Descendents were formed in 1977 as an acoustic duo by Frank Navetta, and David Nolte. Bill Stevenson soon hooked up with the duo as their drummer. At the end of 1977, Nolte became bass player for the Last, The and that group took precendent over David's commitment to to the Descendents, so he was replaced by Tony Lombardo, although David stuck around briefly to sing with the band. Their first release (as a trio at the time with Navetta and Lombardo handling vocals) was the Ride The Wild / It's A Hectic World 7" in the style of melodic garage pop.
In 1980 they enlisted Stevenson's old school friend Milo Aukerman as a singer, and reappeared as a 'proper' punk band, becoming a major player in the hardcore scene developing in Los Angeles at the time.
Their debut album the following year, Milo Goes To College, introduced an element of melody and sensitivity that set them apart from most other hardcore bands and Stevenson's songs in particular were to greatly influence the melodic punk-pop bands of the 1990s with themes of love and loss and alienation (themes far less common in the punk scene at the time).
The band temporarily split when Milo actually went to college, to embark on an education that would take him as far as a doctorate in biochemistry. In this time Bill Stevenson became the drummer with fellow hardcore punks Black Flag. The band did not record again until 1985 with the album I Don't Want To Grow Up. This was much more sensitive than Milo..., despite silly songs such as "Pervert" and "No F.B".
The band's lineup changed during the recording of I Don't Want to Grow Up. Navetta left the band during the recording to become a fisherman in Oregon, and Lombardo left after the recording as touring was incompatible with his career as a postal carrier. Ray Cooper replaced Navetta on guitar and Doug Carrion replaced Lombardo on bass.
Their next album, Enjoy! (released in 1986) was not well received by critics, but fans liked it. It was a mix of more 'silly' songs (The last track on the album involving band members farting into microphones and laughing).
After the Enjoy! tour, Ray Cooper got a job working in the emerging software scene and Doug Carrion left for other projects, eventually ending up in Dag Nasty. Stevenson invited Stephen Egerton and Karl Alvarez of Salt Lake City's Massacre Guys to replace them, and the now permanent lineup of the Descendents was in place.
The group released the album All in 1987, which, despite "Van", "ALL-O-Gistics" and the one-second "ALL", was the Descendents most mature 1980s album, and featured emotional songs such as "Coolidge", "Cameage" and "Clean Sheets".
With the release of ALL, the Descendents introduced to the world the driving concept behind their career's work, from which the album derives its title, the philosophy of ALL which they define quite conventionally as "the total extent." The idea of ALL as a concept beyond this conventional definition is one of endless self improvement. "The total extent" is an all-encompassing greatness, the pursuit of which is endless and impossible, but which is also the source of all real happiness.
Milo left again in 1987 and the remaining Descendents reformed with singer Dave Smalley and reformed under the name All and continued the legacy until 1996, when the Descendents reformed again with Milo Aukerman, now a full-time research biochemist, to record and tour in support of the album Everything Sucks.
In 2004 the band released the 'Merican EP and their newest full length Cool To Be You, which is among their more emotional releases to date.
The future of the Descendents is uncertain, as the members now are scattered all across the U.S. Stevenson currently runs The Blasting Room recording studio in Fort Collins while Egerton hones his recording chops at Armstrong Recording Studio in Tulsa. Meanwhile, All remains dormant with two albums left on the back burners as works in progress. Bill Stevenson is drumming for his new band, Only Crime as well as an outing with bassist Alvarez in Evan Dando's Lemonheads. Both Karl Alvarez and Bill Stevenson, along with Evan Dando, are currently recording and touring as The Lemonheads.
In 1980 they enlisted Stevenson's old school friend Milo Aukerman as a singer, and reappeared as a 'proper' punk band, becoming a major player in the hardcore scene developing in Los Angeles at the time.
Their debut album the following year, Milo Goes To College, introduced an element of melody and sensitivity that set them apart from most other hardcore bands and Stevenson's songs in particular were to greatly influence the melodic punk-pop bands of the 1990s with themes of love and loss and alienation (themes far less common in the punk scene at the time).
The band temporarily split when Milo actually went to college, to embark on an education that would take him as far as a doctorate in biochemistry. In this time Bill Stevenson became the drummer with fellow hardcore punks Black Flag. The band did not record again until 1985 with the album I Don't Want To Grow Up. This was much more sensitive than Milo..., despite silly songs such as "Pervert" and "No F.B".
The band's lineup changed during the recording of I Don't Want to Grow Up. Navetta left the band during the recording to become a fisherman in Oregon, and Lombardo left after the recording as touring was incompatible with his career as a postal carrier. Ray Cooper replaced Navetta on guitar and Doug Carrion replaced Lombardo on bass.
Their next album, Enjoy! (released in 1986) was not well received by critics, but fans liked it. It was a mix of more 'silly' songs (The last track on the album involving band members farting into microphones and laughing).
After the Enjoy! tour, Ray Cooper got a job working in the emerging software scene and Doug Carrion left for other projects, eventually ending up in Dag Nasty. Stevenson invited Stephen Egerton and Karl Alvarez of Salt Lake City's Massacre Guys to replace them, and the now permanent lineup of the Descendents was in place.
The group released the album All in 1987, which, despite "Van", "ALL-O-Gistics" and the one-second "ALL", was the Descendents most mature 1980s album, and featured emotional songs such as "Coolidge", "Cameage" and "Clean Sheets".
With the release of ALL, the Descendents introduced to the world the driving concept behind their career's work, from which the album derives its title, the philosophy of ALL which they define quite conventionally as "the total extent." The idea of ALL as a concept beyond this conventional definition is one of endless self improvement. "The total extent" is an all-encompassing greatness, the pursuit of which is endless and impossible, but which is also the source of all real happiness.
Milo left again in 1987 and the remaining Descendents reformed with singer Dave Smalley and reformed under the name All and continued the legacy until 1996, when the Descendents reformed again with Milo Aukerman, now a full-time research biochemist, to record and tour in support of the album Everything Sucks.
In 2004 the band released the 'Merican EP and their newest full length Cool To Be You, which is among their more emotional releases to date.
The future of the Descendents is uncertain, as the members now are scattered all across the U.S. Stevenson currently runs The Blasting Room recording studio in Fort Collins while Egerton hones his recording chops at Armstrong Recording Studio in Tulsa. Meanwhile, All remains dormant with two albums left on the back burners as works in progress. Bill Stevenson is drumming for his new band, Only Crime as well as an outing with bassist Alvarez in Evan Dando's Lemonheads. Both Karl Alvarez and Bill Stevenson, along with Evan Dando, are currently recording and touring as The Lemonheads.
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