(KERO) — Punk rock veterans Pulley are still making music after more than 25 years. In fact, their latest album "The Golden Life" drops May 13th on SBÄM Records.
The band has played Jerry's Pizza in Bakersfield several times and lead singer Scott Radinsky shares why he has a fondness for the legendary concert site/restaurant.
"Just the atmosphere and the small-town kind of vibe," said Radinsky. "A basement under a pizza joint on a corner? It doesn't really get much better than that.
"They were all really inviting to us. The [former] owner Jerry took a liking to us. We made a Jerry's Pizza shirt once that was pretty cool. It was a relatively close place for us to get to. Within a couple hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
"It was just a fun place to play. We always knew it would was going to be a good turn out. People were always appreciative. Like I said the vibe was always really good. You went downstairs into this basement and it was dark and dingy. It was just a cool set up... It just a really good party atmosphere."
If you're a fan of Major League Baseball, you might remember Radinsky. He played 11 years as big league relief pitcher with stints with the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland [now the Guardians], and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was also the bullpen coach for a few seasons with the Angels.
"I had a schedule that took eight months out of the year that consumed my time," said Radinsky.
"It was a job and then I had four months off. It was almost like being a school teacher in sense but opposite. I've been with guys who've been understanding with that. From the outset that was the whole approach and model of the band. So I don't think there ever was an expectation to be on the road nine, 10 months out of the year or to play full time.
"On a personal note I have a supportive family. Music has been a part of my life before any of them were a part of my life and they've kind of been just going along for the ride."
When he was able to become a free agent, Radinsky said his "first choice" was to play for his hometown Dodgers.
".. When you become a free agent after so much amount of time you can elect to go wherever you want if somebody wants," explains Radinsky.
"It just happened to be at the right time there was a fit for me and it worked out great. Those were the three best seasons and best years I've ever had. I was 33 minutes from the ballpark. I can drive my own car. It was a dream playing for my childhood team growing up."
Radinsky has also been playing punk rock for a long time. He shares what he thinks the secret sauce has been to Pulley's longevity.
"I think the secret sauce has been that we were friends first," explains Radinsky. "We started the band with the idea to have an outlet to write and to continue playing. We all originated from other previous bands in the past as we were growing up in high school and what not.
"Some of us were in touring bands and some of us were in bands that just stayed in the garage. But for the most part the whole model for the band was to have fun, write music, and play live. It was to have fun and to not so-called 'make it.' And I think that's been part of the success to survive.
"We've never really been a 'big band.' We've been on some pretty good labels that gave us good exposure. I like to think that we've written some decent songs in the past and made some fans... We'd love to do this for a living. It would be the greatest thing in the world. But the reality is there's only a handful of bands that can actually do that in our sort of world."
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