T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) is a punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, art punk, horror punk and other varieties of punk music.
History
Formed in 1978 in Long Beach, T.S.O.L. originated as a punk band, developing from earlier bands SS Cult and Johnny Koathanger and the Abortions. The original lineup consisted of vocalist Jack Grisham (who has been credited as Jack Greggors, Alex Morgon, Jack Ladoga, Jack Delauge and Jack Loyd, among pseudonyms), guitarist Ron Emory, bassist Mike Roche and drummer Todd Barnes.
Later in 1978, Grisham and Barnes formed Vicious Circle, and T.S.O.L. took a brief hiatus (in 2013, TKO Records released an eponymous Vicious Circle EP, composed of circa-1979 rehearsal tapes).
T.S.O.L.'s debut five-song EP, T.S.O.L., was released in spring 1981 by Posh Boy Records, featuring the reconvened original lineup. This first release was harshly political, featuring tracks such as "Superficial Love," "World War III" and "Abolish Government."
Their first full-length album, Dance with Me, was released later in 1981 on Frontier Records, and showcased a more gothic/deathrock sound. They then signed to independent label Alternative Tentacles, releasing the Weathered Statues EP early in 1982, and the melodic Beneath the Shadows album later that year; the latter featured a new member, keyboardist Greg Kuehn.
Amid personal turmoil, Grisham, Barnes and Kuehn all left the band in 1983.
After his exit, Grisham formed Cathedral of Tears, who released a 1984 EP on Enigma Records, followed by Tender Fury, who issued three albums: Tender Fury (1988), Garden of Evil (1989) and If Anger Were Soul, Id Be James Brown (1991).
T.S.O.L., however, chose to reconfigure. Bad Religion bassist Jay Bentley briefly joined in 1983 before Roche returned. Joe Wood (formerly of Der Stab, and Grisham's then-brother-in-law) and Mitch Dean joined on vocals and drums, respectively. This new lineup released three albums on Enigma: Change Today? (1984), Revenge (1986) and Hit and Run (1987). All three albums featured a more polished production style, with Hit and Run reaching No. 184 on the Billboard 200 charts, and the band toured globally to support the releases. The band's first live album, Live, was issued by Enigma in 1988.
The band became friends with Guns N' Roses, and T.S.O.L. T-shirts were seen in the video for that band's "Sweet Child o' Mine", most notably on drummer Steven Adler.
Emory left the band in 1988, during the recording of demos for Strange Love, leaving Roche as the sole remaining original member. though Emory was given a writing credit on the track "Blow by Blow". T.S.O.L. were joined briefly by guitarist Scotty Phillips, who quit before the band started recording the follow-up to Hit and Run. They eventually hired former Dino's Revenge guitarist and actor Marshall Rohner. They released a blues-metal album, Strange Love, in 1990. Roche quit shortly before the album release, leaving the band with no original members. A compilation album titled Hell and Back Together 1984–1990 was issued in 1992 with an emphasis on their metal era. Murphy Karges (later of Sugar Ray) replaced Roche on bass; he was then replaced by touring bassist Josh Also.
This late-'80s lineup was popular enough to garner bookings in Brazil and Argentina, where the Grisham-led band held no legal rights to prevent Wood from gigging as T.S.O.L. In 1996, Wood and Dean were joined by guitarists Mike Martt and Drac Conley, and bassist Dave Mello (from Uniform Choice), with Dean subsequently replaced by Steve "Sully" O’Sullivan. Also in 1996, Wood formed ongoing blues band Joe Wood & the Lonely Ones (also including O'Sullivan). Wood later recorded as Orange Wedge in 1993 (with Dean Chamberlain of the Motels and Christopher Scott "Wag" Wagner of Mary's Danish) and Cisco Poison in 1995 (issuing the It's a Long Way to Heaven... album).
Meanwhile, the original members began playing shows under the name T.S.O.L, featuring the band's early material. They often played the same cities, on the same nights, as the other T.S.O.L. Since Wood and Dean now owned the rights to the name T.S.O.L., they threatened to sue the original members, who released the Live '91 (Triple X Records) live album of their early material, under the name "Grisham, Roche, Emory and Barnes" but stopped playing together soon after its release. They also did some gigs during this time as "LOST" (T.S.O.L. backwards).
Grisham and Emory formed the Joykiller in 1995, releasing three albums prior to disbanding in 1998.
In 1999, the original members fought with Wood for rights to the name and won. They joined the Vans Warped Tour, playing for the first time in years under the name T.S.O.L.
