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The O.C. Supertones

 
Artist: The O.C. Supertones
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The O.C. Supertones

Group Members:

Brian Johnson, Tony Terusa, Dave Chevalier, Jason Carson, Dan Spencer, Matt Morginsky, Darren Mettler

Similar Artists:

Plankeye, Buck-O-Nine, Save Ferris, Unwritten Law, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Descendents

Influenced By:

Skankin' Pickle, Operation Ivy, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Formal Connection With:

Demon Hunter
See The O.C. Supertones Lyrics
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "The Ultimate Collection," "Chase the Sun," "The Adventures of the O.C. Supertones"

Biography

Leaders of a surprisingly strong Christian ska-punk movement, the O.C. Supertones were originally formed as a band named Saved by vocalist Matt Morginsky, drummer Jason Carson, and bassist Tony Terusa. The group failed to get signed so the core trio formed the O.C. Supertones with the gradual addition of members including Brian Johnson (guitar), Dan Spencer (trombone), Dave Chevalier (saxophone), and Darrin Mettler (trumpet). The septet released their debut album The Adventures of the O.C. Supertones in May 1996 on the Christian punk label Tooth & Nail, headed by scene leaders MXPX. After touring with them later in 1996, the O.C. Supertones released The Supertones Strike Back in mid-1997. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: The O.C. Supertones
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The O.C. Supertones

The O.C. Supertones
Background information
Also known as The Orange County Supertones, The Supertones
Origin California, United States
Genres Christian ska
Ska[1]
Third wave ska[1]
Years active 1995 - 2005
Labels Tooth & Nail Records
Former members
Matt "Mojo" Morginsky
Daniel Spencer
Ethan Luck
Bret Barker
Chris Beaty
John Wilson
Jason Carson
Tony Terusa
Darren Mettler
Dave Chevalier
Adam Ferry
Brian Johnson
Kevin "Slim" Chen
Jordan "Jorstache" Stroup
Jason Joel Lautenschleger

The Orange County Supertones (a.k.a. The O.C. Supertones a.k.a. The Supertones) were a Christian ska band hailing from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records before becoming an independent band for its final tour. The OC Supertones were one of the first widely successful Christian Ska bands.

Contents

History

The band began in the early 1990s as Saved.[2] Originally formed by Matt Morginsky, Jason Carson and Tony Terusa while in Junior High School,[3] the band played a mix of many styles including punk, rap, metal, disco, and funk.[4] In 1995 they formed as The Orange County Supertones and settled on a ska based sound, similar to Operation Ivy or Mike Park's Skankin' Pickle.[3] Although frontman Jason Carson had known Tooth & Nail founder Brandon Ebel for years, the label was reluctant to sign them. As characterized by Ebel: "The Supertones were good, but Saved was not good. I had years of Saved in my head."[5]

The Supertones' debut release, Adventures of the O.C. Supertones, received a 1997 Dove nomination for the "Alternate / Modern Rock" category.[6] Their second album, 1997's release Supertones Strike Back, was a surprise smash hit, peaking on both Billboard's Heatseekers and Top Christian Albums charts at #3 and #2 respectively. In the fall of 1997 the Supertones headlined a tour with Ghoti Hook and Stavesacre, and the next spring opened for Audio Adrenaline.[7]

In 1999 the Supertones played for the papal visit to St. Louis by Pope John Paul II.[8] That fall they embarked on the all-Christian-ska "Skamania" tour with The Insyderz and Five Iron Frenzy.[9]

Beginning with a more traditional ska sound, The Supertones moved next to a harder rock sound, which eventually changed again with more of a pop-rock influence. The band explained the musical evolution to CCM: "pop culture has the attention span of a flea... ska's time in the white-hot spotlight has come and gone."[10] When saxophonist Dave Chevalier joined The Dingees in 1998, the band made the decision not to replace his poisition. Rap and R&B influences also became more prevalant in their sound, which remained "about 40 percent reminiscent of the older stuff."[9] Their next two albums, 1999's Chase the Sun and 2000's Loud and Clear, each charted on the Billboard 200 chart.[11]

"The Supertones' main message is Christ and Him crucified. We want to help people understand certain doctrinal truths."
—Matt Morginsky in 1997.[12]

Lyrically, they were known as having a straightforward approach to songwriting, with a minimal use of metaphor.[13] Even so, their songs were cited as being thought-provoking and containing deep theology.[3] One of the major focuses for the band was evangelism;[14] they included segments of preaching in each performance.[7][15] Originally these were fronted by drummer Jason Carson, who had been active in youth ministry before the Supertones found their break.[9] In 2000 when he went back into ministry full time the band split the responsabilities among remaining members.[16] Adam Ferry, formerly of Plankeye, took Carson's spot on drums.

They continued to release albums until 2005, when they announced plans to break up. The band released Unite, a greatest hits compilation, and played their last show at Biola University in La Mirada, California on October 7, 2005. former members Jason Carson, Darren Mettler and Tony Terusa re-joined the band on stage for three songs. Kevin "Slim" Chen was on hand but did not play with the band. The Supertones played for 2 1/2 hours at their final show, playing close to 30 songs.

Post break up

On March 11, 2008 BEC Recordings, Inc. released "The Ultimate Collection," a sort of greatest hits album with select songs from each of the bands studio albums, with the exception of "Revenge of the O.C. Supertones," which has no tracks represented.

On February 12, 2008 former Supertones guitarist Ethan Luck became the newest member playing drums for the Christian Punk Pop band, Relient K.

