Break-ups: 10 Minutes Down (1997-2006)

Washington ska band 10 Minutes Down have decided to call it quits after nearly ten years as a band. The band's only original member Ted Teske released the statement on their website:

...After a couple of months of hand wringing and midnight debates over a sixer of Pabst, we've decided to make this very important announcement...
10 Minutes Down is breaking-up and will perform one last time on Saturday, September 9th at The Big Easy in Spokane, WA.

You can click Read More for the rest of the statement.

If I might speak personally for a minute, this band has been my life and passion for almost 10 years. As the founder and last original member of 10 Minutes Down I sweated, bled, and even wept for it over the course of my tenure. We started as a cover band at Gonzaga University in 1997 and I never thought that we would attain the level of recognition or amass the loyal following that we’ve had both in Spokane and around the country. This has largely been achieved by the hard work of my bandmates (both current and former) who gave themselves over to the band and its goal of bringing great music and awesome stage show to people wherever and whenever we could. I loved to watch the transition of new members as they slowly learned what it meant to play ska music, and particularly play ska with this band. We’ve had metal heads, band geeks, jazz wankers, and totally unskilled musicians in the band, and we made it work. Each new version of 10MD built on the last and each iteration gave our music a new vibrancy and flavor that made me love show our music to everyone. 10 Minutes Down is the only band I’ve ever been in, I started it and now I’m ready to watch it pass on into memory. I can’t think of better way to spend a decade than making and playing music with and for my friends. Thank you for this awesome opportunity.

Ultimately a bigger part of the recognition must go to our amazingly devoted fans and friends. You have faithfully supported 10MD since our days of playing in the dorms at Gonzaga University; you’ve seen us through line-up changes, venue closures, and the ever changing tastes of the Spokane music scene. You have helped us to the top of the Spokane music scene and kept us there with your continued support and charity. I can’t thank you enough for making my time in 10MD the most memorable era of my life. I hope we’ll see you around as we seek out new projects and creative avenues in the future.

So I hope you’ll come down to the Big Easy on Saturday, September 9th to help us put this project to rest with a proper send-off. It’ll be a three ring circus of a show with songs from all five of our albums, the return of some 10MD alum (Kyle, Sean, Bill, Sage), and the stage-wrecking zaniness that you have come to know and love from Spokane’s favorite horn-toting hooligans.