All (band)

Last updated
All (stylized ALL)
Origin Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres
Discography ALL discography
Years active1987–2003, 2008–present
Labels Cruz, Interscope, Epitaph
Spinoff of Descendents
Members Chad Price
Stephen Egerton
Karl Alvarez
Bill Stevenson
Past members Dave Smalley
Scott Reynolds

ALL is an American punk rock band originally from Los Angeles, currently based in Fort Collins, Colorado. The group was formed by Descendents members Bill Stevenson, Karl Alvarez, and Stephen Egerton.

Contents

History

Formation and Cruz Records years

All formed in suburban Los Angeles in 1987 when Milo Aukerman, the lead singer of the Descendents, left to pursue a graduate degree in biochemistry, forcing the band into a hiatus. The remaining members, guitarist Stephen Egerton, bassist Karl Alvarez, and drummer Bill Stevenson, decided to carry on as a band, adopting the title of the Descendents' last studio album, ALL , as their official moniker.

Enlisting former Dag Nasty and DYS singer Dave Smalley on vocal duties, ALL released their first two albums in 1988, Allroy Sez and the EP Allroy for Prez (both distributed by Cruz Records), to critical acclaim. In 1989, Smalley left the band, and new vocalist Scott Reynolds joined. With Reynolds, ALL released four more albums: 1989's Allroy's Revenge (which included the single "She's My Ex"), 1990's Allroy Saves , 1992's Percolater , and the 1990 live album Trailblazer . Also during this time, the band recorded New Girl, Old Story , an album with former Descendents member Tony Lombardo under the band name TonyALL.

The band lived in a small office complex (as referenced in the Scott Reynolds–penned song "Box"), and toured nearly nonstop. Following a brief stint in rural Brookfield, Missouri, the band eventually relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado; the centrally located city made touring the west and east coasts of the country considerably easier. Reynolds left the band in 1993 and was replaced by vocalist Chad Price. The album Breaking Things was released in 1993 to generally positive reviews, and the songs "Guilty" and "Shreen" were released as singles.

Interscope/Epitaph years

ALL briefly joined major label Interscope Records for 1995's Pummel , but disputes over marketing and promotion of the album ended their relationship quickly. The song "Million Bucks" was released as a single and a video, but the album ultimately received rather mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. The band was signed by Epitaph Records shortly after.

At this time, Milo Aukerman, now a full-time biochemist, returned to the Descendents and recorded their 1996 comeback album Everything Sucks , also on Epitaph. Stevenson, Alvarez, and Egerton continued to tour and record with both bands, eventually releasing ALL's critically acclaimed 1998 album Mass Nerder , 2000's Problematic , and the 2001 Descendents/ALL live split Live Plus One .

According to a 2004 interview [ citation needed ] with Bill Stevenson, ALL is no longer under contract with Epitaph Records, and any new ALL material will be released on their own label, Owned & Operated Records

Hiatus

The band has previously talked about having two albums in the works; however, there has not been any news on them in some time. One album, which was written and partially recorded in early 2002 while the band was recording the Descendents' album Cool to Be You , is reported to consist of all-new material with the familiar All sound, while the other is planned to be much more experimental, with a heavier emphasis on instrumental compositions.

All went through a multi-year period of inactivity, with members working on other projects across the country. Bill Stevenson and Karl Alvarez both live in Fort Collins, Colorado; Stevenson is currently playing with Only Crime and The Lemonheads, and running his own recording studio, The Blasting Room, while Alvarez has contributed bass to The Lemonheads' 2006 album and Underminer and has toured with Gogol Bordello. Stephen Egerton currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his family, running his own studio, Armstrong Records. Stephen has several music projects in the works. The first, 40Engine, is with former vocalist Scott Reynolds; another is an instrumental band named Slorder, and he also plays bass and drums with a guitarist named Jason Crowley under the name Crowley/Egerton. Chad Price is playing in the Colorado alt-country band Drag the River and tours playing bass for Rocky Votolato.

Reunion

On January 26, 2008, Egerton, Stevenson, and Alvarez reunited with Scott Reynolds to play a set of All songs as an opening act for Drag the River at the Aggie in Fort Collins. In mid-April of that year, the band announced that they would be reuniting once again with Reynolds for Chicago, Illinois's Riot Fest on October 12. They performed at the Congress Theater in Chicago, playing for less than an hour before Chicago police shut down the show.

Additionally, All performed two warm-up shows: one in Japan in July 2008 and the other at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, on August 29, 2008. The DNC show was cut short and the band completed an additional set that evening at the 3 Kings Tavern in downtown Denver.

