Social Distortion Signs With Epitaph, Readies New Record

photo by Julia Zave

Social Distortion recently signed to Epitaph Records, the label that has released musical time bombs by Bad Religion, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise, The Refused, The Hives, All, The Donnas, SNFU, The Offspring, L7, Descendents, The International Noise Conspiracy, Joe Strummer - in other words, many of the punk rock-flavoured frisbees that have coloured the world we know today. So Social Distortion seems to have come full circle from early punk roots, to major label rock heroes, and back to a label that's had big successes bringing punk to the masses. No word on a release date yet, but SD main man Mike Ness has been talking up the recording process and his influences, telling Spinner.ca that the album sounds like a cross between The Dead Boys and The Black Crowes.


View this video at Hurley.com

Scoial Distortion's web site has some interesting video links, with Ness perfeorming with members of Pearl Jam and some rocking live stuff. There's also this one of Ness doing Bad Luck with Springsteen. It's not really the best version of the song, but I think it's amazing that his Bruceness is aware of SD's greatness, saying he's been a big fan for a "long, long time". Springsteen has previously called Social Distortion "one of the not-heralded-enough great American rock bands", even going so far as to appear on Ness's solo album Cheating at Solitaire.



Some people think the new album will include a song called Bakersfield, a tune that has been played live a fair amount. I can hear Springsteen doing this one, I'd like him to record it too so Ness can afford to keep doing what he does.



Ness has said that the new album reminds him of 1992'2 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, which I'm pretty sure is a lot of people's fave SD record - I know it's mine. Here's the opening track from that one.



Buy Social Distortion here.