ArtistInfo Logo  ArtistInfo

Artist Portrait

Social Distortion

Band, *1978 US, Fullerton, California
Alternative

The legendary and influential punk/alternative quartet Social Distortion was formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California by frontman Mike Ness and the original lineup consisted of Ness on lead guitar, Rikk Agnew on bass, Frank Agnew on guitar, and Casey Royer on drums.Later Ness met Dennis Danell, who was a year older, in high school and insisted he join the band on bass guitar (later changed to rhythm guitar) even though Danell had never played an instrument before. When Danell was brought in, Frank, Rikk, and Casey already left to join the Adolescents. Mike and Dennis remained the only constant members for the next two decades with bass and drum members changing every few years. The band underwent some more lineup changes before releasing their first album, "Mommy's Little Monster", in 1983. A year earlier, Social Distortion embarked on their first national tour with fellow punk band Youth Brigade – a trip chronicled in the celebrated punk rockumentary, "Another State Of Mind". Soon afterward, John Maurer and Bob Stubbs joined Social Distortion. After 1985, the band reformed and Chris Reese came on board as the band's drummer. Social Distortion disappeared for a while (almost disbanded actually, due to Ness' drug addiction) before releasing their second album, "Prison Bound", in 1988, which would be their first recording with the classic lineup of Ness, Danell and newcomers John Maurer on bass and Christopher Reece on drums. In 1989, the band signed a deal with Epic Records and recorded their highly successful third album, which is self-titled, containing their popular hits "Story Of My Life" and "Ball And Chain" as well as the Johnny Cash cover "Ring Of Fire". The band disappeared again after the release of their fourth album, 1992's "Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell", and Reece left Social Distortion in 1993. After auditions were held to play drums in the band, former D.O.A./Danzig drummer Chuck Biscuits joined Social Distortion although he did not play drums on their next album, "White Light, White Heat, White Trash" (Dean Castronovo recorded all drums, but wasn't credited in the album's liner notes), in 1996, which would be their last release on Epic Records. In 1999, while Social Distortion wasn't touring, Ness went solo, releasing two albums, "Cheating At Solitaire" and "Under The Influences", in the same year. Although some of Social Distortion's songs paid homage to country music artists, "Cheating At Solitaire" was an unalloyed expression of Ness' country influences. His second solo album, "Under The Influences", contains country covers. Before the band could work on their sixth album, Danell passed away on February 29, 2000 in his Newport Beach home after apparently suffering a brain aneurysm, leaving Ness as the only remaining original member of the band. Danell was replaced by current guitarist Jonny Wickersham. Biscuits also left during that time, and was replaced by Charlie Quintana. Following Danell's death, Social Distortion continued touring and their sixth album, "Sex, Love And Rock 'N' Roll", was released on September 28, 2004. After it was completed, Maurer quit the band and was briefly replaced by Rancid's Matt Freeman. Months later, Freeman was replaced by current bassist Brent Harding, who was also part of Ness' solo tour. In April 2009, Quintana announced that he was leaving the band to explore other musical opportunities. He was temporarily replaced by Angels & Airwaves drummer Adam "Atom" Willard, formerly of Rocket From the Crypt and Offspring, and then Scott Reeder of Fu Manchu. Their current drummer David Hidalgo, Jr., who once toured but never recorded with Suicidal Tendencies, joined in 2010. In January 2011, Social Distortion released their seventh studio album "Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes".

     
Members
PortraitDanny McGough
org
PortraitCharlie Quintana
dr, perc *1962 US
PortraitFrank Agnew
g *1964 US
PortraitJohn Maurer
bvoc, b *1961 US
PortraitMatt Freeman
b, voc *1966 US
PortraitDennis Danell
g, eb 1961-2000 US
PortraitMike Ness
voc, g *1962 US
PortraitRikk Agnew
g *1958 US
PortraitBrent Liles
b, eb 1963-2007 US
PortraitDerek O'Brien
dr, perc, bvoc
PortraitCasey Royer
dr, voc *1960 US
PortraitAtom Willard
dr *1973 US
PortraitBrent Harding
cb, eb, tam *1967 US
PortraitChristopher Reece
dr *1959 US
John Carrot
dr US
PortraitEddie Livingston
dr US
PortraitJohn Wickersham
g *1968
PortraitDavid Hidalgo Jr.
dr *1954 US
Charles Montgomery
Popular Tracks   
Story of My Life on Social Distortion by Social Distortion
Reach For The Sky on Sex, Love And Rock 'N' Roll by Social Distortion
Ring of Fire on Social Distortion by Social Distortion
Ball and Chain on Social Distortion by Social Distortion
Don't Drag Me Down on White Light White Heat White Trash by Social Distortion
I Was Wrong on White Light White Heat White Trash by Social Distortion
Far Behind on Greatest Hits by Social Distortion
Machine Gun Blues on Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes by Social Distortion
Nickels And Dimes on Sex, Love And Rock 'N' Roll by Social Distortion
Don't Take Me For Granted on Sex, Love And Rock 'N' Roll by Social Distortion

