Mike Ness

Offspring, X, Mike Ness To Pay Tribute To Social D Guitarist

3 Apr 2000 07:55:00 EDT

Offspring's Dexter Holland

The Offspring, X, and the surviving members of Social Distortion have all signed on to perform at a special concert in Irvine, California next month to raise money for the family of late Social D guitarist Dennis Danell.

The event, dubbed "When The Angels Sing," will be staged at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater on May 6 and will also feature performances from Pennywise, T.S.O.L., Punk Rock Karaoke, Rock Star Barbeque, and Strung Gurus. Additional acts are expected to join the bill in the next few weeks.

The concert will allow fans and the bands involved a chance to remember and pay tribute to Danell, who helped co-found influential California punk band Social Distortion with frontman Mike Ness in 1979 and played on all of the band albums, including 1998's "Live At The Roxy."

"Doing this benefit show is a way for me to say goodbye to Dennis in my own way," Ness wrote in a statement announcing the "When The Angels Sing" concert. "We were as close as family and it means so much to me to play this benefit for his wife and children. Although it will be difficult to be on stage without him, his spirit will be felt."

Danell died of a brain aneurysm on February 29 at the age of 38 (see "Social Distortion Guitarist Dennis Danell Dies"), and is survived by his wife, Christie, and their two children, a 6-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son.

Tickets for the "When The Angels Sing" benefit cost $30 and will go on sale on April 8 at 10:00 a.m. (PT)

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Mike Ness Covers Hank Williams, George Jones, Carl Perkins For New Album

6 Oct 1999 06:30:00 EDT

Mike Ness

Mike Ness is set to return next month with his second record in less than a year, and his upcoming "Under The Influences" album will shed some light on the Social Distortion frontman's folk and country roots.

As we previously reported, Ness headed into a studio in mid-August to record the album just weeks after his rabble-rousing set at Woodstock '99 (see "Mike Ness Pays Homage To 'Influences' For Next LP").

In addition to covering such seminal artists as Hank Williams, Sr., George Jones, and Bobby Fuller, "Under The Influences" also includes a "honky tonk" version of the Social Distortion song "Ball And Chain."

"Under The Influences" is due out on November 9, and Ness will head out on the road to support the LP beginning on November 3 in San Juan Capistrano.

The track listing (and original artists) for Mike Ness' "Under The Influences:"

"All I Can Do Is Cry" (Wayne Walker)
"Gamblin' Man" (Marvin Rainwater)
"Let The Jukebox Keep On Playing" (Carl Perkins)
"I Fought The Law" (Bobby Fuller)
"Big Iron" (Marty Robbins)
"Six More Miles" (Hank Williams, Sr.)
"One More Time" (Billy Lee Riley and the Little Green Men)
"A Thief In The Night" (Jean Shepard)
"Once A Day" (George Jones)
"Funnel Of Love" (Wanda Jackson)
"House Of Gold" (Hank Williams, Sr.)
"Wildwood Flower" (Carter Family)
"Ball And Chain [Honky Tonk]" (Social Distortion)

Dates for Mike Ness' upcoming tour:

11/3 - San Juan Capistrano, CA @ Coach House
11/4 - San Juan Capistrano, CA @ Coach House
11/9 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
11/10 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
11/13 - San Diego, CA @ 4th & B
11/15 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Bricks
11/16 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
11/18 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
11/20 - St. Louis, MO @ The Firehouse
11/22 - Louisville, KY @ Headliner's
11/23 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
11/24 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
11/26 - Pontiac, MI @ Clutch Cargo's
12/3 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
12/5 - Baltimore, MD @ Recher Theatre
12/8 - Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
12/10 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Carefree Theatre
12/11 - Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
12/12 - St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre

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Mike Ness

Mike Ness Pays Homage To "Influences" For Next LP

17 Aug 1999 12:00:00 EDT

Mike Ness

A little more than four months after issuing his first solo album, "Cheating at Solitaire," Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness has returned to the studio to cut a new record that he hopes to have out before the end of the year.

Ness has convened in a Los Angeles studio with producer James Saez (who also co-manned the boards for "Solitaire") and his current touring band, featuring guitarists Chris Lawrence and Sean Greaves, bassist Brent Harding, and drummer Charlie Quintana, to record an LP of covers, titled "Under the Influences."

Songs already laid down during the sessions include "Lost Highway" by Hank Williams, "Once a Day" by George Jones, "Wildwood Flower" by the Carter Family, and "My Brand of Blues" by Cherokee singer-songwriter Marvin Rainwater.

Ness, who had incorporated many of the covers into his live set during his recently-completed summer tour, also plans to record versions of songs by Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Buck Owens for the album.

