Ted Poley (Danger Danger, Tokyo Motor Fist)

Ted Poley is a singer, songwriter and drummer, best known for fronting the band Danger Danger. He has since gone on to several successful projects including a solo career, singing in Tokyo Motor Fist (with Trixter’s Steve Brown) and making music for the Sonic the Hedgehog video game. Ted is now starting his final concert tour and we discuss the details in this episode along with the Monsters of Rock Cruise, his career highlights and more! 

00:00 - Intro
00:46 - Ted's Secret to Staying Young
01:40 - Final Tour Details
06:40 - Danger Danger Reunion?
07:40 - Tokyo Motor Fist
08:04 - Show Locations & MORC
12:00 - Career and Personal Highlights
14:02 - Bone Machine
17:08 - Live Set List
17:58 - Sonic the Hedgehog Music
20:03 - Local No Kill Shelter
21:23 - Outro

Ted Poley website:
https://ted-poley.com/

No Kill Animal Shelters website:
https://www.nokillnetwork.org/

Chuck Shute website:
http://chuckshute.com/

Transcript

Chuck Shute: 0:00

Very excited about my guest today, Ted poli, if you're a fan of that era of hard rock, you know him as the singer of Danger Danger. He also has his solo stuff and bone machine. And his latest project was T Brown of trixter, which is Tokyo Motor fest. I love it all. I'm a big fan. And it's taken me a while to get him on the show. But it was well worth the wait. He got some he's got some exciting stuff to talk about new shows coming up some fun memories, great energy in this interview. Enjoy this interview with. Okay, cool. Why don't you look great? What is your secret to say you look the same as you did in 1992.

Ted Poley: 0:52

My secret is I'm being computer generated right now, as we speak. I'm totally photoshopping this live. It's a new program. Thank you. I appreciate that. But if you were in the same room as me, you might say like, oh, maybe not so much. But thank you. I'm 60 years old right now. So it's amazing. I know. I thought so too.

Chuck Shute: 1:13

Long, but you drink green smoothies or anything or you have some sort of health tip Do you jog every day or meditate or yoga? What is it?

Ted Poley: 1:21

Actually I do a lot of swimming. I swim every night. I do a lot of laps and stay in shape at this age. And that's good for your heart. Good for everything else. And yeah, exercise is important. So every morning to the TED poli health, our second seat is coming, man good. No, it's

Chuck Shute: 1:38

just you look great. But so tell me about we'll talk about music, we'll switch we'll switch gears you're touring in 2023 is the last time you're going to tour.

Ted Poley: 1:46

Well, I might do the kiss thing where I'm going to start. It's the beginning of the end. Let's just say, again, I'm 60 I'll be 61 years old. I've planned my last one last lap around the world tour for 2023. And beyond. Hopefully we'll see you know, it's the world is a big place. And it takes a little while to go around. I've already got lots of requests for shows. See, when you threaten everybody, you get the work, man. So it's true. I want to retire. I've kind of had it with the travel. I love the people so much. But of course everything's gotten 10 times harder, a lot more expensive. And you know, I was pretty much over all of the travel and the hardship anyway. But after three years of sitting at home, I thought to myself, You know what, I miss everybody. I'll go out there and die with my boots on. I want to come around the world one more time. Thank everybody for everything. It's been an awesome ride. And you know, get all those hugs and so far I've gotten dates I start actually I just got a good one in New Jersey to start the tour which is appropriate because I was from New Jersey and I don't know if I can announce this yet. Let's do a little exclusive. I believe it's February 24 at the Landis theater. Yeah. And that will be with my buddies. Hopefully I've heard rumors of possibly another band that's more than enough if you know what I'm saying. I literally just signed the contract not sure if I let the cat out of the bag. You know, I'm all about cats and dogs so please yeah, no kill animal shelters. But I would love to start that World Tour in my home state. And then I fly to I believe it's like Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Belgium Spain we've got a lot of things going on in Portugal looking for some Japanese promoters but the requests just keep coming in. I appreciate that and I will I will try and get everywhere and get 61 I will be embarking on the hardest tour I've I've ever done in my life.