Track list and 30sec audio provided by


Band Membership
Discography



Title Artist Year Type
Poshboy's Little MonstersSocial Distortion2019Album
Machine Gun MelodiesSocial Distortion2017Single
The Independent Years 1983-2004Social Distortion2016Album
Machine Gun BluesSocial Distortion2011Single
Hard Times And Nursery RhymesSocial Distortion2011Album
Original Album ClassicsSocial Distortion2011Album
Daytrotter Studio 1/17/2011Social Distortion2011Album
Gimme The Sweet And LowdownSocial Distortion2011Single
Orange County CallingSocial Distortion2011Single
Story Of My LifeSocial Distortion2009Album
Live At CBGB'sSocial Distortion2009Album
Recordings Between Then And NowSocial Distortion2008Compil.
Absolutely Live In The ZoneFall Out Boy, Social Distortion2007Album
Far behindSocial Distortion2007Single
Greatest HitsSocial Distortion2007Compil.
Love Me TonightSocial Distortion2007Album
Boni´n In The Bone YardSocial Distortion2006Album
Anti SocialSocial Distortion2006Album
Only The Strong SurviveSocial Distortion2006Album
AcousticMike Ness / Social Distortion2006Single
Absolutely Live In The ZoneFranz Ferdinand / Social Distortion2005Album
Punkrock HolidaysSocial Distortion2005Album
Death Or GlorySocial Distortion2005Album
Reach For The SkySocial Distortion2004Album
Another State Of MindSocial Distortion / Youth Brigade / Minor Threat2004Single
Fullerton City LimitsSocial Distortion2004Single
Highway 101Social Distortion2004Album
Sex, Love And Rock 'N' RollSocial Distortion2004Album
Live In Orange CountySocial Distortion2004Album
Never Mind Other Bootlegs Here's Social DistortionSocial Distortion2003Album
Live And Demo RecordingsSocial Distortion2001Compil.
Live At The RoxySocial Distortion1998Album
Story Of My LifeSocial Distortion1998Single
Don't Drag Me DownSocial Distortion1997Single
Live At Cbgb'sSocial Distortion1997Album
More Girls More Cars And Even Louder Guitars!Social Distortion1996Compil.
When The Angels SingSocial Distortion1996Album
I Was WrongSocial Distortion1996Single
More Girls More Cars And Even Louder Guitars!Social Distortion1996Compil.
White Light White Heat White TrashSocial Distortion1996Album
Girls Cars And Loud Guitars!Social Distortion1996Compil.
Mainliner (Wreckage From The Past)Social Distortion1995Compil.
SamplerSocial Distortion1995Compil.
Live From GermanySocial Distortion1993Album
Whiskey '82Social Distortion1993Single
When She BeginsSocial Distortion1992Album
Somewhere Between Heaven And HellSocial Distortion1992Album
Bad LuckSocial Distortion1992Single
Off The Record SpecialPearl Jam & Social Distortion1992Album
Born To LoseSocial Distortion1992Single
Cold FeelingsSocial Distortion1992Single
Sick BoysSocial Distortion1991Album
Ball And ChainSocial Distortion1990Album
Story Of My LifeSocial Distortion1990Album
Social DistortionSocial Distortion1990Album
Let It Be MeSocial Distortion1990Album
Ring Of FireSocial Distortion1990Album
Another State Of MindSocial Distortion1989Album
Prison BoundSocial Distortion1988Album
Mommy's Little MonsterSocial Distortion1983Album
Another State Of MindSocial Distortion1983Single
1945Social Distortion1982Single
Posh Boy's Little MonstersSocial Distortion1981Album
Mainliner / PlaypenSocial Distortion1981Single
Social-Ness SamplerSocial Distortion - Mike NessCompil.
ArtistInfo App
ArtistInfo for iOS and ArtistInfo for Mac are presenting musicians, composers and producers that are envolved in the musical work that you are listening to in Apple Music, iTunes, or Spotify. Discover new music via the network among artists. Manage your favorite musicians and albums via iCloud and share recommendations with your friends via email, AirDrop, or Social Media.

App Store Logo     Mac App Store Logo

Acknowledgements
To all the music fans that are contributing on Discogs, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Thanks to Franz Flückiger for providing Storygram used to visualize band membership.
ArtistInfo for Mac, iPad, and iPhone
ArtistInfo App
Universal Link: https://music.metason.net/artistinfo?name=Social%20Distortion
ArtistInfo Community
Most seen topics within ArtistInfo:

Top 10 Artists    Top 20 Albums
 
What others are currently looking for:

Recent Artists    Recent Albums

ArtistInfo Logo ArtistInfo by Metason © 2015-2020 Metason Logo