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
Superficial Love
T.S.O.L. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Only for a fuck
But love is incest
And it's only for a fuck
Eating to survive, surviving for free
Peace time war time, try to draft me
Some are overseas
We live for the summons
To serve our country
Army
Navy
Air Force
Or jail
Well that's the American way
What it is to be free
If that's what they call freedom
It's not for me
President Reagan can shove it
The song "Superficial Love" by T.S.O.L. is a powerful critique on the nature of love and the hypocrisy of the American way. The opening lines of the song display the singer's disdain towards people who are only interested in love for sexual pleasure, calling it "superficial" and comparing it to incest. This line conveys the singer's cynicism towards the empty and meaningless relationships that people engage in for physical gratification, devoid of any emotional connection.
The next lines of the verse focus on survival and the extremes people go through just to survive, whether it be by eating, or serving in the armed forces. The singer highlights the irony of how people are willing to die and kill for their country, for a cause that they might not even truly believe in, and how this is glorified as the ultimate expression of patriotism. The chorus of the song then lists out the different branches of the American military, followed by the unsettling line "Or jail."
The song ends with a statement of rebellion and rejection towards the norms of American society, with the singer unapologetically stating that the American way is not for him. The final line of the song directly addresses President Reagan, a symbol of the conservative establishment at that time, telling him to "shove it," signaling the singer's defiance towards authority and his unwillingness to conform to societal pressures.
Line by Line Meaning
Superficial love
Love that does not go beyond physical attraction
Only for a fuck
Love that is purely based on sexual desire
But love is incest
The idea that love can become twisted and unhealthy
And it's only for a fuck
Reinforcing the notion that love is limited to sex
Eating to survive, surviving for free
Describing the constant struggle to meet basic needs like food and shelter
Peace time war time, try to draft me
Highlighting the vulnerability of young men to be drafted in times of conflict
All die for this land
The ultimate sacrifice many make for their country
Some are overseas
Acknowledging the extensive reach of war and conflict
We live for the summons
The constant waiting for orders to serve in the military
To serve our country
Highlighting the selflessness of those who serve in the military
Army
One of several branches of the military
Navy
One of several branches of the military
Air Force
One of several branches of the military
Or jail
Suggesting that being incarcerated is an alternative and harsh reality for those who cannot serve in the military
Well that's the American way
The military and patriotism are highly valued traditions in American culture
What it is to be free
Implying that serving in the military is what defines freedom
If that's what they call freedom
Questioning whether blindly serving in the military is truly living in freedom
It's not for me
Rejecting the idea that the military is the only way to live a free life
President Reagan can shove it
A direct jab at then-President Reagan for his political policies
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Jack Grisham, Mike Roche, Ron Emory, Todd Barnes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@spikethekid5703
I dedicated this song to my ex-girlfriend on her birthday, regarding how I felt towards her. I regret nothing.
@Happygoluckyguy4007
You're a f@$
@juanortiz974
Hadn't listen to this in a looooooooooong while.
@m1szt
"Army, Navy, Air Force or Jail!" these words describe everytihing that is happening in my country nowadays (Russia)
@dj-um7el
Sorry for what's happening to both countries.
@87sassylynn
Ahh. I see. Had I been playing closer attention one would have caught that. T.S.O.L. just has so much of their own style I didn't even notice.
@alastair_the_lyon
Ik they are liberal as fuck
@TheLarryburns84
ARMY!
NAVY!
AIR FORCE!
OR JAIL!!
@totevonerrk
John Burns you smell funny
@lolisbecerra8254
takes be back when I was 16 and my made a mistake had this song ... memories. myjam 4ever