Jack Grisham (born July 22, 1961) is an American rock vocalist, musician,

raconteur A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business ...

and political activist from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. He is the vocalist for the punk rock band

T.S.O.L. T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, a ...

(True Sounds of Liberty), which emerged from the late 1970s Los Angeles hardcore punk rock scene, along with Black Flag, Circle Jerks and

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

. Grisham has also fronted the bands Vicious Circle, the Joykiller, Tender Fury and Cathedral of Tears. He records with T.S.O.L., the Joykiller and the Manic Low.

Biography

Early life

Jack Grisham was born in

Hayward, California Hayward () is a city located in Alameda County, California in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda Coun ...

, United States, and then moved to Long Beach. Grisham's father, a career military man with 30 years in the Navy and Coast Guard, died in 1984. Grisham's mother was a military housewife. Grisham was one of five children and has an older sister, two older brothers, and a younger sister. Grisham's older sister was part of the

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

subculture (or as he calls it, "Late 60's protest crap"). As a result, by the time he was six years old, Grisham was reading publications like ''

Fritz the Cat ''Fritz the Cat'' is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, it focused on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently went on wild adventures that sometimes involved sexual escapades. Crumb began d ...

'' and ''

Zap Comix ''Zap Comix'' is an underground comix series which was originally part of the youth counterculture of the late 1960s. While a few small-circulation self-published satirical comic books had been printed prior to this, ''Zap'' became the model for ...

'', and listening to albums by

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

and

the Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

the Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

, etc. Grisham cites the albums ''

We're Only in it for the Money ''We're Only in It for the Money'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on March 4, 1968, by Verve Records. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left- and righ ...

'' and ''

Let it Bleed ''Let It Bleed'' is the eighth British and tenth American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released 28 November 1969 on London Records in the United States and shortly thereafter by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. ...

'' as two of his musical influences. In his early life, Grisham's family moved back to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. Growing up, he was a rebellious youth heavily into surfing, skateboarding, and in his words "causing trouble." While in high school, he met future T.S.O.L. drummer Todd Barnes through a girlfriend. Grisham and Barnes became friends, and took off with the girlfriend's guitar and amplifier and began playing around with sounds. In the beginning, Grisham claims, "All we did was make a bunch of noise and yell, "Fuck the neighbors" all day."

Adult life

While in his teens, Grisham started experimenting with mood altering substances. Soon he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He recalled, "I was a nut. I used to think I didn't have a problem because I didn't shoot up and I didn't take acid." After several minor tangles with the law stemming from his drug and alcohol abuse, Grisham married a 16-year-old girl in Mexico, which he claims got him on the road to sobriety. When asked how he got sober in a 2008 interview, Grisham said, "Actually, I married an underage girl. I wanted her to get clean. I said I would support her. I was like, "Hey, I'll support you so you can get help. I'll go to the meetings too. Then she ended up leaving and I ended up staying." Grisham has been sober since January 1989. He has two daughters, Anastasia and Georgia, and resides in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

Vicious Circle

In 1978, Grisham began rehearsing as lead vocalist with future Joneses/The Klan/A.K.A. guitarist Steve Houston (a.k.a. Steve Dead) to form Vicious Circle with bassist Laddy Tirrell and future

drummer Todd Barnes. Vicious Circle quickly got a following within the beach cities and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

punk rock scene. Vicious Circle was notorious for Ultra-violence at shows in the early days of punk rock. Grisham is later quoted as saying "Whatever the logic, the Vicious Circle was a maniac attractor." *A recording of Vicious Circle was made in 1978 consisting of 2 separate practice tapes and ultimately released in 2013 by TKO Records as an E.P. record of (200) copies on white vinyl with blue spatter.

True Sounds of Liberty (T.S.O.L.)

Childhood friends Grisham and Barnes were joined by Ron Emory and Mike Roche to form T.S.O.L. The original line-up of the band was Grisham on vocals,

Ron Emory Ron Emory (born May 20, 1962, Lynwood, California, United States) is an American rock musician and guitarist for the punk rock band T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty). An original member of the band, founded in Southern California in 1979, Emo ...

on guitars, Mike Roche on bass, and Todd Barnes on drums. T.S.O.L.'s initial line-up gained fans from the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

art punk Art punk is a subgenre of punk rock in which artists go beyond the genre's rudimentary garage rock and are considered more sophisticated than their peers. These groups still generated punk's aesthetic of being simple, offensive, and free-spirit ...

, death punk,

deathrock Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk gen ...

horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered b ...