Chuck Shute: 3:37

You weren't kidding that's literally worldwide not just the country that's like the world Wow

Ted Poley: 3:41

right and I don't have a big my tour bus consists of like a mini coop in England so so it's not a luxury tour. I'm going out there pounding the road you know really to say thank you to everybody it won't be the most comfortable thing I'm thinking of a quite a large investment in astronaut diapers possibly there's gonna be you know at this age you have to really do the the you know the pre production and there's gonna be eight nine hour drives you know 10 hours but nothing can keep me from you promoters if you're paying me and then the fans know I'll be there and I promise to shower before the Meet Greets

Chuck Shute: 4:16

Oh that's nice. So this TED poli solo or is there any danger danger reunion dates is there Tokyo Motor first dates is it all three

Ted Poley: 4:25

at my schedule is so super secret that he even I don't know it most of the time. As far as danger goes. I have no idea what's going on with with those guys or me or whatever. But I'm here if the phone rings for something big with that for now. I don't wait around. I want to go out I want to sing the favorite songs. I want to sing my things. I've got about 30 albums out there so there's plenty to choose from. And it will be a combination of anyway I can get to you whether it's solo on acoustic guitar with somebody accompanying me hopefully so it sounds a little better. I knew it back but I'm trying hard. Or I'm using my own awesome solo Then, where possible and when flights are involved and I still want to come, there's not enough money. I've got awesome friends in every country, lots of awesome bands. I've got midnight city, amazing band, friends of mine that will be backing me on some, some UK dates as a matter of fact, Rob Wilde, the singer from from that band will be touring with me on my acoustic stuff, which will start in where we started, we are starting in Ireland, I believe in or Scotland someplace over there, and he'll be with me. And so basically, I'll get to ride with anybody. There's rumors of maybe Pretty Boy Floyd helping me out a little bit. I go out with them in the US, but by any means. So okay.

Chuck Shute: 5:41

We're how do we find what's the best place to go for to find that latest tour dates, your website, or your social media page, or

Ted Poley: 5:49

pretty much Facebook, social media, stuff like that, my webmaster ran away with the key during the pandemic, totally, I will have the site up. Again, pretty much, you know, pretty soon and I'll have all of the tour dates, lots of cool new merchandise, you know, special things and you can still go on there. Now, Ted dashboard.com. And sort of catch up if you'd like to purchase their songs for like 99 cents, I believe it ends up I get about 40 cents after it's all done. But if like millions of you do it, I'll still not be rich, but the music is available for you. It's not for me, trust me, I've got you know, I don't make a lot off of that. But it's there because I did the work and people love it and the stuff is sold out and it's out of print. So you can go to my site you can download for 99 cents or you can download lots of albums and and thanks for that some of that money always goes to support one of two no kill animal shelters that I support.

Chuck Shute: 6:37

Oh, awesome. So a Danger Danger. You said you're not going to wait around but like So would they have to put it together? Or could a promoter say hey, we want to danger January union and you're in if you if somebody comes to you with an offer that makes all those

Ted Poley: 6:50

things? Yeah, it's not really my thing. It's, you know, it's a sort of a work for hire, I play myself in that band. We get along, we're friendly. They're off, they do other projects. Now. I wish them luck with that they have a defiance thing, which is really cool. It's sort of like Danger Danger. Without me I showed up at my job that was somebody else doing it. But I wish them luck. They're awesome. And you know, hopefully if a festival or somebody calls them and you know they'll call me but we get along I just think that you know, when Danger Danger gets together, it's a big thing. There's a lot involved and you know, we all have things going on in our lives, but I'm more than happy. I was always the one that liked to have the most I've never really been off the road for except for a little thing called the pandemic but I've been on the road basically for 45 years. So you know, so I'm ready to do anything. And thank you for mentioning Tokyo motors. Yeah, that's been a blessing. So there's hopefully some shows coming with that Steve Brown the music genius. I mean just can't say enough good things about him. He's so super talented. And Tokyo Motor Fest has been a real surprise blessing. And you know like I say danger my solo stuff and you never know acoustic electric mowing your lawn whatever it takes to get to you.

Chuck Shute: 8:03

Okay Will you be doing any shows on the West Coast I'm in Arizona so I mean I could drive to LA or Vegas and he's anywhere around there.

Ted Poley: 8:10

Again I'm available I hope to you know, you have to get a string of shows it's hard to fly out with a solo band and get a whole bunch of you know, airlines seem to come out for you know, a couple of grand which goes to United Airlines usually. But you know, and of course I want to be everywhere I've been everywhere I've met a lot of friends. And you know thanks to the Monsters of Rock was my monsters I love you guys shout out to the monsters that everywhere. And that's been also a real blessing. I've gotten to meet a lot of fans again from around the states where I haven't been able to afford to tour but they can we can only be on a wonderful cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean and have fun. So I've made a lot of awesome friends that I would like it to to come out and see so you never know promoters out there I'm available. Let's see what we can do you know it's still early booking 2023 right now and

Chuck Shute: 8:58

here we are. Are you doing the Monsters of Rock cruise in the next one the 2023 one.

Ted Poley: 9:03

I sure am is my my one of my favorite things in the world. best people in the world. People who run it are great. Everybody that works. It is great. The fans are amazing. It's a real up close and personal thing I get to take a vacation with 5000 of my closest fans and I look forward to it every time I think every band you know wishes that they were on it and I'm very fortunate you know you can't be on every year but I've been very fortunate they call me the captain and I'm on again in 2023 I make some really cool jewelry for the cruise some pendants. I'm not wearing one now I didn't know it was gonna be commercial but we make we've got awesome designs coming out for for the to toe 2023 cruise and I'll tell you I am so looking forward to that and that is part of my world tour integrated into that and I will be there with my great and current awesome solo band. My guys are really really cool. So

Chuck Shute: 9:55

that is really cool. It was like on the island and it was ours. Cooper

Ted Poley: 10:02

wasn't on an island. But I mean, we yeah, we did. I've done like the past, I think I've been on there. I don't know, six or seven times several different cruise lines that we've we've destroyed. But it's been a lot of fun. I mean, I really, again, you can't, you know, it's almost like a dream come true. And I'm so glad I'm on next year, and I wish I'd be on every year. But of course, they have to make room for other bands. And you never know. But so far, so good. And really, you know, it is the greatest if I don't think it's sold out yet. And to anybody out there that wants to really go see some of your favorite bands, and then end up singing karaoke with them, you know, wasted at night at two in the morning. That's the place to do it. It's a lot of fun and things happen that just prices so hope to see you all on there.

Chuck Shute: 10:51

That sounds fun, I'll have to hit some I may either have to fly to a show or do that. I've never been on a cruise in my life. So it sounds like a blast.

Ted Poley: 10:58

I never did either. You know, to me, I'm a little bit hyperactive, I, you know, a personality I like to, to get where I'm going and just do what I'm doing. And to me a cruise was just like, you never get there. And I never really understood. But actually having been on it. Now I get the point you get to go, basically, you know drink all day, and you don't have to drive home to your room. It's awesome. There's entertainment everywhere. And not only that, you wake up at a different place every day. And if you want your kid to, you know sightseeing, you can, you know, disembark and see some really cool things I got off in Jamaica, where I've been, gosh, I've been going to Jamaica for about 40 years. It's my home away from home. I love it. But we were parked there. And I looked down and I said, I don't think I can stand going for just a few hours. But then I couldn't keep away. So my manager and I a few fans, we went out and we we climbed the falls and you know, where else can you go and climb the falls in Jamaica with like, you know, Roxanne or somebody that you that you? You know, have followed. It's just really cool, man.

Chuck Shute: 11:57

That's amazing. So when you look back at your career, I mean 61 You've done so many amazing things. Do you look at those the later years as more of the highlights? Or do you look at those like yours where you're opening for kiss and and Alice Cooper in the arenas and on MTV was that like the best years of your life?

Ted Poley: 12:15

Everything you just said everything? I mean, you know, I would say career highlights would be those things you mentioned. But actually personal highlights couldn't be in a better spot right now. I have everything I always wanted to be I'm surrounded with a lot of love. I've got a team around me that keeps me safe and happy. It gets me places and just the best managers in the world. Hey, Autumn shout out to you. And you know, I mean everybody, I've got a wonderful personal assistants, I couldn't do this. It's a worldwide level, you really can't do it on your own. And Jamie, Reg, everybody, don don Murray love you, man, everybody who's there. I mean, they support me, they helped me. And honestly, I don't really make enough to do this on a worldwide level. So without people's help and support, I couldn't do it. And these people, I couldn't survive without them. So I want to send a special shout out much love. Like I say I am now in a place where I may not be warming up for kiss and playing in arenas, but I couldn't be happier. I am still singing to the fans that come to see me and appreciate me and I love them. And I do it surrounded with some really really cool people. So I feel I'm in a good place. And best part of all is I get to do cool stuff. My thing is, you know the animals homeless animals so I'm in a position where I can right now say please support your local no kill animal shelter. And I've got good fans. And I know you'll do it even if it's just $5 to your local no kill animal shelter. You wouldn't believe how much that would help. So thank you for that and I and here we are we knew and this is where I want to be and so really think everybody out there. I thank you and I hope that I can you know get to your city. I got my my thumb is doing my stretching exercises for hitchhiking. Yeah,

