''Weathered Statues'' is an EP by the American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band

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

(True Sounds of Liberty), released in 1982 through

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " C ...

. In comparison to the band's previous material, its experimental nature and melodic leanings confused some of their fans and presaged the creative direction they would take on their second studio album, 1983's '' Beneath the Shadows''. The material from ''Weathered Statues'' was later re-released on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s '' Thoughts of Yesterday: 1981–1982'' (1987) and ''T.S.O.L. / Weathered Statues'' (1997).

Background

Following the release of their 1981 full-length album '' Dance with Me'' through Frontier Records, T.S.O.L. moved to

, the label run by

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Init ...

and East Bay Ray of fellow California hardcore band the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

. ''Weathered Statues'' was recorded with producer

Thom Wilson Thom Wilson (died February 8, 2015) was an American punk rock record producer and engineer. Career Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artists Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began worki ...

and released in 1982 as catalog number VIRUS 10.Blush, p. 326. Singer

Jack Grisham Jack Grisham (born July 22, 1961) is an American rock singer from Southern California. He is the vocalist for the punk rock band T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty), which emerged from the late 1970s Los Angeles hardcore punk rock scene, along wi ...

credited himself as Jack Ladoga on the sleeve, following a tradition of using a different

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

on each release both to confuse audiences and to hide his true identity from the police.Blush, p. 94. Drummer Todd Barnes credited himself as Todd Scrivener, deriving the pseudonym from the name of the street he lived on. In comparison to T.S.O.L.'s prior releases, ''Weathered Statues'' had melodic leanings that presaged the direction the band would pursue on their 1983 album '' Beneath the Shadows''. Steven Blush, author of '' American Hardcore: A Tribal History'', writes that "the experimental nature of ''Weathered Statues'' bewildered some fans". Greg Prato of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the song "Thoughts of Yesterday" as one of the band's best from their early material, calling it "a surprisingly low-key and melodic number, which sticks out like a sore thumb amidst

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

other furious thrashers." "Word Is" stands out as a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

-influenced track.

Re-releases

T.S.O.L. had released their eponymously titled debut EP through

Posh Boy Records Posh Boy Records is a Hollywood, California-based record label owned by the American-born, British-educated Robbie "Posh Boy" Fields, a sometime high school substitute teacher and former copy boy at the ''Los Angeles Times'' who took an interest ...

in 1981, then moved to Frontier Records for their full-length album ''Dance with Me'' (1981). This caused a dispute with Posh Boy, who claimed the band had not honored their commitment to record a second EP for the label. Several years later, Posh Boy and the four original members of T.S.O.L. (Grisham and Barnes had left the band in late 1983) worked out a settlement in which the members received back payments of

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

from the label, and Posh Boy purchased the

master recording Master recordings, or simply masters, are the original recordings—including post-recording mixes and production edits—of audio performances, from which all analog and digital copies of the audio are derived from. The term refers only to the r ...

s and publishing rights to ''Weathered Statues''. Posh Boy combined ''Weathered Statues'' with the debut EP to make the 1987

'' Thoughts of Yesterday: 1981–1982'' (later re-released through

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

Nitro Records Nitro Records was an American independent record label, founded in 1994 and operated by The Offspring's Dexter Holland and Greg K. Nitro is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notab ...

purchased the master tapes from Posh Boy in 1997, remastered them, and re-released the two EPs as the compilation ''T.S.O.L. / Weathered Statues''. Of the Nitro release, Allmusic's Steve Huey remarked that it "showcases the group's pulverizing early sound". Distant laughter heard during the break on the track “Thoughts of Yesterday” was edited out of all re-released versions, remaining only on the vinyl EP.

Track listing

Personnel

;Band *

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(credited as Jack Ladoga) *

Ron Emory Ronald 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, Em ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s *Mike Roche –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

*Todd Barnes –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s (credited as Todd Scrivener) ;Production *

–

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

*D. Zincavage – design *Paul Grant – typesetting

References

{{Authority control T.S.O.L. EPs 1982 EPs