The lineup first consisted of vocalist Jack Grisham (who has been credited as Jack Greggors, Alex Morgan, Jack Ladoga, Jim Woo and James DeLauge), guitarist Ron Emory, bassist Mike Roche, and drummer Todd Barnes, the band's first release was a harshly political eponymous T.S.O.L. EP featuring tracks such as "Superficial Love," "World War III" and "Abolish Government."
After their debut EP, they released Dance With Me, their first full-length record. A departure from the entirely political nature of the previous release, Dance With Me was far darker and more macabre, featuring such themes as necrophilia, and the song "Silent Scream," which is made up entirely of horror movie clichés. Their most popular release, both then and to this day, the album earned them the title of the "West Coast Misfits" (a reference to Glenn Danzig's band the Misfits on the East Coast), and has made the band a favorite amongst horror punk fans.
They later signed to independent label Alternative Tentacles, for which they released the Weathered Statues 7" EP and the Beneath the Shadows album which featured, for the first time, keyboard player Greg Kuehn who added a new dimension to the band. Around this period their style had changed further, becoming highly experimental and varied, featuring art punk and psychedelic leanings, as well as their customary horror themes.
In 1983 amid personal turmoil, Jack Grisham and Todd Barnes left the band and were replaced by singer Joe Wood (who was Grisham's brother-in-law) and drummer Mitch Dean. This new line-up (with Joe Wood and Mitch Dean) released the album named Change Today? in 1984 on Enigma Records.
The group changed their sound entirely for their next release Revenge, adopting a punk metal sound. Their music was featured in the 1984 movie Suburbia, the 1985 version of popular horror movie Return of the Living Dead and Dangerously Close in 1986.
The band became friends with Guns N' Roses and T.S.O.L. t-shirts can be seen in the "Sweet Child o' Mine" video. They followed up with an album in a similar style, titled Hit and Run. Before it was released, original guitarist Ron Emory quit the band, leaving Mike Roche as the sole original member.
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 guitar player and actor Marshall Rohner. They released a blues-metal album titled Strange Love in 1990. Mike Roche quit shortly before the album release, leaving no original member in the band. A compilation album entitled Hell & Back Together: 1984-1990 was issued in 1992 with an emphasis on their metal era. Murphy Karges, later of Sugar Ray, briefly replaced Roche on bass as did Dave Mello.
Meanwhile, the original members had started playing shows featuring the band's early material under the name T.S.O.L., often playing the same cities, the same nights as the other T.S.O.L. Since Joe Wood and Mitch Dean now owned the rights to the name T.S.O.L., they threatened to sue the original members, who released a live album of their early material under the name "Grisham, Roche, Emory and Barnes" but stopped playing together soon after because of drug problems.
In 1996, most of the original members settled down and realized that they still had a passion for their music and that fans wanted them to reunite. In 1999, they fought with Wood for rights to the name and won before joining the Vans Warped Tour, playing for the first time in years under the name T.S.O.L.
Todd Barnes had died on December 6th, 1999 of a brain aneurysm at the age of 34. The remaining members recruited drummer Jay O'Brien and released the Anticop single and the Disappear and Divided We Stand albums on Nitro Records, the latter of which featured Greg Kuehn back on keyboards. The Original T.S.O.L. recorded two more full length albums. In September of 2007, Cider City Records released the posthumous live album Live From Long Beach, recorded in November 2006 on the weekend of the band's two "farewell" performances.
Their departure was short-lived, however, with a couple of local shows in late 2007. They also headlined the "F**k the Whales, Save a Chckn" benefit in February of 2008, held to help with cancer treatment bills for guitarist Craig "Chckn" Jewett of D.I.
They are an independent band under the Nitro Records banner, which was started by the Offspring vocalist Dexter Holland, for whom T.S.O.L. is cited as an influence.
In December 2008, the band, in cooperation with Hurley, entered the studio to record Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Free Downloads which was, as the title suggests, made available as a free download through Hurley's website on January 8, 2009.
The late eighties T.S.O.L. version apparently are popular enough to invite bookings in Brazil & Argentina, where the Grisham led band hold no legal rights to prevent Wood from gigging as T.S.O.L. Since 1996, Wood has been joined by guitarists including Mike Martt and Drac Conley, drummers Steve "Sully" O’Sullivan and Mitch Dean and bassist Dave Mello, who joined the band near the end of its Enigma years run. Additionally, Wood has pursued musical work in Joe Wood and the Lonely Ones & Cisco Poison.