, and

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

genres. During his time with T.S.O.L., the band was notorious for their controversial, transgressive, and political lyrics. Jack Grisham brought a darker fashion and sound

to the highly political punk rock scene in Southern California, in particular,

painting his face white, dressing in all-black

clothes and doing photo-shoots in cemetery locations in the dead of night. The True Sounds Of Liberty were among the first waves of Southern California bands which embarked upon Nationwide tours performing " punk rock" and "

death rock Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genre ...

" music in 1982 and also 1983 along with contemporaries such as Black Flag and the Circle Jerks which embraced

D.I.Y. "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, wikt:modification, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individual ...

ethos of the early punk rock scene self-financing their concert tours with little to no outside assistance from the record industry. The original T.S.O.L. broke up on January 9, 1983, following the infamous S.I.R. Studios "Sunset Strip" Riot at a headlining

show featuring

Redd Kross Redd Kross is an American rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald while Steve was still in middle school. With the additio ...

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

, Los Olvidados. The space was filled to capacity with fans and punks alike outside the venue when violence ensued. Grisham walked away from the band and violence, which was reaching unprecedented levels. Ron Emory and Mike Roche enlisted vocalist Joe Wood, Grisham's brother-in-law at the time to fill the void left by his absence and drummer Mitch Dean for departing drummer Todd Barnes. They played music that started as punk rock, but, with each new album changed to blues-inspired (

hair metal Hair is a protein filament that grows from hair follicle, follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick ter ...

). They spent several years touring and recording under the name T.S.O.L. After leaving TSOL, Grisham's interests included the use of synthesizers, declaring in a 1984 interview that synthesizers were "a meaningful addition to any group," but "They're just too new. Synthesizers are like punck rock. Everyone hated punck rock when it first came out. No one wants change." The original T.S.O.L. reformed in 1989, but Todd Barnes died of a brain aneurysm in 1999. T.S.O.L. has been touring and recording steadily since 1999.

The Joykiller

Grisham and Ron Emory formed The Joykiller in 1995 along with Billy Persons (

The Weirdos The Weirdos are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. They formed in 1975, split-up in 1981, re-grouped in 1986 and have remained semi-active ever since. Critic Mark Deming calls them "quite simply, one of the best and bright ...

Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club ...

) on bass, Ronnie King on keyboards, and Chris Lagerborg on drums. The Joykiller released three albums on Epitaph records prior to disbanding in 1998 and had a minor radio hit in the Netherlands with the song "Go-Bang." They later released their ''Greatest Non-Hits'' in 2003.

The Manic Low

In the fall of 2011, Grisham launched into another musical endeavor with his band "the Manic Low". Their debut album, ''Songs For An Up Day'', was released on Moonlight Graham Records in June 2012.

Film

Grisham appeared as himself in the movies '' American Hardcore'' and the

Geza X Geza Gedeon (born September 28, 1952), professionally known as Geza X, is an American producer. He was a personality in the Los Angeles punk scene in the late 1970s. He is now a producer. He was born in Indiana and moved to California when he was a ...

film ''Rage: 20 Years of Punk Rock West Coast Style (2001)''(he also wrote the title track "Spit Up the Rage"). In the 1984

Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decline of ...

film ''

Suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

'', he appeared with T.S.O.L. performing "Wash Away" and "Darker My Love." In (2020) Grisham wrote and directed the short film "288," and in (2021) directed the feature length documentary "Ignore Heroes."

Politics

In the early years of T.S.O.L., Grisham was an outspoken

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

, and his lyrics were often highly critical of the government. Songs such as "Abolish Government/Silent Majority," "Peace Thru Power," and "Property Is Theft" were standard in T.S.O.L.'s song sets. Grisham later changed his anti-government stance, stating, "What I realized about anarchy is that we are not responsible enough to be anarchist. There's no way possible. We're not responsible enough to be that. That's a heavy concept." Grisham was one of 135 candidates who ran for governor in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, receiving 2,200 votes. He ran on a

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

platform as incumbent Democratic governor

Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...

was recalled. During his campaign, he stressed health care and education, and supported the teaching in school of religious tolerance. A historic concert event featuring

The Adolescents The Adolescents are an American punk rock band formed in Fullerton, California in 1980. Part of the hardcore punk movement in southern California in the early 1980s, they were one of the main punk acts to emerge from Orange County, along with ...

, Youth Brigade and more was cast in an effort to raise awareness to the campaign on Sunday, October 5, 2003 at the Henry Fonda theater in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Writing

In 2011, Grisham released his first novel '' An American Demon: A Memoir''. In August 2015 Grisham released ''A Principle of Recovery: An Unconventional Journey Through the Twelve Steps'', a book that walks you through the twelve steps of recovery from Grisham's perspective as a long time person in recovery. In late 2021, Grisham released a noir novel. It is about a character named Arthur which is based on Jack himself, including many characteristics of Jack when he was on his road to sobriety. The back cover blurb of the book states: “When the ghosts of dreams bleed into real life, hard charging Arthur Chance must leave behind his isolation and step into the world of murder, extortion, and double-crossing lovers. Violence and retribution stand heavy in the wings, but will Arthur become lion or lamb?”

