The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments were a garage rock band from Scarborough, Ontario, active in the Toronto underground from the mid-1980s into the early 1990s. Emerging during the height of the Nuggets/Pebbles-inspired garage revival, they became part of the same loose scene orbiting Toronto’s What Wave and Og Records circles, where 1960s punk, garage, and fuzzed-out revivalism were being rediscovered and reinterpreted by a new generation.

The band’s earliest known release was the three-song cassette Pagan Fest A Go Go, issued on their own Sensible Records as TEN-004. That early lineup featured James Lord on vocals, tambourine, and harmonica, Byron Pickles on guitar, Bob Ridley on drums, and Vincent James on bass. By the time of their 1987 debut LP Weird Out (Sensible TEN-005), the bass chair had passed to Jim Irwin, establishing the classic first album lineup of Lord, Pickles, Irwin, and Ridley. Recorded at Wellesley Sound in the summer of 1987 and produced by Dina Brands with the band, Weird Out captured the group at their most direct and primitive, mixing originals with covers that reflected their deep grounding in 1960s garage and 1970s punk.

Before and around the release of Weird Out, the Ten Commandments were active on the Toronto scene, co-hosting their own “Pagan Strudel-Fest Pit” nights and contributing tracks to key Canadian underground compilations. Their songs appeared on Wave From the Grave, It Came from Canada volumes, Disgraceland, and later What Wave and Og compilations, confirming their place within the small but influential network of Canadian garage revival bands that flourished during the second half of the 1980s.

A transitional phase began with the Wherever I Go single (Sensible TEN-006), which marked the start of the band’s long association with producer Jamie Stanley and Umbrella Sound. That partnership continued on the 1989 LP Home Fires Burning (Sensible TEN-007), a more polished and melodic follow-up that retained the band’s garage roots while moving further into late-1980s indie rock territory. The album featured James Lord on vocals, Jimmy Irwin on bass, Byron Pickles on guitar, guest keyboards by Bill Mazur on ‘Chances,’ and additional backing vocals by Roxanne Heichert, Michele Gould, Suzanne Little, Janice Fox, and Wendy Fox.

By 1991, the rhythm section had changed again. The single Revolution Man b/w Dark Angel (Sensible TEN-008) introduced a later lineup of James Lord, Byron Pickles, Derek Raby on bass, and Vash Mochoruk on drums. That same configuration resurfaced on Miracle Mile (Sensible TEN-009), a 1993 promo-only LP that was never commercially released. Rather than a conventional third studio album, Miracle Mile combined newer material with revived songs from earlier in the band’s catalogue, functioning as a final snapshot of the group’s last phase before they disappeared from view.

Though never widely known outside garage collector and Toronto underground circles, the Ten Commandments left behind a concise but distinctive body of work: an early cassette, two officially released LPs, several singles, compilation appearances, and a final unreleased promotional album. Their catalogue traces a clear path from raw mid-1980s garage revivalism into a broader, more melodic early-1990s alternative rock sound, while remaining anchored by the long-running partnership of vocalist James Lord and guitarist Byron Pickles.

-Robert Williston

Early lineup
(Pagan Fest A Go Go / Sensible TEN-004)
James Lord: vocals, tambourine, harmonica
Byron Pickles: guitar
Vincent James: bass
Bob Ridley: drums

First LP lineup
(Weird Out / Sensible TEN-005)
James Lord: vocals, tambourine
Byron Pickles: guitar, backing vocals
Jim Irvin: bass
Bob Ridley: drums

Home Fires Burning lineup
(Home Fires Burning / Sensible TEN-007)
James Lord: vocals
Byron Pickles: guitar
Jimmy Irwin: bass
Bill Mazur: keyboards on ‘Chances’
Roxanne Heichert: backing vocals on ‘Isn’t It Time’
Michele Gould: backing vocals on ‘Favorite Day’
Suzanne Little: backing vocals on ‘Favorite Day’
Janice Fox: backing vocals on ‘When You’re Around’
Wendy Fox: backing vocals on ‘When You’re Around’

Later lineup
(Revolution Man / Dark Angel / Sensible TEN-008)
James Lord: vocals
Byron Pickles: guitar
Derek Raby: bass
Vash Mochoruk: drums

Final lineup
(Miracle Mile / Sensible TEN-009)
James Lord: vocals
Byron Pickles: guitar
Derek Raby: bass
Vash Mochoruk: drums