Social Distortion: Mommy's monsters no more

Social Distortion matures with addition of new blood

By Ched Whitney

Much has been made of Mike Ness' transformation from hard-partying, tattooed crafter of the early-'80s L.A. punk scene to 40-something Little League dad, up early to get the kids ready for school.

The SoCal rocker's latest effort certainly hints at growing up--and moving on. Social Distortion's first studio album in eight years, the confessional Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll, is replete with themes of redemption and a wiser, (sometimes) gentler view of the punk aesthetic. It was the first album the band recorded without guitarist Dennis Danell, who, with Ness, founded the band in the late '70s when the two were Orange County teens. Danell died in 2000 of a brain aneurysm. Blues-influenced guitarist Jonny Wickersham replaced Danell later that year.

Wickersham had spent a lot of time around the band--filling in on tour in 1997 for Danell when the guitarist was home for the birth of his son--before joining full-time. He says he felt comfortable even though Social D had long been a partnership between Ness and Danell, who was a close friend of Wickersham's as well. ("Don't Take Me for Granted," a song on Sex, was written by Ness as a tribute to Danell.)

While Mike Ness and Social Distortion have become synonymous over the past 25 years, Wickersham says the recording process was far from dictatorial.

"Ultimately, it's Mike's vision for the outcome of the record," Wickersham said after a recent rehearsal for the tour that began Wednesday night, the first of three consecutive shows at The Joint. "But as far as everyone else contributing ideas, he's really receptive to that. It was a collaborative effort between everyone, always keeping in mind Social Distortion's sound and what we're striving for, which is based around Mike's guitar sound and vocals.

"Mike has got such a signature guitar sound. I don't care how good a guitar player someone is...you could hear him playing anywhere and know it was Mike Ness."

Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll, released in September, finds Ness and Social Distortion revealing a more optimistic side. Songs like "Live Before You Die" and "Reach For the Sky" strike a different tone for a band known for mad-at-the-world classics such as "Mommy's Little Monster" and "Bad Luck."

"The sound of the band has matured," Wickersham says. "But at the same time, you don't want to go making big, huge changes. Some bands can do that, but that's not something for this band."

In practicing for the tour, Wickersham says, the band has been playing songs from its early days, trying to recapture the sound and feeling of the time.

"The sound has changed a lot over the years. Today in rehearsal we were working on '1945' for a while, one of the oldest songs in the set, and trying to capture the vibe in the original recording, that they made when they were kids--trying to get that same fire back in it."

Though Social Distortion has been somewhat less than prolific over its 25 years, as three Las Vegas show attest, the band still has a firm hold on its place in the punk rock world. Though the band members are now old enough to be fathers to many in their audience, they haven't had trouble attracting new fans.

"The kids are smart," Wickersham says. "They're very perceptive about certain things. The kids that are into this kind of music do their homework. They understand the roots of stuff. There aren't a lot of music scenes out there where people care about the roots of anything."