MUSIC : A Night of Jingle Bell Rock From Wood, Grisham

There long has been an impression among observers of the local alternative-rock scene that Jack Grisham and Joe Wood must not particularly care for each other.

If not sworn enemies, these two big, strapping rock singers at least have to be fairly heated rivals, goes the common perception. After all, considering everything that’s gone down with T.S.O.L., the band that Grisham founded and Wood took over, they can’t possibly like each other.

Yet despite occasional public manifestations of rivalry, Grisham and Wood have spent a good part of the last eight years living under the same roof. For three years, since Wood married Grisham’s younger sister, D.D., they’ve been brothers-in-law.

Now, at least for a night, they’ll be band-mates. They will team up tonight at Bogart’s in Long Beach for a concert of Christmas songs--their first-ever performance together.

There will be none of the rabble-rousing punk-rock fury that marked the mercurial Grisham’s tenure in T.S.O.L. from 1980 to ‘83, and none of the stormy darkness that often colored the music after Wood inherited the band and led it toward a blues-metal sound akin to that of Guns ‘N Roses. The Jack ‘n’ Joe Show will be concerned mainly with tidings of comfort and joy.

“All these people think we hate each other, so we’ll do some real sweet Christmas songs,” Grisham said recently. “It’s going to be the family Christmas special.”

But what about some of the irritation that has cropped up between them--particularly the brouhaha of three Christmases ago, when Grisham and the other three original members of T.S.O.L. staged a reunion, much to the consternation of Wood, who thought the punk revivalist T.S.O.L. threatened the identity of his hard-rock T.S.O.L.?

“We only yelled at each other one day,” Grisham said. “It was a pretty big yelling match.”

Wood remembers that “it lasted about a week, (but) that was the only time there was any kind of feud at all. One day I called him up and said, ‘Forget it, good luck to you’ ” (although Wood’s T.S.O.L. did insist that Grisham’s re-formed band use a different name. It performed as Superficial Love, the name of a song from T.S.O.L.’s debut album).

“Me and Jack have a lot more in common than people realize,” said Wood, who has been part of the Grisham household since he and D.D. first became a couple. “We surf together, we both love music, we both have children. We get along great. He’s my brother-in-law. He’s crazy, but I may be a little crazy.”

Grisham facetiously suggested one more reason for brotherly bonding: “Joe and I have a common enemy in my sister.”

It’s interesting and a bit ironic that D.D. (for Deidre Darlene), a relative latecomer to professional music making, quickly landed the major-label recording deal that for years has eluded her brother and her husband, whose decade-long recording careers have been played out on independent labels. “Tuesdays are Forever,” D.D.’s debut album of country-flavored pop songs, is due Jan. 19 on Hollywood Records.

Wood said that he, D.D. and their children, Lexi, 9, and Dylan, 2, have moved back temporarily into the Long Beach family homestead owned by Jack and D.D.’s mother as they figure out how to handle child care in a family where both careers hold the likelihood of separate concert tours.

That domestic setup is what led to the Christmas benefit. Grisham and guitarist Ron Emory, another T.S.O.L. alumnus, were working on songs a few weeks ago in the house’s garage-studio when Wood walked in.

For some reason, they all started singing Christmas songs, albeit, Wood recalls, with off-color lyrics. Then one of them, apparently Grisham, suggested they take their caroling public (presumably without the ribald parodies) in an effort to collect toys for needy kids.

As it turns out, Emory isn’t expected to be with Grisham and Wood at Bogart’s; they will be backed by keyboard player Ronnie King from Grisham’s former band, Tender Fury; bassist Dave Mello, an old cohort of Wood’s from T.S.O.L., and Lou Ramirez, the former Plimsouls drummer who now is a member of the Joe Wood Band.

“It sounds corny, but we were thinking about: ‘What if our kids didn’t have toys?’ ” Grisham said. While the show won’t actually be a benefit (because the musicians are not donating their performances), Bogart’s is offering a $3 discount to concert-goers who bring toys, which club booker Stephen Zepeda says will be given to the Salvation Army.

The show comes at a point when Wood and Grisham are both looking for new opportunities. Wood said T.S.O.L. is on possibly permanent hold while he concentrates on his own band. He plans to mount a push for a recording contract next spring.

Grisham said Tender Fury broke up about a month ago after its strong 1991 album “If Anger Were Soul, I’d Be James Brown” failed to sell well or to provide a platform for touring. “It got great reviews, but nothing happened, and it got to the point where everybody else in the band was doing other projects.” Grisham recently signed with a new manager whose company represents such hard-rock heavies as Bad Company and Damn Yankees.

“After everything that’s happened, we’re in the same position,” Wood said.

“Me and Jack, after all we’ve been through, to go off and play Christmas songs together is just hilarious,” he added. “It’ll be fun.”

Joe Wood and Jack Grisham play tonight at 9 at Bogart’s in the Marina Pacifica Mall, 6288 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach. Tickets: $8, $5 with the donation of a new unwrapped toy. Information: (310) 594-8975.