NESS PONDERS SOLO VS SOCIAL DISTORTION

Social Distortion singer and songwriter Mike Ness is currently touring as a solo artist and he compares them while talking Setzer.

Social Distortion’s Mike Ness has been touring as a solo artist and giving his main gig a break this spring and summer. Ness takes a different approach to some of Social Distortion’s songs as well as performing tunes off his solo albums Cheating At Solitaire and Under The Influences.

“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” the famous Bob Dylan tune is part of his live repertoire and also made it on Cheating At Solitare. Ness admitted it wasn’t Dylan who hooked him on the song.

“That came, believe it or not, via Joan Baez. Because I have some recordings of her playing with Pete Seeger acoustic concert only, her and her acoustic guitar, and she’s doing these crazy European turn of the century folk ballads, and it’s really haunting. I actually heard that version of ‘Don’t Think Twice’ before Bob Dylan’s. It’s really interesting a woman’s perspective of that song. It’s pretty chilling, yeah.”

Mike Ness was also asked if there was a different mindset touring solo than with Social Distortion.

“Yeah I think there is. I don’t know what it is exactly other than it is a little more rootsy and a little more stripped down. I haven’t figured it out yet if it’s more personal or not, or if it’s just a different side. The whole reason I did that was to show people that I could do different things. It’s not as limiting.”

With Ness being a Stray Cats fan, we asked him what it was like to have singer/guitarist Brian Setzer on the album.

“When I was seventeen, eighteen years old we were looking at Stray Cat albums going, ‘I want four tattoos and high waisted pants…’ We would, me and my friend Brent would primp longer than a girl did before a show just to go to a show. We weren’t even on stage yet! We were just going to shows, but he’s an amazing guitar player. He was the guest appearance on my solo record. His session was so inspiring because, one, he didn’t even charge me. He just wanted to be a part of it. And two, he shows up with a hook for the song. My man shows up with a hook! And third we’re just watching him in there with this amp on the verge of feeding back the whole time and he’s just playing and it’s like, ‘God damn!'”

At Ness’s Stone Pony show, The Boss, Bruce Springsteen jumped up on stage and played a few tunes with the punk icon including “I Fought The Law,” “Misery Loves Company,” and “Ball And Chain.” Ness resumes touring June 27 in Las Vegas with a run of West Coast dates that wrap up July 13 in Chico, California.