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
Everybody
T.S.O.L. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Blues skies definitions of love
And I'm always insincere
When I tell you my emotions
Cause I'm always trying hide
What I feel
I met her at the parking lot
We went out once or twice last year
She said I was boring
Hit her up again to fill my void
But she stop texting
Then I saw her with some guy
When I checked her story I feel
My heart is spinnin round and round
Like a ferris-wheel without no sound
I said everybody hurts
I said everybody burn
Me myself and I is all I got
My heart is spinnin round and round
Like a ferris-wheel without no sound
I said everybody hurts
I said everybody burn
Me myself and I all is I got
I can't stop feeling like this all the time now
My mind is a work space of my misery uh
Living a life in solitary
Saving my piece of ordinary
I know people who want me to fall
So I'm going on and on until
My heart is spinnin round and round
Like a ferris-wheel without no sound
I said everybody hurts
I said everybody burn
Me myself and I is all I got
My heart is spinnin round and round
Like a ferris-wheel without no sound
I said everybody hurts
I said everybody burn
Me myself and I all is I got
The lyrics to T.S.O.L.'s song "Everybody" express feelings of emptiness and failed relationships while also touching on themes of self-reliance and perseverance. The first verse begins with the singer admitting to always searching for the perfect definition of love, but being insincere with their own emotions. They express a desire to hide their true feelings, suggesting a fear of vulnerability. The second verse describes a failed attempt at reconnecting with an old flame, and the bitterness and heartbreak that followed. The chorus repeats the lines "My heart is spinning round and round / Like a ferris-wheel without no sound," driving home the feeling of being stuck in place, going nowhere, and feeling like there's no way to communicate their pain. Finally, the verse ends with the singer accepting that they must rely on themselves to get through life, despite their struggles and the desire for external validation.
The song can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but one could argue that it is a call to action for those who feel stuck or trapped in their own emotions or difficult situations. It encourages listeners to acknowledge their pain but also recognize their own strength and resilience.
Line by Line Meaning
Why am I always looking up
Why am I constantly searching for something better?
Blues skies definitions of love
An idealistic notion of love that may not exist
And I'm always insincere
I'm never truly honest about my feelings
When I tell you my emotions
When I express myself
Cause I'm always trying hide
Because I'm constantly trying to conceal
What I feel
My true emotions
I met her at the parking lot
I encountered her in an ordinary place
No this ain't a love story
This is not going to be a romantic tale
We went out once or twice last year
We had limited involvement in the past
She said I was boring
She found me dull
Hit her up again to fill my void
Reached out to her again to gain some emotional fulfillment
But she stop texting
She ceased communicating with me
Then I saw her with some guy
Then I observed her with another man
When I checked her story I feel
When I looked into her situation I felt
My heart is spinnin round and round
My emotions are turbulent and racing
Like a ferris-wheel without no sound
Like a ferris wheel without any sound, constantly generating empty noise
I said everybody hurts
I stated that everyone experiences pain
I said everybody burn
I said everyone goes through difficult times
Me myself and I is all I got
I only rely on myself
I can't stop feeling like this all the time now
I can't shake these feelings that I have all the time now
My mind is a work space of my misery uh
My mind is where my sadness lives
Living a life in solitary
Living a lonely life
Saving my piece of ordinary
Holding onto my simple existence
I know people who want me to fall
I am aware of those who wish me ill
So I'm going on and on until
So I continue until I can't anymore
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Leonard Nongthombam
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alex Gottschalk
Still fucking great after all these years! I love BOTH TSOLs.....
Spookrockcity
Easily my favorite TSOL album
Nominay
same
Kiwi
Awesome song!
kitch Fairman
Bless you Joe Wood!
Jawn Yawns
You're an officer!
Everybody's a cop Everybody's a cop Everybody's a cop!
You're an officer!
Get away!