Long
before the Grunge phenomenon exploded in Seattle, a couple of
highly promising acts already managed to get their impressive
musical message out to the rest of the world: HEIR APPARENT,
METAL CHURCH, QUEENSRYCHE and CULPRIT (just to name a few) all
came up with first class and incredibly unique material. Another
one worth a mention always was TKO, who released three full
length albums entitled "Let It Roll",
"In Your
Face" and "Below The Belt" before they
unfortunately called the quits. Fourteen years after the band
played their last official show together, we located bass player Scott "The
Bitch" Earl and invited him on a journey
back in time for the following interview...
When
did the band come together exactly, who was responsible for the
name TKO, were there any demos or something before "Let
It Roll" and was the line-up already the same as
on the debut album?
"First
of all I was 13 years old when TKO put out "Let It
Roll," I hadn't even picked up a guitar yet. I would imagine
Brad Sinsel named the band. What a great name who ever came up
with it. As far as the line-up, I have no idea how many changes happened before they recorded the first record."
1979's
debut album "Let It Roll"
musically wasn't yet comparable to what the band stood for later
on. So, what had caused this change of direction and why did Mark Seidenverg (bs) and Darryl Siguenza (dr) leave the band shortly
after the album? Have they been playing in any bands after TKO?
"The
band changed in musical direction because it was a different band
and 5 years or so in time. As far as the original guys you
mentioned I've never met them and know nothing about them,
sorry."
Where
did their replacements (Evan Sheeley on bass and Gary Thompson on drums) come from and did they have something to do with TKO's
heavier direction?
"I
have no idea where Brad found Evan but Gary and I started playing
in a band together when I was 14. We had two guitarists and
played KISS, AEROSMITH and TED NUGENT cover tunes. We met Adam
Brenner at a music store one day and put together RAGE, my first
kinda real band I was ever in. We played a few High
Schools and
then recruited Jeff Tate (Jeff Waterfall back then) on vocals and formed a band called TYRANT. We still did cover tunes. A lot of
SCORPIONS and VAN HALEN. Adam was the best guitarist in the area
and we began to develop quite a following. That guy was amazing
and we had a lot of great times together. Brad came to see and
meet him after I was out of the band. My parents moved me to
California and I had to leave the band. I was only a kid and
still in school. When I returned a year or so later Gary and Adam
were in TKO and I went on to form CULPRIT. I definitely think
Gary and Adam were responsible for the heavier direction of the
band. We were very much into VAN HALEN."
What
happened to Tony Bortko, the other original guitarist?
"Tony
Bortko died of aids a few years ago. He was a bisexual drug user.
I never really got to know him. But he did co-write 'Into The
Night' off the "In Your Face" record one of my favorite
songs."
Was
he replaced by Adam Bomb?
"Yeah,
Adam replaced Tony, well actually they were in the band at the
same time for a couple gigs. But Adam is too dominate of a
player. He's a one guitar guy."
In
which period of time was Adam Bomb a member of TKO and why didn't
he work out? By the way, is Adam Brenner the same guy as Adam Bomb?
"Adam
Brenner was in the band from 1980 -1982 and yes that is the same
guy as Adam Bomb. Adam wanted to be a front man and moved to LA,
got a deal on Geffen and released a few records on his own. Adam
is one of the most underrated guitarists of that time period. He
was, and still is one of the most talented guys I know. It wasn't
that he didn't work out, he just moved on to bigger things."
As
far as I know "In Your Face" was
still recorded by the old members (Brad Sinsel, Rick Pierce, Evan
Sheeley and Gary Thompson) in 1982, but it's already you, Kjartan
Kristoffersen and Ken Mary who appeared on the album's picture...
What was the reason for that?
"The
second original line up had already been broken up for about a year. Kjartan, Ken, and I were the ones out playing the material
and are the ones who got it signed. It made no sense to use the
other guys pictures on the album since we were the ones who were
going out to tour it. It bugged me and still does, but at the
time it made sense. We had already written the material for
"Below The Belt" and wanted to get the old stuff out of
the way. You gotta understand, I was a fan of that material before I was ever in the band. I was just happy for Brad that I
could be a part of helping him finally get it released."
Why
did it take two long years until the album finally got released?
"Nobody
would sign the band. It took that long to get the deal."
Would
you agree that Brad Sinsel more or less was responsible for the
split up of CULPRIT, when he offered you and Kjartan the gig in TKO?
"I
can't blame Brad for the break up of CULPRIT. We (Kjartan and I)
made one of the toughest decisions of our lives at the time. I'm
sorry CULPRIT never got what it deserved, but at the time it was
in my best interest. Brad taught us a lot about song writing and
what a real Rock & Roll band is all about. I don't regret it
at all. But to say he was responsible for breaking up the band is
untrue. If anything, I was."
