The Name
Our culture seems to be obsessed with the number 10 - The Top 10, a Perfect 10, 10 Ways to Personal Fulfillment, etc. Exit 10 is a metaphor for nirvana or heaven , as in what happens to a cat who uses up its 9 lives. Exit 10.

The Concept
The concept and point of departure for Exit 10 was to take American standards like stuff the Rat Pack would perform and interpret them using more avant-garde approaches. Stuff such as the electric music of Miles Davis in the late 60's and 70's- "Bitch's Brew", "Big Fun" and "Live at the Fillmore". That music’s rhythms and energy seem as fresh today as they were controversial in their time.
Exit 10’s founder is Ted Onulak. Ted is also the band’s writer, vocalist and is a renowned saxophonist in his own right - “Hugely influential to me was the "Electric Mud" album by Muddy Waters, which teamed Waters with some of Chicago 's psychedelic musicians, key to which was Bob Cosey on electric guitar, who wound up playing with Miles Davis on the "Agartha" and "Pangea" albums. More connections- this album used some psychedelic fuzz bass and Soprano sax in lieu of the traditional blues harmonica. This showed me that you could take Muddy's traditional blues, really mess it up and keep the original fire at its core. Third was rediscovering Memphis Soul. On a recent trip to Memphis, I bought the Stax Box set and began to really pay attention, studying Isaac Hayes' string arrangements, use of fuzz lead guitar over wah-wah rhythm guitar. I discovered William Bell, the very under-rated soul crooner and later Albert King’s blues/soul recordings and a whole lot more. It was a great inspiration to check out the place where so much funky music was born. Finally, thanks to my wife and many travels to Brazil , I have been keenly interested in Brazilian music from bossa nova, samba and Brazilian pop and funk to its rich avant-garde tradition represented by Hermeto Pascal and Victor Asis Brasil. Over the last 8 years, I have been amassing a significant collection of Brazilian music and instruments which I use occasionally on live performances and in the studio.”
At the age of 19 Ted was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a debilitating eye disease, and he completely lost his sight in 2005. He is an internationally known poet, short fiction writer and essayist. He is also a food and wine critic and a member of the International French Wine Society. Ted was featured on a Voice of America video news show entitled “Finding Musical Triumph through Adversity”, which chronicled his family’s Ukrainian roots and the many twists and turns his life took after the onset of blindness.





Ted Onulak/ vocals, saxophones, flute

As leader and founder of the band, Ted Onulak brings his many musical influences to the table. Hearing his sax work it's easy to hear the influence of King Curtis, Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster. Ted confirms, "I like and have always strived to have a big, classic sound. Some of my favorite stuff is from the mid-West Kansas City players like Lester Young, Jimmy Forrest and Buddy Tate, who I met in NYC and became a great mentor to me. Even Charlie Parker at his core is a Kansas City blues player. Listen to "Parker's Mood" if you have any doubts."

Marcus Esposito/ keyboards, guitars and general sonic wizardry

As fate would have it Marcus and Ted met through a mutual friend only a
week or so after Ted moved to the D.C. area. According to Ted, "We met
at Carlos' studio where Tree Frog from the band Shock Opera was looking
for extra musicians to add textures to his opus "Autumn at the Beach".
As I was listening to playback this wild sounding alto (sax) quoting
"Ride of the Valkyries" blared out of the speakers. I said, "what the
hell was that!?" Marcus answered that it was him, and he's never let me
live that down. When I heard him play keys that was another story; I
was totally blown away. Whenever there was a need for keys in one of my
bands, Marcus was the first one I called."


Arch Alcantara/ guitars


This Pittsburgh native began playing guitar in 1981 while still in high school, acknowledging such influences as Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young and Joe Satriani.
Arch cut his chops in the 90's performing with several local Chicago bands, doing session work, and even some jingles. His vast and varied experience comes out in his eclectic playing style, weaving among rock, blues, jazz, R&B, and country with ease and often juxtaposing unexpected lines with tried-and-true forms.

Scott McKnight/ bass, banjo


Lifelong Northern Virginia resident began playing music picking out tunes on the family piano and, later, playing the family trombone in the junior high school band. Not long after, he began playing guitar and bass and has continued to do so in various contexts over the past 30-plus years.
In the spring of 2004 Scott got an email from long-time acquaintance (though they still didn't realized they'd graduated from the same high school) Marcus Esposito, announcing the disbanding of Signs Point to Yes. In the email Marcus said he was going to return to his "jazz/funk/R&B roots" and would be playing with a sax player who was "DC's answer to King Curtis." Scott (who is a long-time Memphis R&B fan) emailed back, allowing as how that sounded like a fun thing to be doing. Marcus emailed back, mentioning that the band needed a bass player. Scott emailed back to say "hmmmm". And the rest is history.

Jimi Jones/ drums, backing vocals


Jimi Jones is a native of Akron, Ohio where he studied piano, percussion and trumpet at the University of Akron Conservatory of Music while still in high School. His early influences include Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Art Blakey and Tony Williams. Being from Ohio he was also influenced by such funk pioneers as the Ohio Players and James Brown, who recorded on the "King" label out of Cincinnati. Ted notes, "Jimi was my first choice on drums because he can lay down the funk and play any jazz tune with amazing sensitivity. He has big musical ears and comes to play."
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