Barnes died of a brain aneurysm on December 6, 1999, at the age of 34. The remaining members recruited drummer Jay O'Brien (formerly of All Day, later of American Jihad) and released the "Anticop" single (2001) and the albums Disappear (2001) and Divided We Stand (2003), all on Nitro Records, the latter of which featured Kuehn back on keyboards as well as Billy Blaze replacing O'Brien. Anthony "Tiny" Biuso (formerly of Rude Awakening, Bad Xample, Full Metal Racket and the Dickies; also later of Hed (pe) and Doyle) joined the band on drums in December 2003 and remained until 2014, serving as the longest standing drummer in the band's three-decade history. He first recorded with the band on 2005's Who's Screwin' Who? (Anarchy Music), a revamping and rerecording of 18 of T.S.O.L.'s greatest hits (it was later reissued under the titles F#*k You Tough Guy: The Collection, by Cleopatra Records, and Code Blue, by Anarchy).
In November 2006, the band announced they were breaking up, with final performances having taken place earlier in the month. In September 2007, Cider City Records released the seemingly posthumous live album Live from Long Beach, recorded in November 2006 on the weekend of the band's two announced "farewell" performances. Their hiatus was short-lived, however, as they returned to perform local shows in late 2007. They also headlined the "Fuck the Whales, Save a Chckn" benefit in February 2008, held to help with cancer treatment bills for guitarist Craig "Chckn" Jewett of D.I.
In December 2008, the band entered the studio to record Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Free Downloads, which was made available as a free download through sponsor Hurley International's website on January 8, 2009. It was also released on vinyl by DC-Jam Records on November 1, 2009.
Grisham launched another project, Jack Grisham and the Manic Low, in 2011; a debut album, Songs for an Up Day, was released in June 2012. He also formed Jack Grisham's LOST Soul in 2012, a gigging ensemble featuring Kuehn and Biuso, with the intent of performing T.S.O.L. and the Joykiller material.
On April 20, 2013, T.S.O.L. released a 7" EP, You Don't Have to Die (TKO Records), for Record Store Day, composed of the title track (an unreleased 1980 demo) and two 1981 live tracks. That same year, the band toured Europe and South America; they also completed a US tour with Flag.
In 2014, Biuso left the band. He was replaced first by touring member Sean Antillon (a member of numerous bands including Corrupted Ideals, the Gears, Stains, the Skulls, the Weirdos and the Duane Peters Gunfight), then officially by Matt Rainwater (of the Joykiller)., and in 2016 by Chip Hanna.
On January 27th 2017 T.S.O.L. put out their new album The Trigger Complex on Rise Records
Film
In 1981, director Paul Young made Urban Struggle: The Battle of The Cuckoo's Nest, a film which featured live performances by T.S.O.L. as well as several Orange County punk and hardcore bands. Dave Markey's 1982 film The Slog Movie also featured live T.S.O.L. performances.Their music was also featured in the 1984 movie Suburbia, the popular 1985 horror movie The Return of the Living Dead and 1986 film Dangerously Close. They were also mentioned in the documentary Punk's Not Dead.
Television
T.S.O.L. songs "Just Like Me" and "Flowers by the Door" were featured in the 1985 CBS Schoolbreak Special Hear Me Cry, a program about teen suicide.Members
- Current members
- Jack Grisham - vocals (1978-1983, 1991, 1999–present)
- Ron Emory - guitar (1978-1988, 1991, 1999–present)
- Mike Roche - bass (1978-1990, 1991, 1999–present)
- Greg Kuehn - piano, synthesizers (1982-1983, 2005–present)
- Chip Hanna - drums (2016–present)
- Former members
- Todd Barnes - drums (1978-1983, 1991, 1999; died 1999)
- Joe Wood - vocals, guitar (1983-1999)
- Mitch Dean - drums (1983-1998)
- Marshall Rohner - guitar (1988-1996)
- Murphy Karges - bass (1990-1996)
- Mike Martt - guitar (1996-1999)
- Drac Conley - guitar (1996-1999)
- Dave Mello - bass (1996-1999)
- Steve "Sully" O’Sullivan - drums (1998-1999)
- Jay O'Brien - drums (1999-2003)
- Billy Blaze - drums (2003)
- Anthony "Tiny" Biuso - drums (2003-2014)
- Matt Rainwater - drums (2014-2016)
- Touring members
- Jay Bentley - bass (1983)
- Scotty Phillips - guitar (1988)
- Josh Also - bass (1996)
- Zill C. DeVill - bass (2002)
- Sean Antillon - drums (2014)
- Timeline
Discography
The discography of T.S.O.L., an American punk rock band, consists of eleven studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums, two EPs, two video albums, three singles, and five music videos.T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) formed in Huntington Beach, California in 1978 with an initial lineup of singer Jack Grisham, guitarist Ron Emory, bassist Mike Roche, and drummer Todd Barnes. Their eponymously titled debut EP was released in 1981 through Posh Boy Records and followed later that year by the full-length album Dance with Me through Frontier Records, combining hardcore punk and gothic rock styles. The Weathered Statues EP (1982) and Beneath the Shadows album (1983) followed via Alternative Tentacles, the latter adding keyboardist Greg Kuehn to the lineup. Grisham and Barnes left the band in late 1983 and were respectively replaced by Joe Wood and Mitch Dean, while Keuhn left and was not replaced.
