TKO is an American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

and heavy metal band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, which was mainly active between 1977 and 1986. The group's lead vocalist and only consistent member is Brad Sinsel. The band has reunited sporadically for shows starting in 1994, their most recent live appearances taking place at the Legions of Metal II festival in Chicago in May 2018 and the Headbangers Open Air festival in Germany in July 2018, TKO's first ever European show.

Biography

Sinsel, a native of

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

, got his start in rock in the early 1970s in Ze Whiz Kidz, a flamboyant, influential glam rock band that opened a Seattle show by the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

in 1974. Eventually, he joined a reformed version of the band Mojo Hand, which featured co-founding members Mark Seidenverg (bass) and Darryl Siguenza (drums), along with former Whiz Kidz guitarist Rick Pierce. With the addition of Sinsel and Tony Bortko (guitar, keyboards) the band became TKO. Represented by managers who also worked with platinum sellers

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

, the band signed a major label recording contract in 1977, though it would be more than a year before the first album would appear. The group released their Mike Flicker produced debut '' Let It Roll'' on the

Infinity Records Infinity Records was a subsidiary of MCA Records established in New York City in 1977. The label was conceived by MCA president Sidney Sheinberg as a way for the Los Angeles-based entertainment conglomerate to expand its business on the East Coas ...

division of

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

in early 1979; it went on to sell roughly 150,000 copies. During this time the group had a type of

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

image and fans compared their music favorably with

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

. TKO toured the U.S. extensively, including shows with the

Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

as well as Heart and made their way to Japan where they appeared at Japan Jam in 1979, with new rhythm section Evan Sheeley (bass) and Bill Durham (drums), both formerly with Yakima act Water Closet, in tow. TKO was unable to deliver a planned second album when Infinity went out of business and was absorbed by MCA in the spring of 1980. They recorded numerous songs slated for the 2nd Lp, which was not released until 2017 as "The Lost Demos." By 1980, the line-up consisted of Sinsel, Sheeley, new drummer Gary Thompson and 17-year-old hot shot guitar player Adam Brenner, brought into the fold by Tony Bortko, who left shortly thereafter. Thompson and Brenner came from a local cover band named Tyrant which also featured future

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche () is an American progressive metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one Extended play, EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record ...

vocalist

Geoff Tate Geoff Tate (born Jeffrey Wayne Tate, January 14, 1959; he later changed his first name to Geoffery or Geoffrey) (Pp. 11, 48). is an American singer and songwriter. He rose to fame with the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, who had commercial ...

and bassist Scott Earl. Brenner quickly became a driving force and co-wrote most of the new material with Sinsel. Boasting a much grittier, more heavy metal oriented sound, the band would record their sophomore album, '' In Your Face'', in 1981 with producer Rick Keefer at Sea West Studios in Oahu, HI but could not get signed to a record label. Brenner left in 1982 in order to pursue a solo career, surfacing as Adam Bomb and signed to

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

for his 1984 debut ''Fatal Attraction''. Pierce, Sheeley, and Thompson all left to join guitarist

Floyd Rose The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking Vibrato systems for guitar, vibrato arm for a guitar. Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1976, the first of its kind, and it is now manufactured by a company ...

and ., Q5, releasing the ''Steel The Light'' album in 1984. After a period of inactivity, Sinsel put together a new TKO line-up consisting of former Culprit members, guitarist Kjartan Kristoffersen and bassist Scott Earl, and drummer

Ken Mary Ken K. Mary is an American musician who has worked as a drummer, producer, engineer, and record executive on over thirty-five albums. He has worked in genres from heavy rock to choral music. Mary is best known for his work with acts such as ...

from the band Strike. They began to play out around Seattle and with the help of Rick Keefer signed a record deal with

Combat Records Combat Records was an American independent record label founded in 1982 and based in New York City. The label was made specifically for heavy metal and punk rock acts. Notable artists include: Megadeth, Circle Jerks, Nuclear Assault, OZ, ...

who would finally release ''In Your Face'' in 1984. The song "End of the Line", whose intro is taken from the classical piece " Toccata and Fugue in D minor", was also included on the 1984

Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label group founded by record producer Mike Varney. The group principally uses the ''Shrapnel Records'' record label, a guitar-oriented label which features shred guitar, hard rock, metal and progressive ...

compilation ''US Metal Vol. IV''. TKO found a secure new fan base with the growing heavy metal audience and was part of a vibrant Seattle metal scene which included

Metal Church Metal Church is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1980. Originally based in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, they relocated to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly called themselves Shrapnel. Led ...

Rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

and Culprit, among many others. Sinsel would also contribute lead vocals to ''Burning at the Speed of Light'' (1985) by Thrasher, an all-star project initiated by Combat Records and led by the songwriting team of guitarist Andy 'Duck' MacDonald of Bible Black and drummer Carl Canedy of The Rods. Sinsel appeared on "Hot and Heavy" with MacDonald, Canedy and bassist Kenny Aaronson (

Dust Dust is made of particle size, fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian processes, aeolian process), Types of volcan ...

Derringer A derringer or deringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, nor machine pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepp ...

, HSAS) and "Widowmaker", featuring

Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician known for playing bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing style, includ ...

( Talas,

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

, Mr. Big) on bass. TKO toured the U.S. with the likes of Foreigner,

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971 and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trower ...

and Dio to promote ''In Your Face'' before heading back in the studio with Rick Keefer for their third album. Released in 1986 on the

Roadrunner The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States, Mexico and C ...

label, ''

Below the Belt Mainly used in combat sports such as boxing and kickboxing, below the belt refers to all the area of the body that lies below the line of the opponent's navel,

'' was not as well received as its predecessor and featured Sinsel, Kristoffersen, Earl and Mary who soon left to join

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

. He was briefly replaced by Michael Alexich, an old friend of Sinsel; TKO would play their last show in 1986 at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. A TKO line-up featuring Brad Sinsel, Evan Sheeley, Rick Pierce, Brynn Arens and Carl Canedy of The Rods recorded a cover of the

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

classic "Ace of Spades" in tribute to the late

Lemmy Kilmister Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...

which became available as a digital download on January 21, 2016, with proceeds from the song going to the

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hel ...

"Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund". A four-piece TKO line-up composed of Sinsel, Sheeley, guitarist Kendall Bechtel (Fifth Angel, Q5, Sweet Sister Sam), and drummer Jeffrey McCormack (Q5, Nightshade, Heir Apparent) headlined the second night of the Legions of Metal II festival in Chicago on May 19, 2018 and appeared at Germany's Headbangers Open Air festival on July 27, the band's maiden gig in Europe, where they performed their classic ''In Your Face'' album in its entirety.

Post-TKO activities

Following the end of TKO, Kristoffersen and Earl relocated to L.A. and formed The Bang Gang who released the ''Love Sells'' album in 1990, which contained the video/single "Young & the Restless", while Sinsel re-teamed with original TKO guitarist Rick Pierce to form Suicide Squad, aided by former The Fastbacks drummer Richard Stuverud, also former TKO drummer Ken Mary's replacement in

Fifth Angel Fifth Angel is an American heavy metal band from Bellevue, Washington. Biography Fifth Angel was formed in the suburbs of Seattle in 1983, specifically, in the Bellevue area. The band's initial lineup consisted of Ted Pilot (vocals), James B ...

. Sinsel and Pierce shared bass duties in the studio and combined their first names to make up credited phantom bassist Rick Bradley. The short-lived project issued the

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhoney, ...

engineered ''Live It While You Can'' EP on the

Music For Nations Music for Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. Originally a subsidiary of Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG, the label was closed in 2004 and later revived in 2015 by Sony Music Ente ...

label in 1988. Pierce would form Nightshade with former Q5 bandmate Jonathan K. and sign with Music For Nations for the release of their 1991 ''Dead of Night'' album, while Sinsel ended up joining Stuverud's new band

War Babies War children are those born to a local parent and a parent belonging to a foreign military force (usually an occupying force, but also military personnel stationed at military bases on foreign soil). Having a child by a member of a belligerent ...

, which briefly featured a pre-

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, ...

on bass after the demise of

Mother Love Bone Mother Love Bone was an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood (singer), Andrew Wood's charisma and songwriting helped to catapu ...

. The group's self-titled album was released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in 1992 and contained the video singles "Hang Me Up" and "Blue Tomorrow". In 1994, Sinsel, Brenner and Sheeley, 75% of the ''In Your Face'' line-up, played a TKO reunion show with Bobby Chouinard of

Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", " My Kinda Love ...

fame on drums. Another reunion show took place in 1997, with a line-up composed of Sinsel, Sheeley, Rick Pierce, and Scott Graham on drums. An expanded version of TKO, starring Sinsel, guitarists Rick Pierce and Kjartan Kristoffersen, drummer Gary Thompson, and bassists Scott Earl and Evan Sheeley, performed at the opening ceremonies for the

Experience Music Project The Museum of Pop Culture (or MoPOP) is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, United States, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then ...

in Seattle on September 28, 2001. Sinsel was also a member of the band 10 North at that time and had been writing with guitarist Brynn Arens of the band

Flipp Flipp is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1994, founded by singer/guitarist/producer Brynn Arens. They were signed to Hollywood Records and later Artemis Records, releasing 3 studio albums up until their dis ...

for a project later dubbed American Standard. In 2009, American Standard issued the "Send Me An Angel" b/w "My Only Friend" 7" single on Rock Steady Records and digitally. Recording sessions had also involved TKO alumni Evan Sheeley and Michael Alex(ich) on bass and drums, respectively. Sinsel next turned up fronting The McClellans, a folk/

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

group celebrating "100 Years of Great American Songs" such as "You Are My Sunshine". Sinsel was seen tracking at Litho Studios in Seattle in 2011 with guitarist

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season (band), Ma ...