In July 2009 the band completed a short tour with fellow Cruz Records alums Big Drill Car, going across Southern California. Former Descendents bandmate Tony Lombardo joined the band on stage on July 18 and 19 of that tour for two songs, to a very welcoming crowd. [2]

In an interview with RiotFest.org, Scott Reynolds did not rule out the possibility of writing new material but set three conditions that need to be present: people want to hear new music, he feels the need to create, and the "bro" factor between the bandmates needs to be there. [3]

All played a one-off performance in Portland, Oregon, at Dante's on October 3, 2009. [4]

In the beginning of 2010, the band was set to perform a short tour on the East Coast, [5] with Off with Their Heads and Shot Baker. The shows were postponed due to health issues with Bill Stevenson, [6] and were never rescheduled. At the 2011 Punk Rock Bowling, the band played a set with all three of their singers, Dave Smalley, Scott Reynolds, and Chad Price. From 2011 to 2014 the band played various shows around the U.S. On February 16, 2013, the band performed at The Mohawk in Austin, Texas, as part of a cancer benefit.

On September 9, 2014, after a showing of Filmage at the Downtown Independent theater in Los Angeles, ALL played a dual set with both Chad and Scott, followed by a Descendents karaoke part where both Chad and Scott sang Descendents songs, along with surprise guest vocalists: London May (Samhain); Phi Lo (The Last); members of the Filmage crew, James, Justin & Deedle; Jen Razavi (The Bombpops); Marko DeSantis (Bad Astronaut) & Ken Stringfellow (Posies); Dennis Lyxzén (Refused); Davey Havok (AFI); Jim Lindberg (Pennywise); and Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio, Blink 182). [7] With Chad in vocals, ALL played Amnesia Rockfest in 2015.

Throughout the Descendents' touring cycle from 2016 to 2018, both Chad and Scott have performed songs with the band at various shows. On August 3, 2018, during a Descendents show in Buffalo, New York, the band performed two songs after bringing out Scott Reynolds as a special guest. On November 18, 2018, All played a show to celebrate The Descendents ending their 2018 "Tourage" where they played a dual set with both Scott and Chad on vocals in Tulsa.

ALL played two sets at Washington's in Fort Collins, Colorado in November 2019 with Dave Smalley and Scott Reynolds to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Blasting Room. Their next show took place with Chad on vocals at Punk Rock Bowling in 2021. They have since reunited to play Fest in 2023, and a Punk Rock Bowling pre show in 2024.

Allroy

Allroy as drawn by artist Chris Shary Allroy by Chris Shary.jpg
Allroy as drawn by artist Chris Shary

All's mascot is Allroy, a neon bright yellow cartoon character with spiked hair, whorls for eyes, and a large, toothy grin, often depicted engaged in conflict with an anthropomorphic musical note. Allroy was created by bassist Karl Alvarez, based on a caricature he had drawn of guitarist Stephen Egerton for the Descendents' 1987 "FinALL" tour posters. [8] "When they go out on tour, Stephen likes to be the one that drives", said artist Chris Shary. "Well, he'd been up for a while, just pounding coffee, and Karl was in the back, and Stephen just turned back to look at him and it was this crazed [look], like almost the eyes spinning, and the big grin, and so Karl drew that out and that was the FinALL tour drawing. It just kind of went from there and got tweaked a little bit, and there was Allroy." [8] Meant to be All's equivalent to the Descendents' Milo character, Allroy is "representative of all things Allular", said Alvarez, adding "I swear to God I'd never seen The Simpsons when I drew that design", noting the character's resemblance to Bart Simpson (the Simpson family characters debuted April 19, 1987, on The Tracey Ullman Show , while Allroy debuted a year later on the cover of All's debut album Allroy Sez ). [8]

Allroy is the eponymous character of All's early releases Allroy Sez (1988), Allroy for Prez (1988), Allroy's Revenge (1989), and Allroy Saves (1990), and appears on the covers of these releases in illustrations done by Alvarez. [9] [10] [11] [12] Allroy was absent from the band's cover art for much of the 1990s before being revived for Mass Nerder (1998), as drawn by Chris Shary. [13] Shary also drew Allroy for the cover of the compilation album All (1999), and he and Alvarez together illustrated the character for the cover of Problematic (2000). [14] [15]

Band members

Current members

Former members

Timeline

All (band)

Discography

Studio albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Stevenson (musician)</span> American musician

John William Stevenson is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the drummer, main songwriter, and only constant member of the California punk rock group Descendents since its inception. In late December 1981, he played a few concerts with the hardcore punk band Black Flag because their drummer, Robo was detained in England after a tour there. He went on to record with Black Flag on several of their albums until 1985, including the highly influential My War. After this, he focused his attention on Descendents and played with the band until lead singer Milo Aukerman left in 1987. After Milo's departure, Bill and the other members of Descendents, Karl Alvarez and Stephen Egerton, recruited singer Dave Smalley of Dag Nasty, moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, and formed ALL. ALL went on to have two more singers, Scott Reynolds (1989–1993) and Chad Price (1993–present). Aukerman came back for the 1996 album Everything Sucks, the 2004 album Cool to Be You, 2016's Hypercaffium Spazzinate and the newest album 9th and Walnut. All and Descendents continue to tour between Stevenson's and Aukerman's respective careers as a recording engineer and a biochemist. Stevenson was born in Torrance, California and attended Mira Costa High School, with fellow members of the Descendents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Descendents</span> American punk rock band