The new lineup signed to Enigma Records and released Change Today? (1984), which found them moving away from punk rock in favor of a gothic rock sound. 1986's Revenge was another stylistic shift, this time towards hard rock. Hit and Run (1987) found them adopting a glam metal persona and sound and was their only album to chart, reaching no. 184 on the Billboard 200. It was followed by the compilation album Thoughts of Yesterday: 1981–1982 (1987) and live album Live (1988). Emory then left the band and was eventually replaced by Marshall Rohner; This lineup released 1990's Strange Love. Roche then quit, leaving the band with no remaining original members. The compilation Hell and Back Together: 1984–1990 was released in 1992.
Meanwhile, the original T.S.O.L. lineup of Grisham, Emory, Roche, and Barnes re-formed and released Live '91. In the wake of the 1990s punk rock revival, Epitaph Records re-released Dance with Me in 1996 and Nitro Records re-released the T.S.O.L. and Weathered Statues EPs as a single compilation. In 1999 the original members regained legal rights to the band's name from Joe Wood, though Barnes died of a brain aneurysm that December and was replaced by Jay O'Brien.T.S.O.L. signed to Nitro, who reissued Beneath the Shadows. A new studio album, Disappear, was released in 2001 and found the band returning to their hardcore punk roots. Live from O.C., a video album recorded in 1991, was released in 2002. O'Brien was replaced by Billy Blaze for 2003's Divided We Stand, which also featured the return of keyboardist Greg Kuehn. In 2005, with new drummer Anthony "Tiny" Buisu, the band released the video album Live in Hawaii and the retrospective album Who's Screwin' Who?, the latter consisting of songs from T.S.O.L., Dance with Me, Weathered Statues, Beneath the Shadows, Disappear, and Divided We Stand re-recorded by the 2005 lineup (originally released through Anarchy Music, it was later re-released by Cleopatra Records under the titles F#*k You Tough Guy: The Collection and Code Blue). T.S.O.L. went on hiatus in 2006, and Nitro reissued Dance with Me the following year.
The hiatus was short, as T.S.O.L. began performing again in 2007. 2008 brought The Early Years Live video and the live album Live from Long Beach, recorded at their last show before the hiatus and released through Cider City Records. The band's tenth studio album, Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Free Downloads, was released in 2009; It was given away as a free music download through a sponsorship from Hurley International. T.S.O.L.'s most recent studio album, The Trigger Complex, was released in January 2017 through Rise Records, with Buisu replaced by new drummer Chip Hanna
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US | ||
| Billboard 200 | ||
| 1981 | Dance with Me
|
— |
| 1983 | Beneath the Shadows
|
— |
| 1984 | Change Today?
|
— |
| 1986 | Revenge
|
— |
| 1987 | Hit and Run
|
184 |
| 1990 | Strange Love
|
— |
| 2001 | Disappear
|
— |
| 2003 | Divided We Stand[24]
|
— |
| 2005 | Who's Screwin' Who?
|
— |
| 2009 | Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Free Downloads
|
— |
| 2017 | The Trigger Complex
|
— |
Live albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1988 | Live
|
| 1991 | Live '91
|
| 2008 | Live from Long Beach
|
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1987 | Thoughts of Yesterday: 1981–1982
|
| 1992 | Hell and Back Together: 1984–1990
|
| 1997 | T.S.O.L. / Weathered Statues
|
Extended plays
| Year | EP details |
|---|---|
| 1981 | T.S.O.L.
|
| 1982 | Weathered Statues
|
Video albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Live from O.C.
|
| 2005 | Live in Hawaii
|
| 2008 | The Early Years Live
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Man and Machine" | Thoughts of Yesterday: 1981–1982 |
| 2001 | "Anticop" | Disappear |
| 2007 | "Code Blue" | Who's Screwin' Who? |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Director | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Colors (Take Me Away)" | Revenge | |
| 1986 | "Nothin' for You" | ||
| 1986 | "Revenge" | ||
| 2001 | "Pyro" | Disappear | |
| 2017 | "I Wanted to See You" | The Trigger Complex |
Other appearances
The following T.S.O.L. songs were released on compilation albums. This is not an exhaustive list; songs that were first released on the band's albums, EPs, or singles are not included.| Year | Release details | Track(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Posh Hits Vol. 1
|
|
| 1984 | Suburbia soundtrack
|
|
Flipside Vinyl Fanzine Volume 1
|
|
|
Blazing Wheels and Barking Trucks: Skate Rock Vol. 2
|
|
|
| 1998 | Deep Thoughts
|
|
| 2001 | Plea for Peace / Take Action
|
|
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