Ness’ Tune Changes, but the Roar’s Familiar

Before Mike Ness became so incorrigible that his father kicked him out of the house at age 16, he was still subject to such standard disciplinary measures as being put on restriction.

No meeting his buddies at the park for a round of boozing and drugging or a trip to the movies. Just a solitary, boring night at home, the worst thing that could happen to a restless 14-year-old.

And what would Ness do while grounded in his Fullerton bedroom?

He lingered a moment over the memory during a recent interview at a Costa Mesa health-food restaurant, then shifted in his seat and laughed.

“Cry,” he said.

Not tears of remorse, he hastened to add, but of frustration and rage.

By the time he was 17, and subject to restriction no more, Ness had formed Social Distortion. Frustration, rage, and the exhilaration of breaking polite society’s rules stoked what became Orange County’s most respected and resilient punk-rock band.

After a nasty bout of heroin addiction that threatened to land Ness in prison or the graveyard during the mid-1980s, his more mature reflections on the psychology and consequences of growing up angry and out of control dominated the band’s music--an aggressive, throbbing, but always tuneful sound that benefited from Ness’s absorption from an early age of classic rock and roots music.

But as Social Distortion, formed in 1979, headed toward the 20-year mark, Ness once again found himself feeling . . . restricted.

His answer, this time, was to make his first solo album, “Cheating at Solitaire,” which arrives in stores today, and to form an un-punk band to take on the road.

Social Distortion, which includes his school-days friends John Maurer and Dennis Danell, has been put on hold, like Crazy Horse when Neil Young takes one of his extended folk, country or blues excursions.

Ness, who was still auditioning drummers as of last week, plays his first Southern California solo dates April 26 and 27 at the Coach House.

Blues-Folk Mix

Not Entirely New

Folk, country and blues dominate “Cheating at Solitaire.” Ness figures that should come as no surprise to Social Distortion’s large cult audience (which has bought 280,000 to 500,000 copies of each of the band’s three ‘90s studio releases). The SD repertoire includes some swaggering blues-informed numbers and more than a few excellent country songs done with a roar instead of a twang.

“Cheating at Solitaire” has some of that familiar roar, but it emphasizes the twang, provided by an ad hoc crew of expert players.

The moan of slide guitars, the wistful sigh of pedal steel, the dulcet shiver of mandolin, the humid, noir-atmospherics of blues-tinged swing or rockabilly played by guest guitarists Brian Setzer and Billy Zoom, and a lubricious saxophone are primary colors in the sonic palette of the solo Ness.

The bass is upright, not electric, and Ness, whose crackling solos on his Les Paul guitar dominate Social Distortion’s shows, mainly strums along, adding roughness and texture so the music still packs a certain rawness and attitude.

Bruce Springsteen, a Social D fan, adds a duet vocal on “Misery Loves Company,” a wired rocker that states the album’s core theme of loneliness as the underside of a headlong quest for freedom.

In addition to his own compositions, Ness covers folk and country standards: Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” Hank Williams’ “You Win Again,” and “The Long Black Veil,” associated with Lefty Frizzell and The Band.

Ness’ nasal, foghorn voice, so often deployed to promote his swaggering, hard-case persona, actually cracks into sobs of helplessness on the lovelorn Williams weeper. Among the originals are “Rest of Our Lives” and “If You Leave Before Me,” glowing, affecting ballads that are the first tender love songs of his career.

“I brought all this stuff, my roots and influences, to Social Distortion, but it could only go so far,” Ness said. “I don’t want this to be taken the wrong way, but Dennis and John didn’t spend the time playing that music. I don’t even know if they listen to it.

“Social Distortion is pretty one-dimensional. You start on volume 10, and end that way. It’s a great, high-energy show, but I’ve been doing it for 20 years. It was frustrating, because I wanted to expand. Why couldn’t I sing a love song? Because I’m this alleged bad-ass front man of Social Distortion? This record was a chance to do it, anyway.”

Of course, nothing but the mosh-pit denizens’ narrow expectations was stopping Ness from singing as many love songs as he could muster from 1979-98.

“A lot of those restrictions maybe were self-imposed,” he said. “Maybe I just wasn’t ready. It’s hard to write a love song without it being corny.”

“Rest of Our Lives,” which would have stood out on one of Rod Stewart’s grand early albums, and “If You Leave Before Me,” which meditates on love, mortality and the implications of living in the here-and-now without any guarantees of a hereafter, are anything but corny.

They sound like the songs of a man who has gone through the storms and loneliness chronicled elsewhere on the album, and emerged thankful to have found a committed love. Which is pretty much Ness’ situation these days. At 37, he has reunited with the mother of his 7-year-old son, Julian. He says he left her when she became pregnant and asked for a commitment he wasn’t ready to give.

Ness didn’t bail on Julian, though, remaining in his life through regular visits. “We had to remain civil,” he said of his now-reconciled girlfriend. “Through the years we gained a mutual respect. She became one of my best friends, and it kind of went full circle.”

When his girlfriend, Julian and her 3-year-old son from another relationship moved to Orange County in October from San Luis Obispo, they moved to a house in Santa Ana, not into Ness’ Costa Mesa home.

“I just didn’t want to dive in completely,” Ness said. “For me, being in a committed relationship was a huge step; being around kids a lot was a huge step. She understands I’m the kind of person who requires solitude as much as I require to eat and sleep.”

The questions about God and mortality raised in “If You Leave Before Me” continue a theme Ness broached in “When the Angels Sing,” a magnificent anthem from Social Distortion’s 1996 album, “White Light White Heat White Trash.”

Ness’ solo album is dedicated to the two people whose loss has been most painful to him: Louise Elliott--the maternal grandmother whose funeral inspired “When the Angels Sing,”--and Vibiana Ness, who died of cancer during the late 1980s at age 4. She was Ness’ first child.

He spoke of her death in a steady, even voice.

“It’s something I don’t talk about much. Until you’ve seen a 4-foot casket . . . it was crazy, awful, very, very painful. This girl was like a little angel, put on this earth to bring happiness for a little while. I still carry a picture of her in my wallet, because I don’t want to forget what she gave me, which was unconditional love.”

Solo Tour Includes

Reworked SD Tunes

These kinds of sentiments will be in the foreground along with his customary combative pride as Ness sets out on what he hopes will be a long tour--until the marketplace doesn’t want him anymore, or he tires of playing roots music and gets a yen to fire the amps back up to 10 again with Social Distortion.

The shows, for which he’ll be backed by guitarists Chris Lawrence and Sean Greaves and a bassist so new Ness couldn’t remember his name, will include Social Distortion numbers, Ness said, but they will be considerably reworked.

So what does he do when he’s trying to set the mood for one of those tender ballads, and somebody yells out for “Mommy’s Little Monster” or “I Just Wanna Give You the Creeps” or some other volume-10 burner from the early ‘80s?

Ness, who thrives on confrontation, laughed and sounded as if he almost relishes the chance to draw lines that will clarify his newfound double-life in rock ‘n’ roll.

“I’ll tell ‘em: ‘You’re at the wrong show. You’re at the right place, at the wrong time.’ ”

* Mike Ness and Deke Dickerson and the Ecco-phonics play April 26-27 at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 8 p.m. $20-$22. (949) 496-8930. Also May 3-5 at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, where the first two shows are sold out. (714) 740-2000 (Ticketmaster).