Former front man Matt Morginsky released his debut solo album, "Doctorate in Cold Rockin' It" under the moniker Mojo & the Info via iTunes and MySpace on April 20, 2008.

Former guitarist Kevin "Slim" Chen now plays in the rock/pop punk band "New Liars Club" with former members of Gameface and the rock band Follow Your Failure.

Ex-Frontman Matt "Mojo" Morginsky now sings in the Ska/Rock band "Mojo and October Light".

Ex-Drummer Jason Carson is now a youth pastor at Mission Hills Community Church

Reunion

On September 16, 2009, Jason Carson (former drummer and founding member) announced via the 'We want a Supertones reunion show @ Cornerstone 2009' facebook group that:

"Funny you guys should mention this... Probably not C-Stone... but summer of 2010 is a REAL possibility for a few festivals! Stay tuned."

They have just been confirmed to be playing at Joshua Fest 2010.

The line-up for the tour will be as follows:

Mojo Morginsky - Vocals
Toneman Terusa - Bass
Jason Carson - Drums
Chief Mettler - Trumpet
Jesse Craig (from PAX217) - Guitar
Nathan Spencer (Daniel's little brother) - Trombone

Band Members

Final Line-Up

Former Members

  • Tony "Toneman" Terusa - bass guitar (1995 - 2002)
  • Kevin "Slim" Chen - guitar (1995 - 1997)
  • Jason Joel Lautenschleger - saxophone (1996 - 1997)
  • Brian "Bronson" Johnson - guitar (1999)
  • Dave Chevalier - saxophone (1996 - 1998)
  • Jason Carson - drums (1995 - 2000)
  • Darren "Chief" Mettler - trumpet (1995 - 2004)
  • Adam Ferry - drums (2000 - 2001)

Discography

Compilations

  • Any Given Day
  • Veggie Rocks!
  • Tooth and Nail 4th anniversary Box Set
  • Tooth and Nail 10th anniversary Box Set
  • Art Core Vol.2
  • Cheapskates Vol. 2
  • Cheapskates Vol. 3
  • Cheapskates Vol. 4
  • X 2003
  • Moms Like Us Too Vol. 1
  • Happy Christmas Vol. 1
  • Happy Christmas Vol. 2
  • Seltzer Vol. 1
  • Seltzer Vol. 3
  • WOW 1999
  • WOW 2000
  • Dominate in 98
  • Steady Sounds From The Underground
  • BEC Sampler Vol. 1
  • Songs from the penalty box Vol. 2
  • No Lies

Charts

Billboard (North America) [11]

Year Album US Hot 200 US Heatseekers Top Contemporary Christian
1996 The Adventures of the O.C. Supertones - - 36
1997 The Adventures of the O.C. Supertones - - 35
1997 Supertones Strike Back 117 3 2
1999 Chase the Sun 95 - 2
2000 Loud and Clear 168 9 10
2002 Hi-Fi Revival - - 28
2002 Live! Vol. 1 - - 20
2004 Revenge of the O.C. Supertones - - 17

Video Compilations

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:w9fwxq9hldae
  2. ^ Allmusic bio
  3. ^ a b c Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. pp. 902–904. ISBN 1-56563-679-1. 
  4. ^ "Profile - The Supertones". 10 1999. http://www.christianbook.com/html/authors/3541.html. Retrieved 2007-02-15. 
  5. ^ Bonham, Chad (May / June 1998). "Tooth & Nail". 7ball (18): 22-25. ISSN 1082-3980. 
  6. ^ Todd, Darleen (Winter 1998). "A Ska Primer". True Tunes News: 12-14. 
  7. ^ a b Urbanski, David (July 1997). "One Crazy Summer". CCM Magazine 20 (1): 24-32. ISSN 1524-7848. 
  8. ^ Newcomb, Brian Quincy (April 1999). "Pope Visits St. Louis". CCM Magazine 21 (10): 12-13. ISSN 1524-7848. 
  9. ^ a b c Carlozo, Lou (February 1999). "Super Tone Deaf". CCM Magazine 21 (8). ISSN 1524-7848.  Quote by Brandon Ebel.
  10. ^ Carlozo, Lou (November 2000). "A Year of Kryptonite". CCM Magazine 23 (5): 56-58. ISSN 1524-7848. 
  11. ^ a b "((( The O.C. Supertones > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3h90s30ua39g~T5. Retrieved 2007-02-15. 
  12. ^ Brown, Bruce A. (July / August 1997). "super tones". 7ball (13): 12-14. ISSN 1082-3980. 
  13. ^ Hill, Don (1996). "Reviews / Adventures of the O.C. Supertones". Cornerstone 25 (109): 58. ISSN 0275-2743. 
  14. ^ "Life in the Fast Lane". CCM Magazine 20 (4): 13. October 1997. ISSN 1524-7848. 
  15. ^ Hendrickson, Lucas W. (June 1996). "On Tour: The Supertones / Switchfoot / Relient K, 328 Performance Hall, Nashville, TN". CCM Magazine 23 (12): 47. ISSN 1524-7848. 
  16. ^ "Hard News'". HM Magazine (87): 12. January / February 2001. ISSN 1066-6923. 

External links

v • d • e
The O.C. Supertones
Matt Morginsky · Daniel Spencer · Ethan Luck · Bret Barker · Chris Beaty · John Wilson · Jason Carson · Tony Terusa · Darren Mettler · Dave Chevalier · Adam Ferry · Brian Johnson · Kevin Chen
Discography

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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