The O.C. Supertones | |
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Also known as | The Orange County Supertones, The Supertones, The O.C. Supertones, The 'Tones |
Origin | California, United States |
Genres | Christian ska, ska punk,third wave ska |
Years active | 1995–2005, 2010–2017 |
Labels | Tooth & Nail, BEC |
Website | www |
Members |
Matt "Mojo" Morginsky Jason Carson Tony Terusa Darren Mettler Nathan Spencer Jesse Craig Josh Auer |
Past members |
Daniel Spencer Ethan Luck Bret Barker Chris Beaty John Wilson Dave Chevalier Adam Ferry Brian Johnson Kevin "Slim" Chen Jordan Stroup Jason Joel Lautenschleger Tom Kieft Gerben Postma |
The Orange County Supertones (a.k.a. The O.C. Supertones, or simply The Supertones) were a Christian ska band from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records and its imprint, BEC Recordings, before becoming an independent band. The band temporarily disbanded in 2005, though reunited in 2010 to resume touring and recording before permanently disbanding in 2017. The OC Supertones were one of the first widely successful Christian ska bands.
The band began in the early 1990s as Saved. Originally formed by Matt Morginsky, Jason Carson and Tony Terusa while in junior high school, the band played a mix of many styles including punk, rap, metal, disco, and funk. 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. Although drummer 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."
The Supertones' debut release, Adventures of the O.C. Supertones, received a 1997 Dove nomination for the "Alternate / Modern Rock" category. 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 No. 3 and No. 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, with whom they recorded a duet, "Blitz," on the Audio Adrenaline album Some Kind of Zombie, also in 1997.