Artist description TSOL is often given the nod for being one of the best punk bands of the 80?s. That?s fine and well, but now they?re back and vying to be the best ever.In the early 80?s, TSOL literally overwhelmed the So Cal punk scene, almost instantly becoming the most revered band with kids and the most feared by promoters. Riots and TSOL shows were like peanut butter and jelly. They headlined the Hollywood Palladium, they toured the country, and punk chicks swooned en masse. They created Goth punk. It was the OC invasion, and they were the Beatles of our little world. Then, at the height of it all, Jack and original drummer Todd Barnes walked away. TSOL resumed with a new singer and drummer, but unfortunately regressed into a more standard rock format, disintegrating all together several years later. Well, here we are in 2001: Jack is back, and so is the original TSOL, as exciting and vibrant as the day the band hit that fork in the road back in 1983. ?Disappear?, the third full length by Jack?s TSOL, is the perfect follow up to ?83s ?Beneath the Shadows?. With a tinge of the gloomy operatic overtones from that era and large doses of dominating power ala their earlier efforts (the self-titled ?black? EP and the classic ?Dance With Me?), ?Disappear? picks up where they left off; not in the early ?80s, but as dominating ?punk by example?, follow no rules, do what we want leaders of the movement.Witness a live show by TSOL and you will know what the real thing is. In a day where punk rock has become commercialized, sterilized and in most instances, a mockery of what it was intended to be, TSOL, ironically, is a fresh breath of air: a dose of reality. They walk the walk, they mock the establishment, and make sure kids are part of the ride. This is no Geritol rock. This is the real McCoy. A glaring reminder of what that curious void so apparent in the most recent wave of punk rock is: style, rebellion and power. TSOL cannot grasp the term ?generic?. Their sound has been imitated by hundreds, if not thousands, of bands since their demise, yet never matched. On ?Disappear?, we are reeducated that Ron Emory is clearly one of the most innovative, talented and driving guitar players the punk world has ever known. Mike?s bass lines loop in and around the songs, giving them a gothic groove that hasn?t been felt since ?Beneath?? Jack Grisham is still naughty, still snotty, still angry and remains one of the most compelling frontmen in music. From the opening chords of the sarcastic ?Sodomy? to the final strums of the chilling title song, TSOL has returned to recapture their punk rock crown. Grisham?s spite for the world outside hasn?t quelled as he confronts the police in Anticop: ?Can We Live/Can You Kill/Caging Man/Chasing Thrill/Are You Good/Are We Bad?? Later, he questions a woman?s right to schmooze in Socialite: ?Suffer the Last Stand/Light Another Cigarette/Laughing Beneath Me/You Know You Just Got What You Get."?Disappear?, recorded by the legendary Thom Wilson (TSOL, Offspring, Face to Face), is the catalyst that will return TSOL to their rightful place on top of the punk rock world.

Music Style The Leaders of punk rock.

