of spastic rejects to become the band we know as the Descendents. The long forgotten trio lineup of Frank Navetta,
Tony Lombardo, and myself honed the band's sound into the coffee'd out blend of rock-surf-pop-punk music that it is.
It's hard to define musical influences, but if I had to narrow it down to 2 things, they would be The Last, and my best
friend Pat McCuistion. The sound consisted basically of Lombardo's hard driving, melodic bass lines, Navetta's tight
guitar riffing, and my "caffinated" surf beats. This Singerless "power-trio" lineup lasted for a couple of years. -Long
enough to record a 7" single called "Ride The Wild", and to begin looking for a singer. In 1980 we got a singer
named Milo Aukerman, and started our way on a long and intense journey to the bottom of our next cup of coffee.
Shortly thereafter The "Bonus Cup" was invented. We took 1/3 of a cup of instant coffee grounds, added some hot
water, threw in about 5 spoons of sugar, and proceeded to play 10 second songs. The Bonus Cup became a part of
everyday Descendents life. All just innocent fun until late one night while fishing on my boat, Orca, Pat and I
discovered the concept of ALL--The Total Extent, as sent forth by the Basemaster General himself. The quest for
ALL became the main catalyst of the band, and we adopted this omni-ambitious way of life, for better and for better.
Weinerschnitcel would be the first song that came about as a result of our now undying devotion to ALL. Pat insisted
that we quit writing "stupid girl songs", and start writing about things that really matter- - Like FOOD and FISHING.
So he and I wrote "Weinerschnticel", "ALL", and "No! ALL!" in a fit of allular frustration. The songs were only
seconds long but that was ALL the time we needed to make the point. We temporarily put aside all of our so called
"girl-songs" and recorded The "Fat" EP. This is the only Record we ever made without a single love song on it. The
rigorous momentum of the band brought about a series of lineup changes leaving me as the only original member.
The first change was when Ray Cooper joined the band as a guitar player, later to become singer. This happened
right after we released the "Milo Goes To College" LP. During these months I had become close friends with Greg
Ginn of Black Flag, and before I knew it I joined Black Flag, thinking I could be in both bands at the same time.
During the next 2 years Descendents weren't very active, because I was too busy touring or recording with Black
Flag. I soon learned that it is impossible to be in 2 bands at once. In April 85 I left Black Flag, and put the
Descendents back on our feet again, this time as a full time touring band. Frank had disappeared to Oregon, but Ray,
Milo and Tony wanted back in the band, so Ray switched back to guitar, and we recorded "I Don't Want To Grow
Up". Tony was unable to tour with us , so he was replaced by Doug Carrion for the 3 tours that followed. We
recorded "Enjoy", and at the end of the "Enjoy Tour" (Summer 86) Doug and Ray went their separate ways. One
week later on my birthday (Sept. 10) Karl Alvarez and Stephen Egerton (friends from Salt Lake City) stepped in on
bass and guitar. We recorded the "ALL" LP, the record that finally revealed the concept to ALL to the public. After
the 60 day spring "ALL" Tour and the 50 day "FinALL" tour, Dave Smalley took over on vocals, and the band
became ALL. While recording "Allroy Sez...", I received a call telling me that Pat had died (Dec 16, 1987). His boat
sunk out in the ocean during a storm. He had 15,000 pounds of fish on board, so I guess you could say he died in
heated pursuit of ALL. He was always the "5th member" of the band, besides being my best friend, next to Milo.
Three records and 2 national tours later the ALL family grows closer, including our two crew members Bug and Gooch, who have been with us for six tours. The eternal quest for ALL continues.
(from Hallraker)
Gooch, who have been with us for six tours. The eternal quest for all continues.
