Twin/Tone Records

Safety Last

 Safety Last are a four-piece band with a simple, traditional approach to their music, blending elements of country, western swing, pop, and rock-n-roll. Although all hail from Minneapolis, the band had its beginnings in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the fall of 1978, where bassist Rusty Jones and guitarist Tim Mauseth teamed up with a local drummer to form the first Safety Last. They played off and on, sometimes with nothing more than home stereo for a P.A.

Rusty and Tim returned to Minneapolis in the winter of 1979, and recruited old friend Jim Tollefsrud (formerly of NNB) to play drums. The band rehearsed through the spring, and debuted on July 4th, 1980. That fall brought a fourth member, Sprague Hollander on second guitar. The new lineup continued to play around town, and in mid-198l entered the studio to record their first record.

The release, however, was held up due to the departure of Tim and Sprague, who decided to form a new band. In August, longtime fan Gary Louris joined on lead guitar and soon Lianne Smith was added on vocals and rhythm guitar. Now that there was a solid band, Safety Last's self-titled 6-song l2-inch EP was released in May 1982.

The band began playing out-of-town more, touring Mid-America and the Southwest, stopping only to record their debut album, entitled Struck By Love, released September 22, 1983.

- from a 1983 Twin/Tone bio