Ten Speed Taxi is an all-original rock band with a touch of funk, a dose of country, and lots of grit. Our lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, sad, happy, political, and personal. Our sound is urban and rural, and north and south; it's American but of course it's for everyone.

Ten Speed Taxi first formed under the name of Sundog in 2007, when drummer Phil Neisser and guitarist/songwriter Dan Caldwell connected with Doug Schatz, a singer songwriter from Nashville.  In 2008 bassist Dave Nelson joined the band, the name changed, and the band crafted an original sound that has, as one reviewer put it, “country influence…, a hunk of funk, some straight-ahead rock, and other friendly indefinable bits—plus you can dance to it.”  Another reviewer described the tunes as “barroom songs for thoughtful people.”  And the Ten Speed Taxi sound has been compared to Wilco, the Counting Crows, John Prine, and the Velvet Underground.

Doug Schatz, whose band credits include a national tour with the southern alt-rock band Gladys, teaches sculpture at SUNY Potsdam and is the creative mentor each year for the College's “Celebration of Light” outdoor lighted sculpture exhibit. Schatz grew up in Nashville and recently bought a house in Potsdam.

Dan Caldwell's music history includes stints with The Shpiel and Decent Exposure.  He's also a science teacher at the Gouverneur Middle School and advises the Guitar Club there. His understanding of young people's challenges and hopes comes through in the lyrics of songs such as “Mean Girls.” His humor is evident in “The Beach is That Way” and, in a song much appreciated by his fellow teachers, “The End.” Caldwell lives in Morley, NY with his wife Kate and their two small boys.     

Phil Neisser teaches political theory at SUNY Potsdam and is author of the book “United We Fall.” He has been playing drums for 35 years in many bands, including The Spectators, The Hubtones, The Shpiel, and the Phil Neisser Trio (a jazz trio of long standing in northern New York).  Neisser grew up in Manhattan, but learned to love the woods while he worked towards his undergraduate degree at SUNY Potsdam. He lives in West Pierrepont, NY.

Dave Nelson came to the "North Country" when he and his wife Rebecca Pickens bought a farm in Hermon. Dave, formerly of the Hazel Pearl Band, works for the county in his “spare time.” He and Rebecca have two small boys and own and run “Mind’s Eye Farm and Herbary,” selling organic teas and a variety of other herbal products.

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