Michael James Ness
(born April 3, 1962) is guitarist, vocalist, and chief songwriter for the punk rock band Social Distortion. As of Dennis Danell's death in 2000, he is the only remaining original member of the band.
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MIKE NESS TICKETS
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Biography
Early life and career with Social Distortion
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Ness was born in
Lynn,
Massachusetts and raised in
Orange County, California. Kicked out of his father's home in
Fullerton at 15, he began involving himself in the
punk rock scene.
[1] As a member of The Band Easter with Danny Dean, Chad Carrier and Korky Ollerton, Ness was the original owner of the one-bedroom apartment described in
The Adolescents song "
Kids of the Black Hole". The
punk house was located in
Fullerton, California in the 1980s.
[2]
Ness founded Social Distortion in 1978, releasing the
Mainliner/Playpen
7" record on Robbie Field's
indie label
Posh Boy Records in 1981. Two years later, they released the album
Mommy's Little Monster
(1983) on 13th Floor Records, which was owned by their manager at the time, Monk Rock.
Ness was featured in the independent film
Another State of Mind
, which chronicled Social Distortion's first cross-country tour with Youth Brigade. Five years passed before Social Distortion released their next album, 1988's
Prison Bound
on the heels of Ness' recovery from
drug addiction.
[3] Ness briefly was employed as a house painter and assistant speech therapist in an elementary school in the mid 1980s.
Ness appeared in the band Easter from 1986-1988 and was in the music video for the songs "Slipping Away" and "Lights Out".
In 1989, Social Distortion signed a deal with
Epic Records and released three albums with that label:
Social Distortion
(1990),
Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
(1992) and
White Light, White Heat, White Trash
(1996).
The band left
Epic Records after
White Light, White Heat, White Trash
(1996) and Ness formed
Time Bomb Recordings, releasing
Mainliner: Wreckage From the Past
(a collection of old recordings and singles that were done in the early '80s), a re-issue of the long out of print
Mommy's Little Monster
, along with a re-issue of their second album
Prison Bound
, and
Live at the Roxy
(1998).
Solo career
In 1999, Ness released his first solo album,
Cheating at Solitaire
. Although some of Social Distortion's songs paid homage to
country music artists,
Cheating at Solitaire
was an unalloyed expression of Ness' country influences.
Solitaire
included guest appearances by
Bruce Springsteen,
Brian Setzer and
Josh Freese, as well as members of
Royal Crown Revue. Springsteen had touted Social Distortion's
Heaven and Hell
as his favorite record of the year in a
Rolling Stone
interview in 1992. Ness continued in this vein, releasing a compilation of country covers entitled
Under the Influences
that same year. Both albums came out on Time Bomb Recordings. Ness toured extensively in the U.S. in support of these albums, backed partially by the present-day (2006) incarnation of Social Distortion; ex-
Plugz and
Bob Dylan drummer
Charlie Quintana,
Brent Harding (upright and electric bass) and
Jonny Wickersham (guitar tech). Ness and the band played at
Woodstock '99.
Danell's death
Childhood friend, and founding member of Social Distortion, guitarist
Dennis Danell died on February 29, 2000 at 38 due to a
brain aneurysm. Ness was devastated, stating "I am saddened beyond any possible form of expression. Dennis and I have been friends since boyhood, starting Social Distortion while we were in high school. My deepest regrets to his family."
[4] The band went back to work in June 2000 on the album,
Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll
. Many of the songs on this new album are dedicated to Danell, such as "Don't Take Me For Granted", "Reach For The Sky" and "Angel's Wings" (although Ness also stated in an October 2005 concert in
New York City that "Don't Take Me For Granted" is dedicated to
Joey Ramone, but in other concerts he dedicated it to Dennis Danell).
[5]
Present day
thumb in 2008
In 2003, Social Distortion recorded a live
DVD called
Live in Orange County
at the
House of Blues in
Anaheim, California which was released in 2004 along with
Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll
, both of which were released on Time Bomb Recordings. These efforts marked the first recordings with a line up consisting of Ness on guitar and vocals, Wickersham replacing Danell on guitar, and Quintana on drums. It also consisted of songs co-written by Ness and Wickersham. This is the first time Ness collaborated with another songwriter since 1990s self-titled album, on which he and then bassist
John Maurer wrote "Let it be Me". The band's lineup changed twice after Maurer left the band, just a month before the release of
Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll
. He was replaced by
Operation Ivy/
Rancid bassist
Matt Freeman until early 2005 when current member, Brent Harding, joined as his replacement.
