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EVOLVING: "The main thing in my mind is I don't want to do something Ive already done," says Mike Ness of his music-making. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times) |
One of the new album's most touching songs is "Writing on the Wall," which is universal enough to apply to a separation from any loved one, but which Ness said was written for his 18-year-old son, with whom he grapples over issues that face most fathers of teenage boys.
There was a time when you were proud
You looked up to me with big eyes
And I could do no wrong
But something inside is clearly tearing both of us apart….
Ooh, I can't let go
It's a dramatically poignant turnaround for a musician who has so strongly marked his territory as the voice of disaffected youth and who called his group's debut album "Mommy's Little Monster."
"Changing the old anger is the challenge for me," he said. "When I was 17, it was perfect, because I needed it. I needed it to defend myself against the attacking world, and I had plenty of it. Even in my 20s, it was great. Anger's great for writing. Like everything, some of these things that were survival skills turn into a double-edged sword in your adult life — they can affect your marriage, affect your relationship with your children, affect your relationships period.
"It's been a little turbulent," he said, adding with a twisted smile: "It's an interesting — and stressful — period in life, and that always does create a good record."
New beginnings
There's no producer at his side in the studio this time, because — also for the first time — Ness is producing the new Social Distortion record himself. In fact, 2010 was a year of many firsts for Ness and the band. He parted ways with longtime manager Jim Guerinot, who also manages No Doubt, the Offspring and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, and signed up with a longtime associate of Guerinot's, Shane Trulin, who opened his own management firm.
Social Distortion also signed for the new album with Epitaph Records, the label launched in the early 1980s by Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz to put out that group's records. Over the last three decades, Epitaph has built a sizable stable of punk, alternative, rock and even country acts and continues expanding at a time when much of the rest of the record industry is in retreat.
"I have a feeling it's the beginning of a very long relationship," Ness said, citing plans for a Social Distortion acoustic album to mark its 30th anniversary, a band documentary and a third solo album in addition to the group's always heavy touring schedule.
This week, the group launches a 24-show blitzkrieg through the West over six weeks. The run starts Wednesday at the House of Blues in Anaheim, and includes three nights, Jan. 27-29, at the Hollywood Palladium. The band then heads to Australia for a series of dates.
"It's just been a year of a lot of changes," Ness said. "We have the new label, and we really feel the label is behind us…. Ultimately, we're just a band that would like to sell some records."
randy.lewis@latimes.com
There was a time when you were proud
You looked up to me with big eyes
And I could do no wrong
But something inside is clearly tearing both of us apart….
Ooh, I can't let go
It's a dramatically poignant turnaround for a musician who has so strongly marked his territory as the voice of disaffected youth and who called his group's debut album "Mommy's Little Monster."
"Changing the old anger is the challenge for me," he said. "When I was 17, it was perfect, because I needed it. I needed it to defend myself against the attacking world, and I had plenty of it. Even in my 20s, it was great. Anger's great for writing. Like everything, some of these things that were survival skills turn into a double-edged sword in your adult life — they can affect your marriage, affect your relationship with your children, affect your relationships period.
"It's been a little turbulent," he said, adding with a twisted smile: "It's an interesting — and stressful — period in life, and that always does create a good record."
New beginnings
There's no producer at his side in the studio this time, because — also for the first time — Ness is producing the new Social Distortion record himself. In fact, 2010 was a year of many firsts for Ness and the band. He parted ways with longtime manager Jim Guerinot, who also manages No Doubt, the Offspring and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, and signed up with a longtime associate of Guerinot's, Shane Trulin, who opened his own management firm.
Social Distortion also signed for the new album with Epitaph Records, the label launched in the early 1980s by Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz to put out that group's records. Over the last three decades, Epitaph has built a sizable stable of punk, alternative, rock and even country acts and continues expanding at a time when much of the rest of the record industry is in retreat.
"I have a feeling it's the beginning of a very long relationship," Ness said, citing plans for a Social Distortion acoustic album to mark its 30th anniversary, a band documentary and a third solo album in addition to the group's always heavy touring schedule.
This week, the group launches a 24-show blitzkrieg through the West over six weeks. The run starts Wednesday at the House of Blues in Anaheim, and includes three nights, Jan. 27-29, at the Hollywood Palladium. The band then heads to Australia for a series of dates.
"It's just been a year of a lot of changes," Ness said. "We have the new label, and we really feel the label is behind us…. Ultimately, we're just a band that would like to sell some records."
randy.lewis@latimes.com