Chuck Shute: 14:01

but what about so the touring obviously but now what about is there going to be any new music from either Danger Danger Tokyo Motor fest or solo stuff? Or maybe bone machine? I don't know, like you've done a lot of

Ted Poley: 14:13

bone machine was one of my favorite favorite.

Chuck Shute: 14:16

This is a great name for a band. It was about

Ted Poley: 14:19

my dogs a little bone machine. He would make Pomeranian who is very much Mr. Peebles anytime anybody would ever come over. He would he had the stuffed rabbit that he would just pull out in front of everybody and just start like basically just humping it from behind. Say that was his thing. That was his time to shine. And he did it every time. As a matter of fact, a famous photographer was doing a photo spread on me. And right in the middle of that the dog pulled out these little, you know, buddy and started, you know, making love to it. And so the photographer thought that was great. So he snapped the famous shot of him basically, if you look at the cover of the first bone machine out and you'll see a really cute dog, but if you look a little closer, you'll see that basically that was My analogy for the music business at the time. Me being the animal and yeah, human being the music business as you can see, he's basically if you look closely, you know, it's pretty funny album cover and so he was my little bone machine I loved him and also it was alluding to also, you know, joints which now are illegal, but then were more fun when it was illegal. So, bones, you know, the whole thing and it was the heaviest coolest band ever. J three was a genius behind that music. He is now the genius behind the struts. He runs the the sound live sound reinforcement for them warming up for the stones and the who and around the world. He was in methods of mayhem, just a genius, but I was

Chuck Shute: 15:37

gonna ask you about that. Yeah, he was your solo guy. And then it was Tommy Lee. I didn't know he did the strat stuff. Oh, that's crazy, man. Yeah,

Ted Poley: 15:43

Tommy Lee was way to sneak my guy than my stuff was basically like so good. It was demos for him to just make a great career and he deserved it. I helped him do that. And you know what, he helped me a lot. I love those albums disappearing is one of my favorite favorite albums that was sung. He was a slave driver. I was no no such thing as auto to nothing. When I couldn't hit those notes. He made me sing it. He was like, not thicken up just like the Breakstone sour cream guy. He'd made me sing it and sing it until I would just and it was all real. And some of my best vocal performances ever some of my favorite songs. There's a song called Deep inside, which I begged him for he wrote that song. And I think we were sitting on the floor of Heathrow airport after the first tour of England, which was amazing enough. And I said, I really want to do another album, I said, and he played me that demo. And I said off. This is one of the best songs I've ever heard, please, we have to do this. And we had just had such a good time here. He was sort of on the fence if he wanted to do another album. But we just toured England and sort of work by accident. We had a great time. So he said, Yeah, sure, let's do it. So I got to sing that song. He wrote it, but it's one of my best vocal tracks in my whole life I was on that day. And it's all real and very proud of that. So deep inside, if anybody gets a chance to hear that by bone machine, I'm in heavy rotation on YouTube. I'm pretty sure somebody has put it up there. You can look it up. But that vocal track is something that was all real and you know, just I'm super proud of that one.

Chuck Shute: 17:06

So when you do a setlist, like a solo, I mean, it's going to include your whole songs from all over your career, right? Is there anything from like, the cockroach album? Or like do you do monkey business? Because monkey business is my favorite song that you've ever done.

Ted Poley: 17:20

I change it up almost every night. I do that I do dangerous songs to make people happy. I do monkey business sometimes. Yep, I do that. I don't know which album what songs are on what anymore. I've done about 30 albums. But yeah, but cockroach was a great, great album. I thought the best album was actually revolved. The last album was just amazing. And there's a couple of things I do on acoustic off of that. I'm learning fugitive right now, which is really cool. I like to do sort of deeper cuts and weird things but you know, plenty of dangerous stuff if you if you come see me and then yeah, I have so many solo albums. I haven't picked out any Sonic the Hedgehog stuff that I wrote for Sadie yet.

