Outline In Color was formed in August 2009 by harsh vocalist Trevor Tatro, clean vocalist Jonathan Grimes, guitarists CJ Cochran and Forrest Mankins, keyboard player Michael Skaggs and drummer Austin McFerrin. On September 28, 2010, they self-released their first EP, produced by Joey Sturgis, with bass parts contributed by Tatro. The six-track self-titled comes with a cover version of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, but is also sold as a five-track digital version on iTunes, with the Lady Gaga cover being sold separately.
By February 2011, Jonathan Grimes had announced his departure from the band because he didn't want to be in a touring band at the time. His replacement was K.C. Simonsen, who dropped out of the Berklee College of Music to join the band. In July, the band began recording their first full-length release. Initially, they planned to record it with Tom Denney, but due to schedule issues, they instead worked with Andrew Wade. Around November 2011, Skaggs took on the position of bass player.
In mid-2012, the band released two re-recorded tracks from their EP. "Every Boy Should Collect Knives" was completely re-mixed and "No Bleeding On the Carpet" was given an acoustic rendition. The same year, the band announced their first new single from their upcoming debut album Jury of Wolves. The song, called "I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost", featured Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire. Two weeks later, the band released the album's title track as a second single. On September 25, Jury of Wolves was released through BRKN Records. The physical US version of the album includes eleven songs, the iTunes version comes with three bonus tracks; an acoustic version of "The Good In Me", a new song called "Tapdance At Knuckle Junction" and a cover of *NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me". The Japanese version has a different cover art and includes 15 songs; all 14 of the iTunes version and the re-recorded version of "Every Boy Should Collect Knives".
In mid-2013, the band signed to StandBy Records and released their first stand-alone single with the label in October, "I Am My Own Invention".
In 2014, the band announced their second album to be released in June of that year, with Cameron Mizell being the producer. Masks was released on June 23, 2014. This was the first time Jonathan Grimes had sung with the band since 2011; he is featured on the track "Water In the Desert". The physical edition of the album has twelve songs, although the last song, entitled "55", isn't listed on the release. The iTunes version of the album's first song is called "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", but the physical copy titles it "Live to Tell". The Japanese version of the album has different cover art and includes two bonus tracks; acoustic versions of "I've Had This Dream Before" and "The Souvenir Scheme".
In February 2015, the band released a Japanese only stand-alone single called Fever Frenzy, accompanied by a music video.
In July 2015, the band announced that their third album, Struggle, was to be released sometime in early 2016. The first single was released in February 2016, entitled "Eat Your Heart Out", and the second single, entitled "Alive", was released only days later. Struggle, again produced by Cameron Mizell, was released on March 11, 2016. After the release of Struggle, the band ended their contract with StandBy Records. In December 2016, the band released a statement on Facebook, saying that they had fired their clean vocalist K.C. Simonsen due to his alcohol abuse.
In early 2017, the band announced a side project with most of its members called "Shamecult". Their first EP was released through Stay Sick Recordings in November 2017. In September 2017, the band announced they had reunited with previous clean vocalist Jonathan Grimes and released three new singles; "Three Knee Deep", "Year 8" and an acoustic version of "The Chase Scene".
In January 2018, the band released their cover of Ke$ha's "Learn to Let Go" as part of We Are Triumphant's new cover album, Got You Covered, Vol. 2. Outline In Color toured Japan in June 2018 with rapper Kyle Lucas. On September 3, 2018, they released a cover of My Chemical Romance's song "Thank You For the Venom" as a part of We Are Triumphants cover album Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge.
On January 11, 2019, the band announced that their new album, entitled Outline In Color, would be released on February 8 and that the first 250 copies pre-ordered would come with autographs from the band. The first song released along with the announcement was "Broken Record". On January 25, the band released the second single of the album, entitled Not Enough. The album itself was released in physical and digital version on February 8, 2019. It was the last album to feature drummer Nick Taylor, who left the band in July that year. His replacement for the live shows was original drummer Austin McFerrin, who then rejoined the band in September 2019. On November 6, unclean vocalist Trevor Tatro announced his departure from the band due to personal problems. His position was filled in by bassist Michael Skaggs. In turn, clean vocalist Jonathan Grimes took on Skaggs' role as bassist.
Their first song as a quartet, titled "Ghost of You", was released on February 28, 2020, along with an announcement that they had founded their own label, BRKN Records, and subsequently signed to it. At the same time, the band also completed their next release, a five-track EP titled "Imposter Syndrome". Its first single, titled "Breaking the Silence", was released along with a music video on May 15, 2020. Also published on that day were the EP's title, cover, track list and release date of July 10, as well as the title and release date of the EP's second single, "Alibi", which was released on June 6.
