Mike Ness
| Mike Ness | |
|---|---|
Mike Ness live in 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael James Ness |
| Born | April 3, 1962 |
| Genres | Punk rock, cowpunk, punk blues, alternative country, rockabilly, folk punk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels |
Time Bomb Recordings, Epitaph Records |
| Associated acts | Social Distortion, Easter |
| Website | mikeness |
Michael James "Mike" Ness (born April 3, 1962) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and chief songwriter for the punk rock band Social Distortion, which was formed in 1978. Mike Ness' songs are represented by Downtown Music Publishing.
Michael Ness was raised in Orange County, California. He was kicked out of his father's home in Fullerton at 15. During his early years, he was raised on the blues, country and early rock n' roll. As he drifted around Orange County, Ness became involved in the punk rock scene, after being moved by bands of that ilk. In the 1980s, Ness was the original renter of the one-bedroom apartment described in The Adolescents song "Kids of the Black Hole". The punk house is located in Fullerton, California and still exists today.
Inspired by The Sex Pistols, Ness founded Social Distortion in 1978 with Casey Royer, releasing the Mainliner/Playpen 7" record on Robbie Field's indie label Posh Boy Records in 1981. Two years later, they released the album Mommy's Little Monster (1983) on 13th Floor Records, which was owned by Monk Rock, their manager at the time.
Ness was featured in the independent film Another State of Mind, which chronicled Social Distortion's first cross-country tour with Youth Brigade. It was on the DVD commentary where he claimed to have never had anything to do with the armed forces or religion. This prompted many fans to consider him an atheist, though some of his lyrics seem to indicate otherwise. Five years passed before Social Distortion released their next album, 1988's Prison Bound, on the heels of Ness's recovery from drug addiction. Ness has been sober and clean from heroin since 1985. Furthermore, in the mid-1980s, he briefly was employed as a house painter and assistant speech therapist in an elementary school.
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Wikipedia