BILL NEEDS TO FINISH HIS SONGS!
A CONVERSATION WITH MILO AUKERMAN OF THE DECENDENTS
Perhaps the reason the Descendents stay so busy year upon year (or so it feels) is exemplified in one quote that top man Milo Aukerman gives to me midway through our conversation: “We want to stay current. We don’t want to just be a nostalgia act.”
And if that’s the mission statement, then, well, mission accomplished. Their longevity as a band and a punk influence is almost unparalleled, now past the 40-year mark, and there’s no signs of things slowing down.
There’s a couple of reasons we’re here today though, and they’re actually harkening back to the past. The first is an upcoming release, Bonus Fat, which is a collection of some of the band’s earliest recordings, some dating back to 1979, as well as the band’s landmark “Fat” EP from 1981. Aukerman takes up the story: “I’d just joined the band in about ’81, and we’d kind of transitioned into playing music that was faster and more hardcore,” he explains. “We just wanted to document the process of what we were doing, and we talked to a guy called Mike Watt…” he says mischievously. Mike Watt, of course, is a similarly well-known name as the bassist of the legendary Minutemen, and he got the Descendents started on their, well…descent. “They’d started a label called New Alliance and basically said they’d put a record out for us, which was maybe five or six songs on an EP,” Aukerman continues. “So, we went out to Hollywood, and everything got done at once.”
PURCHASE BONUS FAT
Those tracks are some of the best-known fan favourites the band has, and they’re preserved in full on this record: “My Dad Sucks,” “Mr Bass,” “I Like Food,” and “Hey Hey,” among others. If it seems like there’s no narrative thread, let Aukerman explain: “It’s just what we wanted to write about. What felt right at the time. Y’know, songs about Weinerschnitzel…that was Bill [drummer Bill Stephenson]’s idea!” he smiles. “Like, I’m gonna write a song about a fast-food place, why not? I think a lot of that stuff still resonates with us because it kind of brings us back to that juvenile part of our lives, you know? Where we like to be silly, and we can just play. Like, things that bring you back to just being just complete goofballs.”
That sense of fun has carried them through the years, and Aukerman ascribes the success of the band to knowing when it was time to stop and take a break. “We don’t want to get pigeonholed into one thing, man, we don’t want to take ourselves too seriously,” he explains. “One thing that we’ve have done a lot of is just to make sure we get lots of hiatuses. It allows you to recharge and stuff…and that actually has helped us just come back charging out of the gate again. still feeling fresh. I mean, most bands end up breaking up just because just overtour and get so burned out. So we’ve we kind of learned through the years like, yeah, we don’t want to do that!”
PHOTO CREDIT: KEVIN SCANLON
That’s definitely true, but don’t mistake that for not being busy – the band have toured a ton over the last few years, with Frank Turner, which Aukerman speaks highly of. “He’s just a real sweetheart, and it was one of my favorite tours I’ve ever done,” he says. He also gives a shout out to a Canadian band on the tour. “Also because Nobro was on the tour! Nobro is a great up and coming band, and it was just a great bill. I mean, one of one of my favorite bills we’ve ever put together.”
That’ll continue next year, as the Descendents are booked to play next year’s Underground Garage Cruise, the brainchild of Little Steven of Springsteen fame, and they’re generally busy at keeping the flame alive. Wherever you look, things keep rolling. There’s also the small matter of a graphic novel, entitled Aukerman Goes To Comics – yep, I like it too – which will tell the history of the Descendents to what they hope will be a new group of fans, along with some new music to go with it. But there was one major aesthetic thing that needed resolving.
PHOTO CREDIT: EDWARD COLVER
“When they were talking about making it, I was like, “Well, wait a minute. Am I going to look like that the Aukerman head?!” he chuckles. “I said, that doesn’t right to me. I should just look more like how I am. So, we had to separate the two out, you know. The cover’s got the four band members, and then it’s got the Aukerman, kind of looming over everything. So, it’s kind of fun that way!”
You can expect that at the start of next year, but how about the big question – more new Descendents music? The answer – yes – as long as this public callout works. “Next year, I would love to make progress on our new record, because we have a bunch of songs we’ve written and recorded,” Aukerman says. “But we don’t tend to put a record out unless everyone’s given their two cents, and I hope we can get that finished off soon.” Then he pauses. “Bill. Bill’s written a bunch of stuff, but he needs to get them finished. I’m going to say this very clearly. BILL NEEDS TO FINISH HIS SONGS!” he laughs.
I guess it’s over to you, then, Bill. God knows you’ve had enough to be going on with. It makes you wonder where they get the energy. But then Aukerman’s final comment to me solves the mystery.
“The Fat EP? That’s where we first got addicted to coffee…and god knows am I feeling it now,” he laments.
Ah, so that’s it. Well…if you’ll permit this writer a pun, this band seems full of beans for a few more years yet.
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Main Photo Credit: Lisa Johnson | Background Photo Credit: Edward Colver
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