Outline In Color released their fifth studio album Coast Is Clear on October 14, 2022, through Thriller Records. Their first release for the label. It was Preceded by The Singles "Ghost Of You", "Stay Away (with AVOID)", "Bitter", "Do Your Worst (with Loveless)" & "Quicksand (feat. Michael Swank of Foxera)" buy/listen: https://orcd.co/coastisclear
Members
Current:
Jonathan Grimes - clean vocals (2009–2011, 2017–present), bass (2019–present)
CJ Cochran - guitar (2009–present)
Michael Skaggs - unclean vocals, clean vocals (2019–present), keyboards (2009–2011), bass (2011–2019), backing vocals (2009–2019)
Austin McFerrin - drums (2009–2014, 2019–present)
Former:
Forrest Mankins - guitar (2009–2014)
Peyton Carvell - guitar (2015–2016)
K.C. Simonsen - clean vocals (2011–2016)
Nick Taylor - drums (2015–2019)
Trevor Tatro - unclean vocals (2009–2019), clean vocals (2016–2019), bass (studio, 2010)
https://outlineincolor.com/
Learn to Let Go
Outline In Color Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Had a bitterness when I looked back
Was telling everyone it's not that bad
'Til all my shit hit the fan
I know I'm always like
Telling everybody you don't gotta be a victim
Life ain't always fair, but hell is living in resentment
I think it's time to practice what I preach
Exorcise the demons inside me
Whoa, gotta learn to let it go
The past can't haunt me if I don't let it
Live and learn, will never forget it
Whoa, gotta learn to let it go
Had a boogieman under my bed
Putting crazy thoughts inside my head
Always whispering, "It's all your fault"
He was telling me, "No, you're not that strong"
I know I'm always like
Telling everybody you don't gotta be a victim
Life ain't always fair, but hell is living in resentment
Choose redemption, your happy ending's up to you
I think it's time to practice what I preach
Exorcise the demons inside me
Whoa, gotta learn to let it go
The past can't haunt me if I don't let it
Live and learn, will never forget it
Whoa, gotta learn to let it go
Hey, yeah, hey, yeah
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Hey, yeah, hey, yeah
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
I'm done reliving my bad decisions
I see now maybe there's a reason why
I've been through hell and back
Yeah, honestly, it's all made me who I am
Holding on to wasted time
Gotta learn to let go in life
I think it's time to practice what I preach
Exorcise the demons inside me
Whoa, gotta learn to let it go
The past can't haunt me if I don't let it
Live and learn, will never forget it
Whoa, gotta learn to let it go
Hey, yeah, hey, yeah
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Hey, yeah, hey, yeah
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
The lyrics of Outline In Color's song Learn to Let Go are about moving on from the past and learning to let go of the negative experiences that can hold someone back. The singer begins the song by describing themselves as a prisoner of the past and feeling bitter when they look back. However, they realize that their past cannot define them and they can choose redemption and a happy ending. The lyrics also touch upon the concept of victimhood and how resentment can hold someone back from truly living their life.
As the song progresses, the singer talks about the boogieman under their bed, representing their own negative thoughts and fears. These thoughts can make someone feel like they are not strong enough to move beyond their negative experiences. However, the singer recognizes that they need to learn to let go and not let their past haunt them. They want to practice what they preach, exorcise the demons inside them, and live and learn without holding onto wasted time.
Overall, the message of the song is about letting go of the negativity from the past and moving forward towards a happier and more fulfilling future. It reminds listeners that they have the power to choose their own happy ending and to not let the past define them.
Line by Line Meaning
Been a prisoner of the past
I have been trapped in my past and unable to move forward
Had a bitterness when I looked back
I held onto anger and resentment when I reflected on my past.
Was telling everyone it's not that bad
I tried to convince myself and others that my past wasn't as bad as it was.
'Til all my shit hit the fan
Until everything fell apart and I couldn't pretend anymore.
I know I'm always like
I am aware that I often say
Telling everybody you don't gotta be a victim
That you do not need to let the past dictate your present.
Life ain't always fair, but hell is living in resentment
While life is not always just, holding on to bitterness only hurts you in the end.
Choose redemption, your happy ending is up to you
It is up to me to make the choice to offer myself forgiveness and find happiness.
I think it's time to practice what I preach
It's time for me to apply the wisdom I give to others to my own life.
Exorcise the demons inside me
To rid myself of negative thoughts and emotions that hold me back.
Whoa, gotta learn to let it go
I need to learn to release my grip on the past and move on.
The past can't haunt me if I don't let it
If I cease to hold onto negative past experiences, they will no longer have control over me.
Live and learn, will never forget it
I'll remember the lesson but forgive myself for the mistake.
Had a boogieman under my bed
I was haunted by my own fears and anxieties.
Putting crazy thoughts inside my head
My fear would cause me to think irrationally.
Always whispering, "It's all your fault"
My inner critic would blame me for everything that went wrong.
He was telling me, "No, you're not that strong"
I doubted my own strength and thought I wasn't able to create a better future.
I'm done reliving my bad decisions
I am finished with replaying my mistakes in my head.
I see now maybe there's a reason why
I now realize that everything happens for a reason.
I've been through hell and back
I have endured terrible experiences.
Yeah, honestly, it's all made me who I am
Despite the hardship, my past experiences shaped me into who I am today.
Holding on to wasted time
Holding onto past wrongs only wastes time in the present.
Gotta learn to let go in life
In life, we must learn to release our hold on the past and move forward.
Hey, yeah, hey, yeah
Chorus
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Chorus
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Chorus
Hey, yeah, hey, yeah
Chorus
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Chorus
Learn to let go (Learn to let go)
Chorus
Writer(s): Kesha
Contributed by Sadie G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.