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Hardcore country — not punk — is the music of rebellion, and this guy oughta know
| Thursday, Apr 24 2008 2:32 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Apr 25 2008 7:12 AM
Mike Ness wants to pull the Buckmobile off its Crystal Palace wall and take it for a spin.
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Who: Mike Ness of Social Distortion
When: 9:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, 2800 Buck Owens Blvd. Tickets: $30, available through the Crystal Palace box office or by calling 328-7560. Also available through Vallitix locations, vallitix.com or 322-5200.
Photos:
Mike Ness (Photo courtesy of Mike Ness)
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The frontman of punk band Social Distortion loves him some country and classic cars. Performing at Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace Wednesday, Ness is stoked about the Buckster’s 1972 Pontiac convertible, decked out with steer horns on the hood.
“I might be planning to buy it,” Ness said. “Let's take it down.”
Ness has wanted to visit the Crystal Palace for years, but he was too busy to drop by when he was in town performing with the band last year and in ’04 and ’05.
It’s been about a decade since he toured without the guys, following the release of 1999 solo albums “Cheating at Solitaire” and the country-tinged “Under the Influences.” Despite reports of a 2008 Social Distortion album, Ness says those plans are up in the air as he tours and finds time to relax.
Here’s more of our interview with Ness:
Did you know Buck Owens?
Not personally, I didn’t know him. I’m very familiar with his music. He’s one of my favorite artists and I was fortunate enough to have met him five years ago and had him sign the same guitar that has Johnny Cash's autograph and George Jones’ autograph. Those are my three — aside from Hank Williams, those all influenced me equally.
I don't have one of (Buck’s) guitars. I wish I did.
How did you become interested in country?
I grew up around it in the house. My father listened to country music and my mom listened to rock ’n’ roll and in between there it was reverberating.
A lot from the ’60s folk revival, so I had pretty much all that stuff around the house and heard it and it just kinda gets ingrained in you.
I was introduced to the blues via the Stones and realized as I got older where it all had come from. For me, making the connection from American roots to punk music was a very natural connection because getting back even to the music from the ’20s, it was very heartfelt, honest music, usually working class, lower class, about class issues, and to me, that’s what punk was as well as it was also a revolution.
Jim Shaw of the Buckaroos said punk bands admire stars like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard because they thumbed their noses at Nashville. True?
Merle Haggard is probably more of a rebel than Sid Vicious ever was. Besides, I think it can be very rebellious music. Just because it has a twang or just because it’s slow doesn’t mean — or some of it’s slow, you know — to me, it’s what you’re saying in the music that makes it rebellious. I thought those guys were just as rebellious as some of my punk idols.
Tell me about your new songs.
I have a song called “I Think I’ll Stay” and it’s inspired by when I was getting together with my wife, what home life was like for years.
I, you know, was negative about that and my eyes started to open and see, ‘Wow, this is what it would be like. This is kinda cool.’ And so, in the song, the opening line has a lot of love, ‘Let me stay,’ and kind of a milestone in my life. Usually, my life experiences are the best for writing songs because I live them.
There’s one in the making. I don’t know if I’ll have it ready by then: “Me and My Guitar.” That one’s about the bond I found with a guitar at an early age. It kinda helped keep me alive.
I think the tag is, “Yes, we're gonna go far, just me and my guitar.” Just a kind of childhood dream and kind of self-actualization.