Indignities From the East Coast

What do critics know anyhow, right?

Did you notice in the recent Village Voice critics’ poll where Dave Alvin’s “Romeo’s Escape” album, which finished 31st, was credited erroneously to Dave’s brother Phil ?

But that wasn’t the only indignity meted out to Los Angeles rockers, who were nearly completely overlooked by the 226 American rock critics who submitted ballots in the annual poll to determine the year’s best albums and singles.

The only other local names appearing on the list of the 40 most admired albums and 26 favorite singles were Los Lobos (its “By the Light of the Moon” LP came in sixth, while its “La Bamba” finished third among singles) and Tom Waits (“Franks Wild Years” was 14th on the album list).

L.A. rock fared even worse in the Rolling Stone readers’ and critics’ polls, unless you count the likes of Poison, Motley Crue and Tiffany, all of whom were more noticeable in the readers’ “worst of” categories than the best-ofs.

However, the local underground reared its head a bit in the artists’ selections, where R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe predicted big things for Downy Mildew in 1988 and Stipe’s bandmate Mike Mills chose Concrete Blonde’s debut as one of the top albums of 1987.

Social Distortion’s first LP in five years, “Social Distortion” (on Sticky Fingers/Restless Records) is due in the stores by April 1.

The self-financed collection took a year to make but the time appears well spent. There’s a touch of the old punk energy, but the strong melodies and Mike Ness’ Richard Butler-esque vocals give the music a highly varied character and depth a la the Buzzcocks. And then there are the lyrics--some of which were written while Ness was languishing in county jails.

On “No Pain No Gain” he sings, “Well I used to think life was so ugly, live fast, die young, leave a pretty corpse / But now I see things so different and life seems sometimes pretty to me.”

Ness knows what he’s talking about. For five of the seven years that the Orange County-based makers of the 1983 punk cult hit “Mommy’s Little Monster” have been together, Ness, 26, was the archetypal monster: an admitted junkie whose addiction landed him in jail at least 10 times during 1985 and played havoc with the band.

“I put those guys (guitarist Dennis Danell, bassist John Maurer and drummer Chris Reece) through hell,” the soft-spoken Ness recalls. “I was doing burglaries. We couldn’t even do a show unless I was (high on heroin).”

Clean for 2 1/2 years, he’s involved in a 12-step help program where he shares his experience with addicts, trying to offer them strength and hope. From the stage, however, he maintains a low profile when it comes to anti-drug statements.

“I’m real turned off by bands that are real straight-edge and anti-drug,” Ness says. “I can’t judge someone who drinks or does drugs. That would be real self-righteous of me. I’m actually grateful that I got into drugs because who knows what I would have done in an alcohol blackout? I could have pulled an armed robbery and not batted an eye.”

THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE: X, Concrete Blonde, Los Lobos, Jane’s Addiction, Guns N’ Roses and Firehose top the list of nominees for the second annual L.A. Weekly Rock Music Awards. The nominees and awards are selected by Weekly readers and cover virtually all bases of the local rock scene.

The awards will be handed out at the Wiltern Theatre on April 6, at a show scheduled to feature performances by John Doe, Dave Alvin, Rosie Flores, Concrete Blonde and L.A. rapper Ice T. And along with a gaggle of local rockers, the cast of scheduled presenters includes Mamie Van Doren, Pamela Des Barres and Angela Bowie.

NEWS ‘N’ NOTES: With the impending ownership change at the Variety Arts Center apparently leading to a slackening of the facility’s rock bookings, Goldenvoice Productions is shifting its attention to the John Anson Ford Theatre. The firm has signed a contract as the scenic open-air auditorium’s exclusive rock promoter for April through October. First up is a KROQ party scheduled for April 2. . . . Those polkaholics Rotondi are recording their second album, and first for the new ROM Records label, which is headed by former Elektra/Nonesuch exec Keith Holzman. . . . The instrumental surf-rock outfit Lawndale has called it a day following the departure of guitarist Jack Skelley. Meanwhile, drummer Dave Childs has been playing with To Damascus and guitarist Rick Lawndale is working on his art (an exhibition of his collages is slated at the Underground Gallery in Las Vegas soon). . . . SST will release “Technology of Tears,” a double album by guitarist Fred Frith later this month. The Bel-Fires’ six-song EP, “What You Wanted,” has just been released on Spinning Records. . . . Performance artist and mistress of mayhem Johanna Went is dipping into her grab-bag of goo and adult toys for a series of shows at the Olio Theatre in Silver Lake every Thursday in March. She’s teaming up with Kipper Kid Harry Kipper (also known as Bette Midler’s hubby) for a Splattervillian Spectacle. Proposition 65 Warning: Wear a raincoat if you’re in the front row.