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
Motivate
T.S.O.L. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Trying to live a life doing what I like
Life's a movie, every day is a rehearsal
If you mess it up do another take and do it right
Don't ever give up even if it hurts you
If it knocks you out, get back up and fight
Feels like you got the whole weight on you like a turtle
It's going to take some time to reach your dreams, you gotta work all night
Barely go to sleep, floating on a beat
Doing over time, plotting on you sheeps
My country going wild, they're all on the streets
Revolution time, they all want to eat
We don't play around, bitch, we're Lebanese
If we want it then we got it, we ain't saying please
Me and music we a pack bitch we siamese
Play a d-chord give me dollars and some double D's
Please I don't want no drama in my circle
Trying to live a life doing what I like
Life's a movie, every day is a rehearsal
If you mess it up do another take and do it right
Don't ever give up even if it hurts you
If it knocks you out, get back up and fight
Feels like you got the whole weight on you like a turtle
It's going to take some time to reach your dreams, you gotta work all night
Ckuanza jana hustle
Kitambo mi na hustle
Kutoka keko mpaka coco ngoko ndo miondoko nakesha kama pop
Mageto ndani joto
Ukoko menu kwenu doko jau kwetu mngocho a
Now life lime change a
Napiga pesa pesa chenji a
Nachange ndinga ndinga benzi
Mtoto mkali larisa nampiga fendi yea
Life litachange ukihaso
Utapata kileo ukitakacho
Utakula bata bata na mitoko
Hutokula tena nyama nyama loco
Please I don't want no drama in my circle
Trying to live a life doing what I like
Life's a movie, every day is a rehearsal
If you mess it up do another take and do it right
Don't ever give up even if it hurts you
If it knocks you out, get back up and fight
Feels like you got the whole weight on you like a turtle
It's going to take some time to reach your dreams, you gotta work all night
Motivate, gotta work all day
No play, gotta work all night
Focus, delegate your team
Takes years just to get this right
But when you get it Right
We gone live up for life
Paper chasing with the squad
District Funk this shit for life
Put my city on for life
Don’t mute DC that shit for life
We thousands all in the streets
Now GoGo is to back to life
Now it’s back all in the lights
Which brought life back to the night
And just testified to officially
To make it last for life aye
We do it big for the city
Keep on winning
And put up numbers
That’s big in my city
I do it big for my city
Squeezing money out record labels
To give back to my city
Putting people in position
To eat, yeah, that’s the mission
Not just get money and burn it fast
That cycles something vicious
Shoutout to Halim flowers
He just came home doing life
He was innocent no god gone make sure he take flight
Motivate
The lyrics to T.S.O.L.'s song "Motivate" are about living life on your own terms, working hard towards achieving your dreams, and ignoring drama in your circle. The first verse encourages listeners to keep pushing even when they are knocked down, with the larger metaphor of life being a movie and each day a rehearsal. The singer suggests that if you mess up, you should take another take and get it right. The chorus reinforces the importance of not giving up, despite feeling overwhelmed by the difficulties of achieving your dreams.
The second verse introduces a new element, with the singer reflecting on the political unrest in their country. Despite this turmoil, they are still trying to focus on their music and make money. The lyrics use a mix of English and Swahili, with multiple references to the singers being Lebanese. This section suggests that no matter what is going on in the world, one should focus on their own goals and success.
The final verse brings it back to the idea of working hard for your city and community. The singer wants to give back and put others in positions to succeed, rather than just focusing on their own wealth. They shout out a specific person, Halim Flowers, who was wrongfully imprisoned for life, suggesting that the singer wants to help those who have been unjustly impacted by the system. Overall, the song encourages listeners to stay focused and motivated, while also recognizing the importance of lifting up others.
Line by Line Meaning
Please I don't want no drama in my circle
I want to live a drama-free life with the people in my inner circle
Trying to live a life doing what I like
I am focused on living a life where I can do what I enjoy
Life's a movie, every day is a rehearsal
Every day is an opportunity to practice for success in life
If you mess it up do another take and do it right
If you fail, try again until you succeed
Don't ever give up even if it hurts you
No matter how hard it gets, keep pushing forward
If it knocks you out, get back up and fight
No matter how hard you fall, get back up and keep fighting
Feels like you got the whole weight on you like a turtle
It may feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, but keep going
It's going to take some time to reach your dreams, you gotta work all night
It takes hard work and dedication to achieve your dreams, so be willing to put in the time and effort
Motivate, gotta work all day
Stay motivated and work hard every day
No play, gotta work all night
Don't waste time on things that won't help you reach your goals
Focus, delegate your team
Stay focused and let your team help you achieve your goals
Takes years just to get this right
Success takes time and effort
But when you get it Right
When you finally achieve your goals
We gone live up for life
We will celebrate and live our best life
Paper chasing with the squad
We're focused on achieving financial success with our team
District Funk this shit for life
We're committed to our music and our style for life
Put my city on for life
We want to represent and give back to our city for life
Don’t mute DC that shit for life
We want our city's music to be heard and appreciated for life
We thousands all in the streets
We come together as a community in the streets
Now GoGo is to back to life
We're helping to revive the GoGo music scene
Which brought life back to the night
Our efforts are bringing nightlife back to our city
And just testified to officially
We're proud to be a part of our city's music scene
To make it last for life aye
We want to ensure that our success and our city's music scene last for life
We do it big for the city
We work hard to make a big impact in our city
Keep on winning
We strive to keep succeeding in our endeavors
And put up numbers
We want to achieve measurable success
That’s big in my city
We want our success to have a big impact in our city
Squeezing money out record labels
We're working hard to earn money from record labels
To give back to my city
We want to use our success to give back to our city
Putting people in position
We want to help others succeed
To eat, yeah, that’s the mission
Our mission is to help our community thrive
Not just get money and burn it fast
We're focused on using our money wisely and for the greater good
That cycles something vicious
Failing to use money wisely can lead to a harmful cycle
Shoutout to Halim flowers
We want to recognize and appreciate someone in our community
He just came home doing life
He recently got out of a difficult situation
He was innocent no god gone make sure he take flight
We believe he was wrongly accused and want to help him succeed
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind