Some bands can seemingly slag it out forever (take the Stones, for example), while other s call it quits, only to later embark on reunion tours (do we have to name names?). Then there's the Descendents, who have chosen both routes. The southern California punk band had released four albums when singer Milo Aukerman took a sabbatical in 1987 to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry. While Milo was behind the microscope, the three remaining members (former Black Flag drummer Bill Stevenson, Karl Alvarez, and Stephen Egerton) kept slagging it with various singers out under the name All. Now Milo's back the band has dusted off the Descendents monoker. They've also just released an excellent pop punk platter called Everything Sucks.
"There's always been an open door for Milo," says drummer Stevenson. "We never really unconnected--I mean Milo and me have been best buddies since we were little kids." He and Aukerman were the band's core members during its heydays of '81 to '82, and then 1985 up until Milo's exit. During those years, the Descendents laid much of the ground work for what would eventually be called pop punk. At the time, Milo's nerdy appearance, his bookish ways girls set to punk rock shredding, all combined to earn them the label "geekcore." After Milo traded in his leather jacket for a labcoat, he stayed in close contact with the band. "I played some sort of consulting role with the All guys. They'd send me tapes of their new stuff, and I'd give them input on it. And also I did backups on Breaking Things, and I've subbed in for (All vocalist) Chad (Price)."
Earlier this year, Milo was once again bitten by the punk rock bug and began writing songs. "I enjoyed it so much, I just kept writing more songs," Milo says. "Then I called Bill up and said, 'What do you think about collaboration between him and me and the All guys, and then at some point we decided we should just do a record."
Of course one of "the All guys" was Chad Price, who had assumed vocal duties for the band in 1994. In a move that should earn him the Punk Rock Award for Selflessness, Price said that he was happy to step aside and let Milo take his turn back at the mic. Recounts Milo, "I kept asking Bill (he whispers), "Is Chad cool with this? Is Chad cool with this? And he was like Chad is totally cool with this." In Milo's words, Price "saw this as a good thing overall for the entire entity of five people." Bill frames the situation in family terms. "Chad respects that Milo has a place in our family, but Milo respects that that doesn't mean that Chad goes away."
One very welcome aspect of both bands existing on equal footing is the unique deal they've worked out with Epitaph Records, All's last album, Pummel was released on Interscope, and according to Bill, it was neglected by the label. "They seemed more busy with Bush." But then he says, "Brett called me up one day (Brett Gurewitz, head of Epitaph) and said, 'Hey, what's going on with you guys, are you guys happy over at Interscope?'" That call eventually led to a multiple album deal for both bands.
That's both bands, not each band. Explains Milo, "The records can be either All records or Descendents records." While Bill was hesitant to mention the number of albums involved, he stressed the importance of establishing a long term relationship with Epitaph. "We both agreed on a certain amount of records that would be comfortable for us to get in bed together (on), and work together (on) as a team, rather than these things where labels just find bands and drop 'em, or bands move around all the time."
Whenever Milo speaks about the new Descendents record, he is also quick to note that All is still an existent band. "We're doing this Descendents thing now," He says, "so we're kind of at bat. Next at bat is All." "At some point," says Bill, "Like maybe next summer or next spring, an All album will come out and we'll be touring with Chad."
Right now, the Descendents are gearing up for their triumphant return to the stage, beginning with a two week east coast stint before the end of the year. Bill cautions anxious fans not to hope for a Descendents-All double bill. "I'd get worn out," says the double-time drummer. "I mean I could, but usually if I play for an hour and a half, I'm done. It'd be like compromising the intensity of either band."