Pop punk band has high energy

A CD release party is scheduled for Saturday.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Watch out, America, here comes Boardman's loud and obnoxious new band, Ten Count Fall.
"We're right in your face," said vocalist/bassist Pat Rishel, calling from his home. "When we play shows, we're high energy and don't care about anything."
Though reckless abandon rules on stage, off stage this quartet has spent the better part of the last year writing and recording its self-titled debut with Detroit-based producer Royce Nunley (Suicide Machines).
With the new album finished and ready for release, Ten Count Fall has scheduled a CD release party Saturday at the Saxon Club Pavilion, 710 S. Meridian Road in Austintown.
"We've been working on getting this CD out for a long time," said vocalist/guitarist R.J. Rishel. "Now it's pretty much this is a sigh of relief. Like, all right, finally."
For R.J., Ten Count Fall is a second shot at punk stardom. After graduating from Boardman High School in 2001, he toured the country with Cleveland outfit Spencer. Pat said he remembers his sibling touring with no money coming in and surviving on Ramen noodles three times a day.
Boardman High roots
After two and a half years, Spencer disbanded, eventually bringing R.J. home only to find a new beginning with his kid brother, who graduated from the same high school last year. Also in the band are current Boardman High School seniors Jay Iorio (drums) and Jason Kotheimer (guitar).
With a limited tour schedule -- high school will hamper one's touring ambitions -- the quartet has been packing in as many regional shows on the weekends as possible. In fact, over the next two months alone, Ten Count Fall has more than a dozen club dates booked with a full tour scheduled for this summer.
"Mahoning Valley has been awesome for us, but we want to get out and into the nation," Pat said. The band hopes its spring dates can get the group acclimated with various clubs and hopefully grow its fan base. As far as style is concerned, R.J. said the band is all over the place, influenced mostly by pizza. Pizza delivering that is.
"It's weird because we all listen to different music," R.J. said. "Plus, not having a CD player in your car and delivering pizzas will really make you listen to something different all of the time."
Though Ten Count Fall hopes to be something different, for now the band's music falls squarely into the Ataris, Used, Green Day and Yellowcard vein, which is definitely the current rage in the pop punk scene.
"We just want to be loud and have fun," R.J. said.
Added Pat, "We just want to work hard and hopefully someone will hear us. It's a lot of luck, but the harder you work, the more you get out of it. I just want to tour as much as I can, never stop. The most important thing is to have fun, but hopefully it becomes a career."
So that means plenty of Ramen noodles?
"Yes, Ramen noodle soup -- beef, not chicken," Pat said, laughing.