T.S.O.L.

Biography

T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Huntington 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, other varieties of punk music, and hard rock.

1978–1983: Original lineup

Formed in 1978 in Huntington Beach, CA, T.S.O.L. originated as a punk band. The original lineup consisted of vocalist Jack Grisham (who has been credited as Jack Greggors, Fatty G, Alex Morgon, Jack Ladoga, Jack Delauge and Jack Loyd, among pseudonyms), guitarist Ron Emory, bassist Mike Roche and drummer Todd Barnes. According to legend, the band acquired their instruments by casing a local music shop, waiting until closing, and then performing a smash-and-grab robbery.
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×Abolish Government6 August 1996 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksAAbolish Government / Superficial Love1:47B1Abolish Government / Silent Majority2:00B2Superficial Love1:20".
Their first full-length album, Dance with Me×Dance With MeJune 1981 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Sounds of LaughterA2Code BlueA3The TriangleA480 TimesA5I'm Tired of LifeA6Love StoryB1Silent ScreamB2Funeral MarchB3Die for MeB4Peace Through PowerB5Dance With Me, was released later in 1981 on Frontier Records, and showcased a more gothic sound. Author Steven Blush attributed the shift from punk to goth as being influenced by The Damned, who had released The Black Album the previous year. T.S.O.L continued in this direction after signing to Alternative Tentacles, releasing the Weathered Statues EP early in 1982, and the melodic Beneath the Shadows×Beneath the Shadows1982 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Soft Focus3:312Forever Old2:503She'll Be Saying2:444Beneath the Shadows3:495Send My Thoughts2:456Glass Streets4:377Other Side2:518Walk Alone3:479Wash Away3:4010Waiting for You2:46 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. Bad Religion bassist Jay Bentley briefly joined the lineup.

1984–1988: Joe Wood era

After his exit, Grisham formed Cathedral of Tears, who released a 1984 EP on Enigma Records. Following the release of the Cathedral of Tears EP, T.S.O.L.'s replacement drummer, Mitch Dean, referred to Cathedral of Tears as a "synthesizer band" whose music he did not particularly like, adding, "not to make fun of it or anything," but that "[Grisham's] doing what he wants."
T.S.O.L. chose to reconfigure. Joe Wood and Mitch Dean joined on vocals and drums, after Ron Emory, who was at the time playing in Wood's band The Loners, asked him to start a new band with himself and Roche. This new lineup released four albums on Enigma: Change Today?×Change Today?1984 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Black Magic2:34A2Just Like Me2:42A3In Time2:12A4Red Shadows4:00A5Flowers by the Door2:51B1American Zone2:46B2It's Gray4:17B3John2:33B4Nice Guys1:45B5How Do4:10 (1984), Revenge (1986) Hit and Run (1987) and Strange Love (1990). All four albums featured a more polished production style, with Hit and Run×Hit and Run1987 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1It's Too Late3:262Road of Gold3:173The Name Is Love3:104Dreamer3:515Good Mornin' Blues4:176Hit and Run3:337Not Alone Anymore4:068Sixteen3:599Stay With Me3:2710Where Did I Go Wrong4:5211You Can Try3:21 reaching No. 184 on the Billboard 200 charts, and the band touring 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.

1989-1999: Schism

In 1989, T.S.O.L. recorded a new album titled, Strange Love×Strange Love3 April 1990 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Hell on Earth4:492Strange Love3:253In the Wind4:444Angel4:475White Lightning4:086One Shot Away4:577Blow by Blow3:328Candy5:179Let Me Go5:0010Stop Me at the Edge4:4111Good Goodbye3:50, which would be released 1990. Roche left the band in October 1989, after internal problems caused their tour to be canceled after only a few dates, leaving the band with no original members. Meanwhile, Wood had allowed the original members of T.S.O.L. to reunite for what was planned to be a one off show at the Celebrity Theatre in Anaheim.
Because Wood and Dean were the legal owners of the name T.S.O.L, the original members were forced to use a different moniker when they decided to do additional shows after their reunion.
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. In 1999, the original members fought with Wood for rights to the name and won.
Barnes died of a brain aneurysm on December 6, 1999, at the age of 34.