"Before I ever heard Johnny Thunders or the Sex Pistols, I was listening to Hank Williams," Ness said in a statement announcing the studio sessions. "By really living these songs, I get to act out influences that have always figured in the lining of my songs."

Ness' "Under the Influences" is due out on November 9 and is scheduled to be followed by another U.S. tour.

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Mike Ness

Everlast, Mike Ness, Willie Nelson Soothe Nerves With Early Sunday Sets

26 Jul 1999 07:30:00 EDT

Mike Ness

Coming after Saturday night's aggressive audience craziness, few could have predicted that day three of Woodstock '99 in Rome, New York would end with another disturbingly reckless and destructive display by concert-goers. The morning group of performances on Sunday certainly didn't hint at such a possibility, as most artists kept their shows low-key for the recovery period.

Willie Nelson, the only country artist to grace either of the Woodstock '99 main stages, may have seemed like on odd choice to open up the last day of the concert event, but his wizened croon on "You Were Always on My Mind" and "On the Road Again" seemed particularly soothing and affecting.

Wearing his familiar red, white, and blue bandana, Nelson lightly plucked an old beat-up guitar, serenading the frayed audience's nerves with several old country and western standards, including "Whiskey River" and "Working Man Blues." Nelson later called out Supersuckers vocalist Eddie Spaghetti to back him on the appropriately-timed "Amazing Grace."

Out on stage west, Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness -- outfitted in a black vest, sunglasses and black cowboy hat -- traded in the acoustic guitar he employed for the majority of his new solo LP, "Cheating at Solitaire," for electrified readings of his album cuts, "The Devil in Miss Jones" and "Misery Loves Company."

Always the reverential rocker, Ness paid homage to Bob Dylan and the original man in black, Johnny Cash, with searing covers of "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right)" and "Ring of Fire," respectively. As the crowd grooved on Ness' throwback vibe, he tipped his hat to his own Social D background with a raucously rendition of "Ball and Chain."

A bespectacled Everlast brought his unique brand of blues, rock, and hip-hop to the scaled-down crowds that filtered into the east stage, a group he complimented for being such die-hards. "I know y'all are in it to win it. Y'all are the troopers." Playing both ends of the rock and roll court, Everlast went from the plaintive blues growl of "Ends" to a punk rock reinvigoration of "Jump Around" from his former group, House of Pain, with surprising ease.

Despite including several numbers in which he got to resume his MC trappings of old, Everlast actually seemed more comfortable in his more somber guise as the new rock folkie behind his moody set-closer, "What It's Like."

British New Wave singer-songwriter Elvis Costello went for the stripped-down approach for his set, which featured him front and center with an acoustic guitar and backed only by a piano accompanist for the likes of "Veronica," and "Every Day I Write the Book."

After a brilliant send-up of the Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," and a brief detour through Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said, Elvis ended his acoustic set with "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding," a song that would take on a terribly pertinent meaning by the end of the day.

When an airline misplaced all of Costello's music gear, the singer was forced to borrow an electric guitar from friend Brian Setzer, who rolled through several big band hits and the Stray Cats' "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town " earlier that day. Adding some guitar propulsiveness to one of his earliest fits, "Alison," Costello also delivered the pounding rhythm core ddor for "Pump It Up," a song which drew an enthusiastic response from a crowd that was ready to kick out the jams once again.

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Mike Ness Beefs Up U.S. Tour

17 May 1999 12:15:00 EDT

Mike Ness

Perhaps in an attempt to ensure a running start to this summer's 30th anniversary Woodstock concert, Mike Ness has extended his current U.S. tour.

The Social Distortion frontman has beefed up his tour itinerary and will now stay on the road through early July in support of his solo effort, "Cheating at Solitare."

Ness will then head to Rome, New York for this year's take on Woodstock, which is slated for July 23-25. There Ness joins a bill that includes Korn, Jewel, DMX, Bush, Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, and a host of others (see "Everclear, Godsmack, Lit, More Headed To Woodstock").

You can learn more about Ness' move into solo territory in our MTV News Online feature "Mike Ness Gets His Roots Down," or if you'd rather just see him do his thing, here's how his tour shapes up:

5/17 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
5/18 - Chicago, IL @ Park West
5/19 - Milwaukee, WI @ Modjeska Theater
5/21 - Detroit, MI @ TBA
5/22 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
5/23 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
5/25 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater
5/26 - Greensburg, PA @ Palace Theater
5/27 - Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf

The dates just added to Ness' itinerary are:

6/9 - Toronto, ONT @ Music Hall Theatre
6/11 - Boston, MA @ Berklee Performance
6/12 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
6/13 - Hartford, CT @ Webster Theater
6/15 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 club
6/17 - New York, NY @ Town Hall Theater
6/18 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of the Living Arts
6/21 - Atlanta, GA @ TBD
6/22 - Nashville, TN @ TBD
6/25 - Birmingham, AL @ TBD
6/26 - New Orleans, LA @ TBD
7/3 - Irvine, CA @ Oak Canyon Ranch

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Mike Ness

Social D's Mike Ness Sets Dates For Spring Tour

23 Apr 1999 02:00:00 EDT

Mike Ness

Social Distortion's Mike Ness has just released his first solo record, "Cheating at Solitaire," which debuted at a respectable number 80 on this week's "Billboard" album chart thanks in large part to his band's grassroots following.