Bibliography

Novel

* '' An American Demon: A Memoir'' (2011) * Code Blue: A Love Story (2014) * A Principle of Recovery: An Unconventional Journey Through the Twelve Steps (2015) * ''

I Wish There Were Monsters I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

'' (2015) * ''The Pulse Of The World'' (2022)

Discography

Vicious Circle

*''Vicious Circle'' EP (TKO) #192. RELEASE: 2013, Originally recorded in 1978. ;Vinyl, 12", EP, White Vinyl With Blue Splatter

T.S.O.L.

LPs

* '' Dance with Me'' – (1981) * ''

Beneath the Shadows ''Beneath the Shadows'' is the second studio album by the American hardcore punk band T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty), released in 1983 through Alternative Tentacles. With the addition of keyboardist Greg Kuehn to the lineup, the band moved awa ...

'' – (1982) * '' Disappear'' – (2001) * '' Divided We Stand'' – (2003) * ''Who's Screwin' Who?'' – (2005) * '' Live from Long Beach'' – (2007) * '' Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Free Downloads'' – (2009) * ''The Trigger Complex'' – (2017)

EPs

* ''

'' EP – (1981) * ''

Weathered Statues ''Weathered Statues'' is an EP by the American hardcore punk band T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty), released in 1982 through Alternative Tentacles. In comparison to the band's previous material, its experimental nature and melodic leanings conf ...

'' – (1982)

Singles

* "Anticop" – (2001)

Compilations

* '' Thoughts of Yesterday: 1981–1982'' – (1988) * ''

'' – (1997)

Bootlegs

* 1980 Demo – (1980)

Movie soundtracks

* ''Suburbia'' (1984) Soundtrack * ''American Hardcore: The History Of American Punk Rock 1980–1986'' * ''Rage: 20 Years of Punk Rock West Coast Style'' (2001)

Filmography

* ''Suburbia'' (1984) / a Penelope Spheeris film * ''American Hardcore: The History Of American Punk Rock 1980–1986'' * ''Rage: 20 Years of Punk Rock West Coast Style'' (2001) * ''Punks not Dead'' * ''Let it Rock'' * ''Live In Hawaii'' (DVD) – (2004) * ''Live In OC'' (DVD) – (2001) * ''The Early Years'' / ''T.S.O.L. Live'' MVD release

The Joykiller

* ''The Joykiller'' (1995) on

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

* ''Static'' (1996) on Epitaph Records * ''Three'' (1997) on Epitaph Records * ''Ready Sexed Go!'' (2003) on Epitaph Records * ''Music for Break-Ups'' (2015)

Tender Fury

* ''Tender Fury'' (Posh Boy) 1988 * ''Garden of Evil'' (Triple X) 1990 * ''If Anger Were Soul, I'd Be James Brown'' (Triple X) 1991

Cathedral of Tears

* ''Cathedral of Tears'' (Enigma) 1984

Jack Grisham/Mike Roche/Ron Emory/Todd Barnes

* ''Live 1991'' (Triple X) 1991

T.S.O.L./Slayer

* ''Abolish Government'' EP7 (Sub Pop) 1996

Rob Dukes Robert Dukes (born March 8, 1968) is an American vocalist, best known as the former lead singer for the thrash metal band Exodus and current vocalist for his crossover thrash project Generation Kill. Early life Dukes was born in Florida on M ...

, lead singer for the metal band

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

, did background vocals on the Joykiller albums ''Static'' and ''Three''.

The Manic Low

Grisham released, with his group the Manic Low, a 17-song album entitled ''Songs for an Up Day''. The record was released on Moonlight Graham Records in June 2012. The album features Grisham's Joykiller partner, Sean Greaves, on guitar and bass, Rob MiLucky from the Devil's Brigade on guitar and Paul Roessler on keyboards.

References

External links

Grisham's personal siteComedian Neil Hamburger's extensive interview with Grisham on Tom Green's website
*

The Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

article on Grisham's recall race Trouser Press synopsis of TSOL personnel transitions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grisham, Jack Anarcho-punk musicians American male singers American punk rock singers 1961 births Living people Death rock musicians Dark cabaret musicians Gothic rock musicians Horror punk musicians Songwriters from California T.S.O.L. members American social democrats Millikan High School alumni People from Hayward, California