Chuck Shute: 18:01

That's what the Sonic the Hedgehog stuff. I mean, that's catchy music, it's fun. Oh,

Ted Poley: 18:09

it was great. It's just it's a different kind of format is yeah, really quick. It has to be, you know, it's a different pace. And when I when I wrote that stuff, I was very sure I would never have to sing it live, you know, it's just for the video game. And again, if you go on heavy rotation on YouTube, and I think you put Ted poli Sonic something like that I actually filmed one of the sessions, where I just wanted to show people I'm in the vocal booth. And you know, reading the lyrics and how it goes. And it's really fast paced. And it's really tough work. I mean, it's it's not fun, like a concert where you can sort of throw pics and have fun of people. This is really technical stuff. It's like surgery, and you have to get it done. You know, it's a couple of $1,000 an hour that Sega is spending. And it has to be right. So if you look at that video, it gives you a little bit of an insight as to that kind of music. But I never thought I would have to sing it live. And then they came to me for a special show in New York City for a big Sega. I don't remember the exact event but huge thing in New York City and my partner Jim singer who wrote a lot of the music and he plays guitar and his band does the music. He said would you play the songs live, and it was synced to a giant screen and you couldn't fall off the track if you fall off the track. It was all synced up to sort of the biggest scene from escape from the city, which was my biggest song that I wrote for them. And it was the coolest thing. It was 1000s of people in New York City and this giant screen and this truck screaming by to my music but you had to really really stay on track and I did it it was cool. And if you Google that or look on YouTube again, I think it's 10 Poli Sonic something convention and you can see that but I did have to sing those and it was really tough and I don't think I'll be doing but yeah, my solo stuff and new stuff. Older stuff. Maybe bone machine you never know but some danger for sure. Are you? No?

Chuck Shute: 20:00

Okay, cool. Well, I know you gotta get going. So I always end with a charity. You've already promoted the no kill shelter several times throughout the so I'll put a link for something maybe Humane Society or one like a national thing that people could donate to, or

Ted Poley: 20:13

I'm always afraid of those. And you know what I feel like they're probably okay. And they spend so much money on advertising that I feel like, you know what? They should give it to the animals look up. You know, in your own town, I'm positive. Everybody has one. Don't send me the money. I have to pay a lot of taxes where people send me that money. Okay, I donate. I do, I put links on my own page. So if anybody wants to come, you know, see that and get for birthdays and things I like them to donate to the animals. But for now, I'm sure that there's a little shelter in your, in everybody's town within my voice. That even you know, like I say, even $5 You wouldn't believe it's a couple of cans of food or something. And if you can do a little better, $20 You're, you're a hero. And I love you for that and give it locally, though. That's what I would. Please wish.

Chuck Shute: 21:00

Okay, perfect. Well, thank you so much, Ted. I'm gonna have to make a trip to come see us somewhere. So hopefully you

Ted Poley: 21:05

visit me at the pool house. We got some cool events coming up. And, and yeah, man, you're awesome. Thank you very much for giving me this forum to you know, like I say, promote my stuff and to say hi, and I'll see everybody on the tour. And you're always welcome here.

Chuck Shute: 21:19

All right. Thanks, Ted. All right. See you later. Bye. Ted Poli. So glad I can finally say that had him on the show was definitely on my bucket list of people to have on the show. And also on my bucket list of people don't see live. I've never seen Danger Danger or Ted poli solo or Tokyo Motor fest. Ideally, I'd like to see all three live at some point, I might have to make some road trips or take some flights for this one, especially if this is really the end. So make sure to follow Ted on facebook for updates. I think that is the best place to find them. It doesn't seem like he's on Instagram or Twitter very much. And also thank you so much for your support of the show your likes, comments and shares. They all really helped me grow this thing so I can get great guests like Ted Poli. I've had Steve Brown from trickster who we mentioned X Danger Danger guitarist Andy Timmons and many more you will enjoy. Check out the old episodes of the show and make sure to subscribe wherever you watch or listen for future episode notifications. Thank you again, have a great rest of your day and shoot for the moon.