In
1985 Combat Records put out a TKO 12" EP called "Wipe
The Tears". Unfortunately I never ever got my
hands on that, so could you tell us more about that and which
tracks appeared on it?
"I
have never heard about an EP called "Wipe The Tears"
but if you ever find it I would love to know what's on it."
I
own a live recording of a TKO show from 1985 in Detroit's
"Harpo's" club where you played songs like 'Kingdom
Come' and 'White Lies', that (as
far as I know) never ever appeared on any records, plus four
songs from "Below The Belt", which
wasn't even released at the time. So, how did people react on so
many
unknown songs?
"That's
so cool you have a recording of the "Harpo's" gig. Can
you send me a copy? That was a great show to play. The band
became very popular in Detroit. We had been opening for many
bands at the time and to headline a show you have to play a lot
longer. The show was simulcast over the radio to over 500.000
people. We had to play a lot of songs that were not released yet
just to fill our time slot. 'Kingdom Come' was an old TKO song
that was never released and 'White Lies' was actually a CULPRIT
song that was to be on our second record. I don't remember how
the crowd responded. The only songs that were really popular were
'I Wanna Fight' and 'Into The Night'. The local radio station
WLLZ had those two in heavy rotation at the time."
It
took you another two years to come up with the follow up album "Below
The Belt"... What have you done in between the
album releases and how did you hook up with Michael Alexich as
your new drummer? Why did Ken Mary leave the band?
"What
we did in between releases was tour. We played with FOREIGNER,
TED NUGENT, ROBIN TROWER, DIO etc. and tried to get a record
deal. At the time, nobody was getting signed from Seattle. That
was what eventually broke up the band. I went to LA (dumb luck on
my part, a few years later Seattle becomes the hottest thing
since sliced bread. All the bands that used to open up for us got
deals). Ken Mary was an excellent drummer and through some
connections he made on tour, he got offered the ALICE COOPER come
back gig. Michael was an old friend of Brad's and just filled in
for a couple of months. He did not play on "Below The
Belt" even though his photo appears on the album cover. Later on Ken and I got offered the WINGER gig. But we both turned
it down."
When
was that and why did you turn the offer down?
"That
was probably like 1987? Before Kip's first record came out...Because
they suck!!"
I
noticed that 'Beware The Hunter' was
co-written by your producer at the time, Rick Keefer... What kind
of guy was he? Has he done any other productions apart from TKO?
Or did he even play in bands himself maybe?
"Rick
Keffer owns a studio in Hawaii. He has probably produced a lot of
bands. I have no idea what they are. He got credit for that song
because he played keyboards on it. The only thing I can say about
that guy is he believed when no one else did. And I got to go to
Hawaii for a month."
What
actually caused the musical change towards a more polished
direction on "Below The Belt"?
Were you forced by management or record company people or was it
your own decision?
"We
were not forced by anybody to change musical direction. I don't
think that it's a more polished sound. I'm not even sure what
that means. I think Kjartan and I were just getting into more of
a pop sound at the time (that's exactly what I mean,
with more polished sounding – Frank), and I
personally think more mature song writing than most of the stuff
on "In Your Face"
At
some point Gary, Rick and Evan also started Q5... Weren't they
satisfied with the musical direction of TKO any longer or what
caused the origin of Q5? Was it a problem for the rest of you
that Q5 got a lot more attention pretty soon?
"Gary
and Evan quit the band because after Adam left there was no TKO
until I
started the band back up with Brad. I think times were
changing. CULPRIT was
very popular in Seattle and I think they
wanted to jump on the NWOBHM band
wagon. As far as us having a
problem with them getting attention, I never knew
they did. They
might have in Germany but in the US and especially not in
Seattle. We thought they were a joke. No offense to my friends,
they are great musicians, but I never liked that band."
(me neither, haha! – Frank)
Brad
and Rick were also involved in this SUICIDE SQUAD project and
released
the EP "Live It While You Can"
in 1988... Do you know anything further about
that, like who else
was in that band and why it was just a one off thing?
"I
was already in LA in 1988 putting together THE BANG GANG and know
nothing about it."
What
caused the split-up of TKO and when did you play your last show together?
"We
played our last show together in 1986 at the "Paramount
Theater" in Seattle. I was getting frustrated by not being
able to get a major record contract and thought the only way was
to move to LA. All the companies that had come to see us were
like "You guys are great, but we need you to go to LA and
see what the kids down there think" It was driving me crazy
and I was the only one with big enough balls to make the move
first. The plan was, I was to go first and Kjartan and Brad would
follow after
I checked out the scene. I went down and started
working on (at the time, I thought) what was going to be the next
TKO record. Brad took too long to join me and Kjartan and I went
on to Form THE BANG GANG. The split up was caused by not getting
a major record deal."