, former

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees were an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bassist Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel was replaced by Barrett Martin in 1991. Screami ...

drummer Mark Pickeral, bassist Keith Lowe, pianist Bart Roderick, and Jim Brunner on guitar, mandolin and dobro. The McClennans appeared at the Yakima Folklife Festival in 2012 and 2013. In addition, Sinsel would also gig with the Randy Oxford Band, an eclectic six-piece blues band. In 2014, Sinsel emerged with a new rock project, Angels Of Dresden; a digital single, "Doomday", was released via Suna Sounds, in May of that year and featured a guest appearance by Mike McCready. It was followed by 4-song EP in November 2016. McCready also joined Sinsel and Rick Pierce for a performance of TKO's "Kill the Pain", during a benefit show at The Showbox in Seattle on May 16, 2014. In 2013, original TKO rhythm section Mark Seidenverg and Darryl Siguenza reunited with their late 1960s rock/blues band The Blues Feedback celebrating their 45th anniversary. Former TKO guitarist/keyboardist Tony Bortko died on December 4, 2006.

CD re-issues

In 2000, East Coast based label Metal Mayhem Music, in conjunction with Adam 'Bomb' Brenner, issued "the unwatered down studio version of TKO's In Your Face" and packaged it with a 1981 live recording as ''In Your Face & Up Your Ass''; the same company also issued ''Below The Belt'' on disc in 2001. ''Let It Roll'' and ''In Your Face'' were finally re-issued on CD in 2008 via North Carolina's Divebomb Records with the full participation of Brad Sinsel. Both releases feature bonus tracks and liner notes written by noted Canadian writer

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of '' Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has written over twenty books ...

, editor-in-chief for

Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'' (''BW&BK'') is a Canadian heavy metal website and former magazine. Although based in Toronto, Canada, ''BW&BK'' features writers from the US, Germany and the UK, allowing the magazine to represent metal music f ...

. The master tapes for ''Let It Roll'' were not available and both albums were re-mastered from a cleaned up LP. Bonus tracks on ''Let It Roll'' are taken from a tape of an in-studio live performance that was broadcast August 10, 1978 on Seattle rock radio station

KZOK-FM KZOK-FM (102.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station located in Seattle, Washington. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KZOK's transmitter is located near Issaquah, Washington, on Tiger Mountain, and operates f ...

. The bonus tracks on ''In Your Face'' consist of a 2001 remix by producer Rick Keefer of the original 1984 album. ''Let It Roll'', ''In Your Face'' and ''Below the Belt'' were all remastered and re-issued again by British label Rock Candy Records in October 2016.

Recent vinyl releases

In July 2017,

guitarist

, a long time fan of the band, released a red-vinyl 7-inch TKO single on his label, HockeyTalkter Records. The single features "My Memory" and "Not a Kid Anymore," two unreleased tracks recorded by the group's original Yakima line-up, consisting of Brad Sinsel, Rick Pierce, Tony Bortko, Evan Sheeley and Bill Durham. The single was a teaser for the limited edition full-length vinyl-only release ''Round Two – The Lost Demos'', issued by NW Metalworx Music in September 2017. The songs were recorded in the summer and fall of 1979 and intended for a second album with Infinity Records before the label folded.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

*''US Metal Vol. IV'' (Shrapnel, 1984) "End of the Line" *''Welcome to the Metal Zone'' (Music For Nations, 1985) "Run Out of Town" *''Rock Classics: Rock the Night Volume 1'' (Arcade, 1989) "Rock and Roll Remains"

CD re-issues

*''In Your Face & Up Your Ass'' (Metal Mayhem, 2000) *''Below the Belt'' (Metal Mayhem, 2001; Rock Candy, 2016) *''Let It Roll'' (Divebomb, 2008; Rock Candy, 2016) *''In Your Face'' (Divebomb, 2008; Rock Candy, 2016)

References

External links

Brad Sinsel Bandcamp page
* * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Hard rock musical groups from Washington (state) Heavy metal musical groups from Washington (state) Musical groups from Seattle