Now the Social D frontman is setting his sights on the road. He's just announced the initial set of dates for his own tour, which is slated to kick off this weekend in Bakersfield, California.

Joining Ness for the spring run will be several of his session musician chums, including Sean Greaves on second guitar, Chris Lawrence on pedal steel, Johnny Rioux on bass, and Charlie Quintana on drums.

In a recent interview with MTV News, Ness talked about how anxious he was to get the folk-based material on the road and described how the solo shows would be different from his concerts with Social Distortion.

"What's neat about this is that I think we'll probably be playing [smaller venues]," Ness said, "because [the new album] has a different dynamic live. It has just as much energy and just as much angst [as a Social Distortion show], but it'll probably be more like sit-down venues. There'll be more of a performance." [RealVideo]

According to Ness' management, the singer-songwriter will tour the Midwest and West for the next month and is then scheduled to bring his road show to the East Coast in June.

Dates for Mike Ness' spring tour:

4/24 - Bakersfield, CA @ Juarez Hall
4/25 - Ventura, CA @ Ventura Theater
4/26 - S.J. Capistrano, CA @ Coach House
4/27 - S.J. Capistrano, CA @ Coach House
4/29 - San Diego, CA @ 4th & B
4/30 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Cajun House
5/1 - Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues
5/3 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater
5/4 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater
5/5 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater
5/7 - San Francisco, CA @ 7th Note
5/8 - Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theater
5/9 - Seattle, WA @ King Cat Theater
5/10 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
5/12 - Sacramento, CA @ Crest Theater
5/14 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Tower Theater
5/15 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
5/17 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
5/18 - Chicago, IL @ Park West
5/19 - Milwaukee, WI @ Modjeska Theater
5/21 - Detroit, MI @ TBA
5/22 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
5/23 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
5/25 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater
5/26 - Greensburg, PA @ Palace Theater
5/27 - Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf

For more on Mike Ness, be sure to check out this week's MTV Online Feature, "Mike Ness Gets His Roots Down".

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Mike Ness

Mike Ness Gets His Roots Down

1 Apr 1999 12:00:00 EST

ANAHEIM, California — Creed vocalist Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti will start working nights this week as they resume writing the follow-up to 1999's smash Human Clay. Refreshed from taking the holidays off, the songwriting duo plans to buckle down four nights a week and pen an album that intensifies the larger-than-life feel of its predecessor.

"It's gonna be more extreme on all extremities — the harder stuff a little harder, the epic stuff a little more epic," Tremonti said Saturday.

Creed plan to spend the next few months writing before heading into the studio in July and hopefully releasing the disc in October or November. Tremonti said the band, which worked with longtime friend and producer John Kurzweg on both My Own Prison (1997) and Human Clay, has not picked a producer for the album.

The spiritual Florida rockers parted ways with bass player and founding member Brian Marshall in August and hired Brett Hestla as their touring bassist. Hestla will be working on an album with his group Virgos while Creed are recording their LP as a trio, but the bands are considering a joint fall tour after both albums hit stores. Hestla said he would play both sets.

Tremonti, Hestla and Creed drummer Scott Phillips attended last weekend's National Association of Music Merchants trade show in Anaheim, where Paul Reed Smith Guitars unveiled Tremonti's new signature model.

Tremonti said he had been working with PRS to design the guitar for about a year. "It's the baddest guitar on the planet. It's a technically perfect, thick, massive-sounding guitar. I think it's the best in the world today." Creed, who cleaned up at several recent award ceremonies, are up for two Grammys next month. "With Arms Wide Open" is nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rock Song, the latter of which would go to its songwriters, Tremonti and Stapp.

"A Grammy would be great — I'm just not gonna count on it," Tremonti said. "We've won a lot of awards this year, and I'm happy about 'em. If we don't win a Grammy, we don't win a Grammy. We've got a lot more albums ahead. But we're up for two of them, so we'll keep our fingers crossed." For much more on Creed, don't forget to check out the MTV News Online feature Creed: Higher Learning"

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Mike Ness