Artist History A complete TSOL history? It would take a month to read. Simply interviewing all of the arresting officers involved would take a year. However, like most true stories dealing with complete insanity, it would be impossible to put down. In the early 80?s, when punk rock wasn?t just another thing you could buy at the mall, it was way more than just music. For the small amount of bands that mattered, their music was just a result of the way they lived their lives and the fact that they had no choice. It had nothing to do with wanting a hobby, or a music career, or wanting to do something ?productive?. It definitely had nothing to do with being a rock star. If you were a real punk it was because of how you lived and how you looked at everything differently than you were supposed too. The history behind TSOL is as appalling as it is absolutely amazing. It represents one of the only bands who are rightfully considered to be legends of the original punk scene who are still writing their story today.A BRIEF HISTORY OF TSOLFORMATION-The original lineup of TSOL recorded their first demo in 1980. Recording it themselves, it cost $100.-This lineup consisted of Jack Grisham, Ron Emory, Mike Roche and Todd Barnes.-Jack and Todd had previously played in another local band together called Vicious Circle, so when TSOL began playing shows around the Southern California area, the Vicious Circle crowd gave TSOL an audience from the start.-They began by playing backyard parties around the Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa areas. This included a party at the house of a member of the Black Panther Party. The politics of the band attracted many such people. TSOL was preaching Libertarian Socialism and therefore garnered attention from groups such as The Communist People?s Party and The Revolutionary Worker?s Paper.-From there, they began doing shows at now-legendary California clubs such as The Cuckoos Nest in Costa Mesa, the Starwood in West Hollywood and The Vex in East Los Angeles.-TSOL?s first two records were both recorded and released in 1981. Their first EP was recorded in one day for $500 and was released on Posh Boy Records. Their second release ?Dance With Me? was recorded in 2 days for $1200 and was released on Frontier Records.-Following these releases the band began touring. Along with bands like Black Flag, DOA and The Dead Kennedys, TSOL were among the first independent punk bands to begin actual tours of The United States. -These were full-blown punk rock tours with 8 guys in a small van sharing $5 a day for food. Jack Grisham, who is 6 foot 3, was coming home from these tours weighing under 160 pounds.-Most of the shows were good, especially in places such as Arizona, Salt Lake City, etc.-TSOL got quite a hard time from a lot of other bands for ?not fitting in.? They intentionally went against whatever was being accepted in the punk community as being cool. When it was cool to have short hair they grew theirs long. When it was cool to have denim and studs on, Jack wore a dress. -They continued to play wherever they could, preaching an anti-rock star ideal. They believed that ?your fans are your friends and anybody is welcome?.THE RISE, THE INFLUENCE-TSOL immediately started to make their impact on the punk scene but it went unnoticed to them. They were simply doing what they felt like they SHOULD be doing. The band was operating without a plan of any kind. They thought people just put bands together and sold records. They were selling out larger shows and getting paid $100 for it, so they were clueless to their own ?status?.-They followed up their first two recordings with ?Weathered Statues? and Beneath The Shadows?. They were experimenting with every record. While many bands in the punk scene at this time began to repeat themselves and sound generic, TSOL followed no formula and conformed to nothing. -This ?staleness? that was going on in the scene had a rapid affect on the band. As evident in the song ?Forever Old? from Beneath The Shadows, Jack Grisham quickly became bored with the club scene and the homogenization of the audience. THE DEMISE-As the punk scene became more and more predictable and safe, Jack was also growing tired of the constant violence surrounding punk. As everything was losing its spontaneity, Jack was losing interest.-The audience was becoming generic and predictable. They all wore the same clothes, owned the same records, had the same haircuts. Punk was becoming a parody of itself.-When Jack would change his name on records he was trying to make the point that name?s did not matter. It had nothing to do with who you were. So he wanted to change the band?s name and start over. This idea wasn?t popular with the other band members and Jack Grisham quit in 1983. Todd Barnes and keyboardist Greg Keene left as well. This officially ended the ?original era? of TSOL. THE ?ROCK VERSION?-As his own form of protest against what punk rock had become, Jack Grisham formed Cathedral Of Tears, which Todd Barnes briefly did with him before losing interest and leaving.-At this time also came the formation of what has come to be known, in most circles at least, as the ?metal version? of TSOL. -Although it had the same name and featured original members Ron Emory and Mike Roche, this was a completely different band. With new singer Joe Wood and Drummer Mitch Dean, this was the version of TSOL you could see on MTV?s Headbanger?s Ball. Some people surely remember seeing Guns N Roses drummer wearing a TSOL T shirt in their ?Welcome To The Jungle? video.-Jack Grisham was not as upset by the band carrying on as he was about the fact that, to him, they now blatantly represented everything TSOL were supposed to be against. -Matters were confused even more when new singer Joe Wood married Jack Grisham?s sister, moving in with her and Jack?s Mother.-After two records with the ?Rock TSOL?, Guitarist Ron Emory left the band, leaving only Mike Roche as an original Member. One year later, Mike left, but the band continued with no original members.REUNION TOUR-In 1989, Jack decided it was time for the original TSOL to reform and start playing again. -Joe Wood and Mitch Dean immediately sued the original lineup of the band for using the TSOL name, claiming they now owned it. -Avoiding the legal battle, they instead played as LOST (TSOL backwards obviously). -Under the name LOST, the band recorded a live album on Triple XXX Records and did only a few shows. Some of these shows had over 3000 people in attendance.-LOST was short-lived. The ?metal version? of TSOL had negative affects on the reputation of the TSOL name. Many people didn?t realize that these were basically two different bands. So Jack Grisham was suddenly met with a ?metal backlash? caused by a band he had nothing to do with.DRUG ABUSEThe bottom line with the original members of TSOL was they were self-destructive. When Jack, Ron, Mike and Todd got together it was like dropping a match in a gas can.-With their lifestyles being as they were, it was completely inevitable that they be often facing lawsuits, arrests, and of course drug use.-Addiction to hard drugs haunted all 4 of them. Jack was the first of the band to come to the conclusion that he had no choice but to change his lifestyle or die like many of his friends around him were. He got clean in 1989 and has been ever since.-It would take almost another decade for Ron and Mike to do the same. Having spent the following few years in prison, Mike Roche got clean in 1998 and Ron Emory soon followed in 1999. Sadly, at the end of that year, drug abuse claimed the life of original drummer Todd Barnes.THE PRESENT-It was around this time that the remaining members of the original TSOL decided it was time they finally reform the band and pick up where they had left off in 1983. Jack had spent the last few years touring and releasing two records with his band the Joykiller (the first record featuring Ron Emory on guitar as well) Ron and Mike were clean and healthy.-With new drummer Jay O?Brien (Todd?s protégé, Todd used to ?baby-sit?, i.e. take him to parties and taught him to play drums when he was 13), the ?Original TSOL? returned in 1999. The shows were met with immediate excitement and the response was incredible. Now that they were healthy enough to get back to what made TSOL what they were 20 years ago, the shows were absolutely amazing. -Far from a token reunion, it was obvious to everyone at these shows that the incredible spirit and attitude of the original TSOL had returned.-The band topped off this series of shows with two weeks on the 2000 Vans Warped Tour, avoiding a huge amount of potential arrests for their usual antics and upstaging most of the bands on the bill who?s members were born after real punk had already died.THE RECORD-After over a year?s worth of incredible shows, then came the time to start making records again. As soon as TSOL began talking about the possibility of a new record, Offspring singer and huge TSOL fan Dexter Holland immediately offered to release it on his label Nitro Records. Since Nitro had already re-released Weathered Statues and the first EP in 1997, the offer made sense and the band accepted.-They took their new songs and quickly went into the studio with the man who produced most of TSOL?s classic records, Thom Wilson.- Once they completed the recording of their new album, titled ?Disappear?, out came the lawsuits again. Joe Wood and Mitch Dean once again threatened to sue the band for using the TSOL name. -After another tedious legal rumble, Jack, Ron and Mike maintained usage of the name and were finally given a release date for their first record in over a decade- Nitro Records will release ?Disappear? on June 26th.

Group Members Jack Grisham ? VocalsRon Emory ? Guitar, VocalsMike Roche ? Bass Francis Gerals Banes - Deceased.

Albums Disappear, 2001; Divided We Stand, 2003

Location Long Beach/Huntington Beach, CA - USA

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