In February 2006, Ness broke his wrist while skateboarding in
Las Vegas. Mike continued to perform vocals on the tour while
TSOL guitarist
Ron Emory filled in on guitar until Ness' wrist healed.
[6] On January 18, 2007, former Social Distortion bass player
Brent Liles died after being hit by a tractor trailer truck. Ness dedicated a performance at the Anaheim
House of Blues to him shortly after.
Ness currently lives in
Costa Mesa, California. He is an avid collector of retro ephemera and
hot rods, owning a 1954
Chevy and a 1936
Ford. In 2003 he founded
Black Kat Kustoms with "long time hot rodder and builder" Don Nemarnik.
[7] Black Kat Kustoms is an expression of his love for hot rods, cats, the Kalapos family, bikes, and counter-culture clothing.
[8]
Despite earlier reports that the band would begin recording their next studio album by 2008, Social Distortion took a hiatus from touring and recording, when Ness was on tour with his solo band which composed of two current members of Social Distortion;
Brent Harding and
Jonny Wickersham. Also touring with Ness were
Chris Lawrence on
Telecaster and pedal steel guitar and
Dave Raven on drums. In a July 2009 interview with Tarakany! Bad TV, Ness stated that Social Distortion is planning to return to the studio in December of that year or the beginning of 2010 to begin recording their new album.
[9]
On May 17, 2008 Ness and his band were joined on stage by
Bruce Springsteen at the
Stone Pony in
Asbury Park,
New Jersey for the encore. Songs played were "Misery Loves Company", "Ball and Chain", "If You Leave Before Me" and "I Fought the Law".
On April 16, 2009 Ness joined Springsteen and the
E Street Band on stage at the
Los Angeles Sports Arena. Songs played included Social Distortion's "Bad Luck" and Springsteen's "The Rising".
On May 18, 2009 Mike Ness and Social Distortion played a benefit show at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California called "Rock to Recovery" and his son joined him on stage and played lead guitar for the song "Ball and Chain".
Equipment
Guitars
Although seen using Gibson SGs in his early career, Ness almost exclusively uses 60s and 70s
Gibson Les Pauls, his primary guitar being a '71 Goldtop Les Paul with Custom Shop Seymour Duncan P90 pickups in both the neck and bridge position, with an Orange County decal and a Mr. Horsepower (Clay Smith Cams logo) across the back of the body. He also uses guitars with a Harley Davidson decal and has one with a 13 across the top. Also hit Rat Fink decal Les Paul is commonly used during shows.
[10]
He also uses Gibson Jumbo acoustic guitars.
Amps
Ness uses Fender Bassman amps modified by
Billy Zoom and Marshall 4x10 slant cabs. He does not use 4x12s as commonly thought. He also uses a Boss SD-1 Overdrive Pedal.
Discography
Solo
- Cheating at Solitaire
(1999)
- Under the Influences
(1999)
Social Distortion
- Mommy's Little Monster
(1983)
- Prison Bound
(1988)
- Self-Titled
(1990)
- Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell
(1992)
- Mainliner: Wreckage From the Past
(1995)
- White Light, White Heat, White Trash
(1996)
- Live at the Roxy
(1998)
- Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll
(2004)
- Greatest Hits
(2007)
- TBA
(2010)
Other Appearances
- The Band Easter
(1980)
- Another State of Mind
(1984)
- Fresno Smooth
- Easter
(1986-1988)
- Live at the Hootenanny, Vol. 1
(2000)
- Live In Orange County
(2004)
References
- [1], VH1 Artist Bio, Retrieved June 26 2007,.
- "A Brief History of Social Distortion", SocialDistortion.com. Retrieved on February 20, 2007,
- [1], SocialDistortion.com, Retrieved on June 26, 2007.
- "Archived News" SocialDistortion.com. February 29, 2000. Retrieved on July 30, 2006.
- http://www1.myway.com/home/entertainment/celeb/page_six_celebrity_news/0,14205,10_06_2005_3_-3,00.ht
- [1], Official Myspace Page Retrieved June 26, 2007.
- "Bio" BlackKatKustoms.com. Retrieved on July 30, 2006.
- [1], Black Kat Kustoms Interview 26 June, 2007.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBbJMzHzggo
- http://www.seymourduncan.com/atrists/featured_artists/84