In
1992 Brad returned with the self titled WAR BABIES album on Columbia. Do you know anything more about the other members in
that band and how successful the album was?
"Brad
finally did come to LA. At the time I was unsure of my singer Jet
Silver and invited Brad out to audition. I thought he was great
but the other guys wanted Jet back. We had just fired another
guitarist named Tommy Gunn from Seattle also. When Brad didn't
get the gig, I hooked him up with Tommy and they went on to form
WAR BABIES. I know nothing about the other guys in the band.
Although we did get pretty pissed one night
at A&M recording
studios when they were doing their record. We were hanging out at
"Crazy Girls" watching strippers, but that's another
story."
In
1997 TKO played a reunion show with Brad, Rick, Evan and Scott
Graham on drums. Who came up with the idea, what kind of response
did they get and why weren't Kjartan and yourself involved?
"TKO
has done many reunion shows. That one was probably the worst of
the bunch. Adam and Brad do not get along anymore and I think
people in Seattle would like to see them play together. That (in
my opinion) was when the band was at its best locally. I think
when Kjartan and I were in the band, people were very bitter
about the CULPRIT break up and we never really played that much
in Seattle. People there, still think of me as CULPRIT (overhere
as well – Frank). I would love to play a gig with
TKO but Adam would have to be involved. I have done many shows
with his
solo band."
Have
you ever been approached to re-issue both TKO albums on CD these
days? I mean, "In Your Face" has
never officially been out on CD and was only available as a
bootleg so far and "Below The Belt"
is long out of print, I suppose, so...
"I'm
discussing the idea with Hellion right now! I have already had
the transfer from vinyl to digital done and I think it will be
out in the early part of next year."
Are
there any unreleased TKO songs in your vaults, that you could release as possible bonus tracks or something?
"Yes,
there are many unreleased songs. Maybe they will appear on it, if
and when it does get released."
Have
you ever thought about starting up TKO again and continue the
band where you left off back in your heydays? What are the other
members doing these days? Are they still involved in the music business?
"No,
I have never thought of starting TKO again. It was basically
Brad's band and I went on to do other things that I am much more
proud of. I had some great times in the band and I would rather
leave it at that. As far as the other members, Gary Thompson owns
a recording studio and is still a kick ass drummer. Evan Sheeley
owns a music store in Seattle that sells only bass gear. Kjartan
has become a very successful architect. Brad is still Brad and is have not
spoken to Ken Mary in over 11 years. The last I heard about him
was from Tommy 
Aldridge. He became a born again Christian, moved
to Phoenix and is still playing. (yes, from '92 –
'97 he recorded four albums with IMPELLITTERI – Frank).
Adam is in Europe playing in his new band GET ANIMAL and is going
to play guitar for MIKE MONROE. The last time I spoke together. As for me I'm
just a boring business man. I started my own company, Legal Express. We do a bunch of boring shit for lawyers. CULPRIT is
getting back together for a re-release of "Guilty As
Charged" and hope to play Wacken next year. We are
playing
with WASP and METAL CHURCH on Rocktober 28th at the EMP museum in
Seattle. THE BANG GANG is releasing some demos from 1991 that
were to be the follow up to our "Love Sells" CD on Fastlane Records. The album is titled "Vanity Kills" and I think you're really gonna dig it. It's the best stuff I've
ever done and it's almost ten years old. I think CULPRIT will
finally record a new record next year. We already
have the songs, it's just a matter of getting everyone in the same place at the
same time. If we generate any interest in this re-release I'm
sure it will happen. Please check out WWW.CULPRITLIVES.COM and WWW.GLAMOURCAMP.COM for more details. Thanks foryou're interest, it brought back some great memories.
I'll see you next year at Wacken. Cheers, Scott "The
Bitch" Earl."
Frank
Stöver
THIS FOLLOWING MESSAGE WE RECEIVED ON JUNE 07, 2001 FROM ALEX HARRIS OUT OF SEATTLE. IT INCLUDES SOME FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT TKO, THAT WE DECIDED TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS WAY:
Hello,
in response to your interview with Scott Earl from CULPRIT I must inform you
that Tony Bortko former TKO guitarist is NOT DEAD, he is alive and well and
living in Seattle. Tony is and was a brilliant musician and songwriter and
played with many Seattle area bands thru the 70's and 80's, yet the members of
TKO consistently leave him out of their interviews or refer to him as only the 'keyboard
player' when he wrote many of their best songs in the early days. It's
absolutely amazing to me, if you listen to "Let It Roll", their first
album, his solo's clearly stand out on an otherwise average album. Alas,
cockrock homophobia has rewritten history in this case. I challenge Sinsel and
the rest of his washed up goons to tell the true story, and to have a real
reunion and invite Tony BorTKO to play with them this time.
-Alex Harris
Seattle 2001
eMail
alexharris1@hotmail.com