Social Distortion

Here's how you know you've made it in the music business: You've stayed strong for three decades on your own terms, on your own time,by your own rules, and over that time your influence has only grown. Each of your albums has been stronger than your last. You've been brought onstage by Bruce Springsteen, because he wanted to play one of your songs. You've seen high times and low ones, good days and tragic days, but every night you give 100%, and every morning you wake up still swinging.This is the short version of the Social Distortion bio —the long version could be a 10-part mini-series. But over the past 30 years, the punk godfathers in the band have all but trademarked their sound, a brand of hard rockabilly/punk that's cut with the melodic, road-tested lyrics of frontman Mike Ness. Their searing guitars and a locomotive rhythm section sound as alive today as they did in '82, as doNess' hard-luck tales of love, loss and lessons learned. "The most common thing I hear is, 'Man, your music got me through some hard times,'" Ness says. "And I just say, 'Me too.'"Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes(produced, for the first time, by Ness himself) is the band'sfirst record since 2004. For a band with a career spanning over 30 years, Social Distortion experienced a significant amount of firsts in 2011. For starters, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymesdebuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200and was the highest debut that the band has yet seen. Hard Timeswasalsothe #1Independent Albumand the #2 Modern Rock/Alternative Album week of release. The band also made theirlate night television debut when they performed"Machine Gun Blues" on Jimmy Kimmel Live,and later playedfor Conanon Hard Times' release date. Taking their successes to the road, Social Distortion played European festivalsincluding Readingand Leedsfor the first time. They also booked their first tours of Australia and South America.And finally, Social Distortion played Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Festival, and Coachella–all of thesefor the first time.Hard Times and Nursery Rhymeshas Social Distortion's key components —their patentedmix of punk, bluesy rock n' roll and outlaw country —whilealso stretching the boundaries of their signature sound. Social Distortion is a blendof potent powerthat appeals to all ages. They are honored to have been able to reach as many people as they haveso far. "I write songs for myself, and I hope that other people will like them too," Ness says. "I think every record you make is showing people what you've learned over the past few years. It's showing people, 'This is what I know.' "Now in their fourth decade, Ness and Social Distortion have officially achieved one of the most non-punk things possible: They've failed to burn out.