2000–2008: Nitro era

After Barnes, death the remaining members recruited drummer Jay O'Brien (formerly of All Day, later of American Jihad). This lineup played the 2000 Vans Warped Tour, and released the "Anticop" single (2001) and the albums Disappear×Disappear2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Motivate0:522Sodomy1:443Crybaby1:544Anticop1:505Terrible People2:026Pyro2:247In My Head2:298Renounce2:369Socialite2:2010Wasted1:5111Automatic2:4612Paranoid3:4113Disappear3:06 (2001) and Divided We Stand×Divided We Stand23 September 2003 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Sedatives2:262Serious2:113Fuck You Tough Guy2:554See You Tomorrow3:155American2:566Loaded3:387Sex Not Violence2:448Again2:179Electric2:3410Undressed3:0111Being in Love2:2812Happy2:1613Shine3:03 (2003), all on Nitro Records, the latter of which featured Kuehn back on keyboards as well as Billy Blaze replacing O'Brien.
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).
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×Live From Long Beach2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 25 tracks1See You Tomorrow2Superficial Love3Terrible People4Die for Me5World War III6Sounds of Laughter7The Triangle8Fuck You Tough Guy9Socialite10Dance With Me11Man and Machine12I'm Tired of Life13Love Story14Politics15Beneath the Shadows16In My Head17Abolish Government/Silent Majority18Sodomy19Word Is20Wash Away21Sex Not Violence22Weathered Statues23Funeral March24Serious25Code Blue, recorded in November 2006 on the weekend of the band's two announced "farewell" performances.
The hiatus was short-lived, as they returned to perform local shows in late 2007, the same year Nitro reissued Dance with Me. In 2008, The Early Years Live, a video release, and the live album Live from Long Beach, recorded at their next to last show before the hiatus, were released.

2008–present: Later releases

In February 2008, T.S.O.L headlined the "Fuck the Whales, Save a Chckn" benefit, 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 in November 2009.
Grisham 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-inch 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.
On January 27, 2017, the band released The Trigger Complex album on Rise Records. In August 2017, Antonio Val Hernandez joined the band as drummer, replacing Hanna.
In 2024 a new studio album, A-Side Graffiti×A-Side Graffiti27 February 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Low-Low-Low2:222Rhythm of Cruelty3:083Sweet Transvestite3:184Ghost Train3:465Never Go Home3:346Nothing's Ever Right3:1271 Thing3:408Good to Be Home3:419The Way You Groove3:5010Swimming2:5311What a Wonderful World3:0512Can You Hear Me4:57 was released on February 27.

Film and television appearances

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, as did Penelope Spheeris' 1984 Suburbia with their performances of "Wash Away" & "Darker My Love". They also appeared in the 1989 movie The Runnin' Kind. Their music was also featured in the popular 1985 horror movie The Return of the Living Dead and 1986 film Dangerously Close. They were also mentioned in the 2007 documentary Punk's Not Dead.

Legacy and influence

The Offspring’s guitarist, Noodles, has stated, “Without T.S.O.L. there would be no Offspring.” They have covered "Superficial Love" and "Abolish Government/Silent Majority" live with Ron Emory, A studio cover of "80 Times" appeared on their Happy Hour! compilation, Other prominent groups have covered T.S.O.L. songs: Slayer recorded a medley of "Abolish Government×Abolish Government6 August 1996 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksAAbolish Government / Superficial Love1:47B1Abolish Government / Silent Majority2:00B2Superficial Love1:20" and "Superficial Love" for their 1996 album Undisputed Attitude, while "Code Blue×Code Blue2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksACode BlueBWash Away" has been covered by the The Bouncing Souls in 1995 on Punk Rock Jukebox and again that year by Black Velvet Flag on Come Recline., and parodied by Manic Hispanic on 2003's Mijo Goes to Jr. College under the title "Code Brown". Alkaline Trio covered "Wash Away" in 2004 on the soundtrack for the video game Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, and most recently Neil Hamburger recorded a version of "Sounds" of Laughter" on his 2018 album Still Dwelling.
Pennywise included the song "Property is Theft" on an Apple Music playlist titled "Songs that Influenced Us", and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong credits T.S.O.L. as one of the first bands that exposed him to punk rock.

Current

Mike Roche – bass (1978–1990, 1991, 1999–present)
Ron Emory – guitar, vocals (1978–1988, 1991, 1999–present)
Jack Grisham – vocals, piano (1978–1983, 1991, 1999–present)
Greg Kuehn – piano, synthesizers (1982–1983, 2005–present)
Antonio Val Hernandez – drums (2017–present)

Former

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; died 2005)
Mike Martt – guitar (1996–1999; died 2023)
Drac Conley – guitar (1996–1998)
Dave Mello – bass (1990–1999)
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)
Chip Hanna – drums (2016–2017)