittin' at the Crossroads" with Big D
Wed 2pm – 4pm
Studio Line 504-568-1234
http://www.wwoz.com


MASSACHUSETTS

Boston – WZLX 100.7 FM
"Sunday Morning Blues" with Carter Alan
Sunday 9am – 12pm  
Studio Line 617-931-1007
http://www.wzlx.com

Cambridge – WHRB 95.3 FM
Harvard University
"The Blues Hangover"
Sunday 7am – 11am  
Studio Line 617-495-WHRB
http://www.whrb.org

Lowell – WUML 91.5 FM  
University of Massachsuetts - Lowell  
"Blues Deluxe" with John Guregian
Saturday 3pm – 6pm
Studio Line 978-934-4969
http://www.wuml.org

Medford – WMFO 91.5 FM 
Tufts University  
"Blues & Beyond" with Jim Carty
Thursday 6pm - 9pm
Studio Line 617-721-7587
http://www.wmfo.org

Worcester– WICN 90.5 FM  
"Saturday Night Fish Fry" with Norm Rosen
Saturday 7pm – 11pm
Studio Line 508-752-0700
http://www.wicn.org

Worcester – WCUW  91.3 FM  
"Friday Night Blues" with Don Northway or Andy 'Blues Hawg' Salek
Friday 5pm-8pm
Studio Line 508-753-2284
http://www.wcuw.org

NEW MEXICO

Taos -  KTAO 101.9 FM
"Breakfast with Nancy Stapp"
Mon-Fri   6am – 10:30am; 
Studio Line 505-758-8882
http://www.ktao.com


OREGON

Cottage Grove – KSOW 106.7 FM    
Studio Line 541-942-0018
http://www.ksow.org


Eugene/Springfield – KRVM 91.9FM  
"Breakfast with the Blues"
Mon-Sat 5:30am - 8am; 
Sun 7am – 11am
Studio Line 541-687-KRVM
http://www.kvrm.org


TEXAS

Austin  (Internet Radio only)
"The X Texas Blues" with Mark Trevino
mark@thextexasblues.com
http://www.thextexasbluescom


VERMONT

Burlington/Johnson – WJSC 90.7 FM
Johnson State College
Studio Line 802-635-1414
http://members.tripod.com/~wjsc/
http://www.jsc.edu

OTHER COUNTRIES

CANADA

Regina, Saskatchewan – CJTR 91.3 FM
Community Radio
Studio Line 306-525-7274
http://www.cjtr.ca 


FINLAND

"Helsinki' Blues Cafe"   with Geoff Barton  (Internet Radio Only)
http://www.myspace.com/catnadja
http://www.live365.com/stations/catnadja

Just wanted to say thanks to all you who have listened to us, seen us live, and continue to give us support, advice, compliments, etc.

We love reading all what you have to say...even if it is to make fun of us.....being a bunch of New Englanders we appreciate the sarcastic attitudes....but anyways,  here are some quotes from all of you......keep sending them and we will keep posting them!!!..............