Members
* Jack Grisham - vocals
* Ron Emory - guitar
* Mike Roche - bass
* Antonio Val Hernandez - Drums
* Greg Kuehn - piano, synthesizers
Former members
* Todd Barnes - drums
* Murphy Karges (born Matthew Murphy Karges) - bass
* Dave Mello - bass
* Joe Wood - vocals, guitar
* Mitch Dean - drums
* Marshall Rohner - guitars
* Jay O'Brien - drums
* Travis Johnson - drums
* Billy Blaze - drums
* Frank Agnew - guitar
* Scotty Phillips - guitar
* Tiny Bubbz - Drums
Disappear
T.S.O.L. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're the only thing on my mind
I dread every goodbye
It's my least favorite time
That's a lie
It's when you're not by my side
So text me
Call me
When I'm alone
Woah
I'd rather talk to you
Than do anything else
'Cause doing nothing with you
Just beats everything else
All my problems disappear
When I get to see your face
Or when I'm hearing your voice
Hazy days become so clear
Love, I hope I do the same
Hope I block out the noise
I don't wanna get in the way
Of doing what you like
I wanna put a smile on your face
I would hate to make you cry
So if you need space
You know I'd give you your time
Hope I won't see the day
That you walk out of my life
All my problems disappear
When I get to see your face
Or when I'm hearing your voice
Hazy days become so clear
Love, I hope I do the same
Hope I block out the noise
Shine so bright
You're my star
Look in my eyes
Close yours and come a little closer
You shine in the dark
Hold you in my arms
Rest your head on my heart
All my problems disappear
When I get to see your face
Or when I'm hearing your voice
Hazy days become so clear
Love, I hope I do the same
Hope I block out the noise
All my problems disappear
When I get to see your face
Or when I'm hearing your voice
Hazy days become so clear
Love, I hope I do the same
Hope I block out the noise
The T.S.O.L song "Disappear" appears to address a relationship that is coming apart at the seams. There are many clues that point to this fact, including the title of the song, which suggests that the singer is wishing for the relationship to end. Throughout the lyrics, there are many references to secrets, emptiness, and messiness, which all indicate that there are underlying issues that are causing the singer to want to end the relationship.
For example, in the first verse, the lyrics suggest that there is something wrong with the relationship that is causing tension. The line, "Our time is hanging on the line," suggests that the singer feels like their time together is fragile and could be lost at any moment. Similarly, in the next line, the singer asks the listener to look into the "crime" to understand what is happening. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for the issues in the relationship that are causing tension.
In subsequent verses, the singer addresses issues of sex, jealousy, and trust. In each case, there seems to be a sense of disappointment or disillusionment with the relationship. Ultimately, the chorus reinforces the idea that the relationship is over: "I want to make you find somebody else / Cause you're so sick / I want to take you nowhere, nowhere now / Lunatic / I want to take you over, over now / And disappear / I want to see you nothing, nothing now / Disappear."
Line by Line Meaning
Our time is hanging on the line
The state of our relationship is uncertain and may come to an end
If you wanna know the reason
If you want to understand why our relationship is in a bad state
Will you look into the crime
Will you investigate the cause of our relationship struggles
Cause it's your mind, your mind
Because the root issue of our problems lies within your own thoughts and feelings
Our sex is emptiness undressed
The physical aspect of our relationship lacks intimacy and emotional connection
If you wanna know the secret
If you want to understand why our physical relationship is lacking
Well you look behind the mess
You need to examine the emotional turmoil and baggage we both carry
Cause it's your sex, your sex
Because the issue with our physical relationship is rooted in your own emotions and mental state
Our bed is nothing like you said
The idealized image of our relationship that you once held does not match reality
If you wanna see the covers
If you want to understand why our bed differs from your expectations
Well you look inside my head
You need to examine my thoughts and emotions to understand why our relationship is different from what you expected
Cause it's your bed, your bed
Because the disconnect between reality and idealized perceptions of our relationship is rooted in your own mental state
Your mind is nothing close to kind
Your thoughts and emotions are negative and unkind
If you wanna know the feeling
If you want to understand how your negativity affects me emotionally
You can fade into my eyes
You need to consider my perspective and how your emotional state affects me
Cause it's your mind, your mind
Because your negative mental state is the root of our relationship difficulties
I want to make you find somebody else
I want to end our relationship and encourage you to find someone else
Cause you're so sick
Because you are emotionally unstable and the relationship is unhealthy
I want to take you nowhere, nowhere now
I want to get as far away from you as possible
Lunatic
Insane or irrational
Our sex is nothing but a wreck
Our physical relationship is in shambles
Her world of jealousy is unfurled
Her jealous tendencies are surfacing and causing issues in the relationship
If you wanna know the reason
If you want to understand why her jealousy is causing problems
Well you gotta see the girl
You need to observe her jealousy and how it affects our relationship
Cause it's her world, her world
Because the root of the issue with jealousy comes from her own personal issues
I want to take you over, over now
I want to completely dominate and control you
And disappear
And make everything between us fade away
I want to see you nothing, nothing now
I want to erase any trace of you from my life
Disappear
Disappear completely from each other's lives
Disappear
Disappearing from each other's lives is inevitable
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Andrei Nica
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind