Even though frontman Mike Ness is pushing 50, Social Distortion refuses to relent. This year alone has seen them spend time in the studio working on a new record for a new label (Epitaph), take a spin through South America (their first), recruited two new drummers (Atom Willard left), and tour the U.S. (Lollapalooza included). As if that weren't enough, the 2010 Social Distortion tour has now been extended into the fall. The fall trek gets underway on October 14 in Salt Lake City with Lucero and Frank Turner also on the bill. The five-week itinerary covers the ground missed in the previous run as they travel through the Midwest, back up into the Northeast, down the Atlantic coast to Florida, and across the Southland. They'll wrap it up in Tempe on November 23.
The new record, “Pain, Death and Love's Lost Cause”, is expected to drop sometime between the two tour runs. It will be their first release since 2004's “Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll”.
Ness says of the new self-produced project, "It's funny... the record reminds me very much of 1992's “Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell”, but also I'm bringing elements of early New York '70s punk, influences that maybe haven't come out as prominently in my writing in the past. So, the record, to me, is almost like the Dead Boys meets the Black Crowes or something."
The album will be their first with Epitaph Records, but Ness is confident about the pairing: “We feel that Epitaph has a natural understanding of Social Distortion; both the history of the band and the direction we want to go. Combine that with their successful track record and it felt like a good next step for us. We’re looking forward to taking this step forward, opening some new doors with this upcoming album and this next chapter of Social Distortion.”
Although Ness is the only original member of the group, the iconic Southern California punk outfit has been around since 1979. Drummer Dave Hidalgo Jr. (of Suicidal Tendencies) was just announced as the newest member, replacing Scott Reeder (of Fu Manchu) who stepped in when Willard departed in March.
Social Distortion (with Lucero and Frank Turner) will be at The Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason Theatre in Miami Beach, Florida on Saturday November 13, 2010.
