Sinsel, a native of
Yakima, Washington, 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 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 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 division of
MCA Records in early 1979; it went on to sell roughly 150,000 copies. During this time the group had a type of
glam rock image and fans compared their music favorably with
The Who. TKO toured the U.S. extensively, including shows with the
Kinks,
Cheap Trick,
AC/DC,
Van Halen 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 vocalist
Geoff Tate 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 for his 1984 debut
Fatal Attraction. Pierce, Sheeley, and Thompson all left to join guitarist
Floyd Rose 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 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 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 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,
Queensrÿche,
Rail 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,
Derringer,
HSAS) and "Widowmaker", featuring
Billy Sheehan (
Talas,
David Lee Roth,
Mr. Big) on bass. TKO toured the U.S. with the likes of
Foreigner,
Ted Nugent,
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 label,
Below the Belt was not as well received as its predecessor and featured Sinsel, Kristoffersen, Earl and Mary who soon left to join
Alice Cooper. 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 classic "Ace of Spades" in tribute to the late
Lemmy Kilmister which became available as a digital download on January 21, 2016, with proceeds from the song going to the
Ronnie James Dio "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 ==