Concert preview: Social Distortion’s good times last a little longer

When Mike Ness formed Social Distortion as a teenager in Southern California in 1978, punk was in full effect — a middle finger to conventionality and a kick to the ribs of the decade's meandering, ponderous, self-indulgent music.

A dozen years later, as the lead singer/lead guitarist/lead songwriter was working on his band's third studio album, the scene had, in his eyes, all but self-imploded, paradoxically undone by becoming conformist and formulaic.

Your song's not 21/2 minutes of staccato, discordant, faux righteous anger?! That's not very punk.

And so, circa 1990, Social Distortion may still have been labeled a punk group, but "Social Distortion" could hardly be considered a punk album.

Now, on the 25-year anniversary of the seminal record's release, as the supposed "sellout" prepares to play a sold-out Salt Lake City show, featuring the album in full as part of the set, Ness is glad he had the conviction to ignore those who questioned his intent and his integrity.

"I had experienced witnessing that first wave of punk and I remember the individualism and I remember the daring to be different. In that aspect, I felt I was staying true to my roots, even though I was writing the songs going, 'I don't know if people are gonna like this, but I sure do,' " Ness said in a recent telephone interview. "… I guess it just goes to show that if you don't take risks in life, you don't really experience positive outcomes."

As it turned out, "Social Distortion" was the most positive outcome the band could've hoped for. The self-titled album was a commercial and a critical success, earning Social D a new legion of fans and launching the band to stardom.

More important to Ness, though, was the validation of his decision to shrug off the shackles of expectation of what a punk band was supposed to sound like.

It certainly was unconventional to draw significant influence from The Carter Family, a folk-and-bluegrass act that started in the 1920s. It was also, apparently, beyond rational thought to cover The Man in Black — though Social D's scorching version of "Ring of Fire" has proven to be one of their most enduring hits.

"Every record is a re-invention of the band, but this really was. … I just felt that the songwriting had evolved a little bit. It was just kind of like a carving out of what I wanted the band to be in 20 years. … A lot of it was I didn't want to be an old guy in a band singing and doing the same things I did when I was 18," Ness said. "… The main thing was bringing that Americana into the punk, really just establishing the country, rockabilly, blues influences and blending it with the attitude and angst and energy from punk. Even though I remember getting flak for doing it. … It seemed like there was this punk-rock police. … It was like, 'Oh! You're gonna grow your hair out long — that's not very punk!' Or, 'Oh, you're gonna do a Johnny Cash song? That's not very punk!' And, 'The lyrics on Ball and Chain aren't very punk!' Well, maybe you should listen to the lyrics, 'cause it's about as hardcore as you can get. I mean, it's about life."

Ness' hardcore life certainly made for compelling subject matter, and the autobiographical nature of songs such as "Ball and Chain," "Story of My Life" and "It Coulda Been Me" transformed one man's personal demons into ubiquitous anthems of struggle and desperation.

Ness suspects that's why the songs have held up so well.

"At this period of my life, I was 5 years clean off drugs and alcohol, so I was doing a lot of reflection. What's interesting about 'Ball and Chain' is that if you ask anyone who listens to it, I think it means something different to everybody, 'cause it doesn't really say any one thing," he said. "I guess the universal thing about that is everyone has some sort of ball and chain, whether it's getting into bad relationships, or not [being] good with money, or addictions … or a horrible childhood that affects your relationships now, or whatever. … [The songs] have a certain authenticity to them because they're so honest, I think. Just simple."

Similarly simple was the decision to devote this tour to the 25th anniversary of the album.

"We don't take a whole lot of time sometimes to acknowledge our milestones. We typically don't go and play a whole record in its entirety or anything like that. But I just felt that this one was worth acknowledging," Ness said. "… This was important to us, and it seems like it's important to the fans, too. Because every single show on this tour is sold out so far. So it must be important to them, too. And that feels good. We're celebrating this together."

And there's plenty of reason to celebrate.

After all, Ness' decision a quarter of a century ago to do things his way yielded not merely one of the landmark albums of the '90s, but one whose influence continues to grow to this day.

"You know, I've been looking at the crowd every night, seeing guys my age who were there from the beginning still coming, and I'm seeing 9- and 10-year-olds in the front row, I'm seeing teenagers, I'm seeing 20-year-olds. It's just fascinating to me that somehow we were able to write music that would pass down through generations," he said. "I see parents bringing their kids to shows, I see kids bringing their parents to shows. I don't know that the best marketing geniuses in the world could figure out how to do that. I don't know how! I certainly don't take it for granted. It is a phenomenon to me, and a very lucky one at that."

Of course, Ness had a big hand in making much of that luck himself. Because blindly accepting what others say you are and what you should be … That's not very punk.

ewalden@sltrib.com

Twitter: @esotericwalden

—

Social Distortion

With Nikki Lane and Drag The River

When • Thursday, Sept. 3; doors at 7 p.m., show at 8

Where • The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City

Tickets • Sold out