Descendents is an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson as a power-pop/surf punk band. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a singer, and reappeared as a melodic hardcore punk band, becoming a major player in the hardcore scene developing in Los Angeles at the time. They have released eight studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums, and four EPs. Since 1986, the band's lineup has consisted of Aukerman, Stevenson, guitarist Stephen Egerton, and bassist Karl Alvarez

<i>All</i> (Descendents album) 1987 studio album by the Descendents

All is the fourth album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released in 1987 through SST Records. It was the band's first album with bassist Karl Alvarez and guitarist Stephen Egerton, who brought new songwriting ideas to the group. The album is titled after the concept of "All" invented by drummer Bill Stevenson and friend Pat McCuistion in 1980. Based on the goals of achieving "the total extent" and "to not settle for some, to always go for All", the philosophy was the subject of the one-second title track, the two-second "No, All!", and "All-O-Gistics".

<i>Everything Sucks</i> (Descendents album) 1996 studio album by Descendents

Everything Sucks is the fifth studio album by American punk rock band Descendents, released on September 24, 1996, through Epitaph Records. It was their first album of new studio material since 1987's All, after which singer Milo Aukerman had left the band to pursue a career in biochemistry. The remaining members had changed the band's name to All and released eight albums between 1988 and 1995 with singers Dave Smalley, Scott Reynolds, and Chad Price. When Aukerman decided to return to music the group chose to operate as two acts simultaneously, playing with Aukerman as the Descendents and with Price as All. It is considered a return to the band's angrier hardcore punk such as the Fat EP and Milo Goes to College.

<i>Cool to Be You</i> 2004 studio album by the Descendents

Cool to Be You is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released on March 23, 2004, through Fat Wreck Chords. It was their first album of new studio material since 1996's Everything Sucks, which had been released through Epitaph Records. Following Everything Sucks, singer Milo Aukerman had returned to his biochemistry career while the other members—bassist Karl Alvarez, guitarist Stephen Egerton, and drummer Bill Stevenson—had continued with their other band All, releasing two more studio albums and a live album through Epitaph between 1998 and 2001 with singer Chad Price. Cool to Be You was recorded with Aukerman in 2002, but its release was delayed until 2004. The band switched from Epitaph to Fat Wreck Chords partly due to the enthusiasm of label head Fat Mike, who cited the Descendents as one of his favorite bands. Cool to Be You became the fourth Descendents release to chart, reaching #143 on the Billboard 200 and #6 amongst independent albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Reynolds (singer)</span> Musical artist

Scott Reynolds is an American punk rock vocalist from Fredonia, New York, known mainly for his work with the band ALL from 1989 to 1993. He has also performed with such bands as The Pavers and Goodbye Harry.

<i>Allroy Sez</i> 1988 studio album by All

Allroy Sez is the debut album by the American punk rock band All, released in March 1988 through Cruz Records. Following the departure of singer Milo Aukerman from the Descendents, the remaining members—bassist Karl Alvarez, guitarist Stephen Egerton, and drummer Bill Stevenson—recruited singer Dave Smalley and changed the name of the band to All, which was both the title of the Descendents' 1987 album and a philosophical concept invented by Stevenson and friend Pat McCuistion in 1980. Allroy Sez introduced the character of Allroy, who would serve as a mascot for the band and be featured on many of their subsequent album covers.

<i>Allroys Revenge</i> 1989 studio album by All

Allroy's Revenge is the second studio album by the American punk rock band All, released in 1989 through Cruz Records. It was the band's first release with singer Scott Reynolds, replacing Dave Smalley who had left in late 1988. The album includes two songs written by Tony Lombardo, the original bassist for All's precursor band the Descendents. It also includes a cover version of "Hot Rod Lincoln", a 1955 song by Charlie Ryan that was a hit for Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen in 1971. "She's My Ex" was released as the album's single.

<i>Percolater</i> (album) 1992 studio album by All

Percolater is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band All, released May 12, 1992 through Cruz Records. It was the band's first album recorded after their relocation from Los Angeles to Brookfield, Missouri, and their first studio release recorded outside of California. It was also their last album with singer Scott Reynolds, who left the band after the album's supporting tours. A single and music video were released for the song "Dot".

<i>Breaking Things</i> 1993 studio album by All

Breaking Things is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band All, released August 16, 1993, through Cruz Records. It was the band's first album with singer Chad Price and their last released through Cruz. The songs "Shreen" and "Guilty" were both released as singles from the album, the former supported by a music video.

<i>Allroy Saves</i> 1990 studio album by All

Allroy Saves is the third studio album by the American punk rock band All, released in 1990 through Cruz Records. It was the first album that the band members recorded, mixed, and produced entirely on their own. A music video, the band's first, was released for the song "Simple Things".

<i>Live Plus One</i> 2001 live album by All and the Descendents

Live Plus One is a live album by the American punk rock bands All and the Descendents, released in 2001 through Epitaph Records. A double album, it includes one disc by All recorded in 2001 on their Problematic tour, and a second disc by the Descendents recorded in 1996 on their Everything Sucks tour. The two bands are composed of the same musicians—bassist Karl Alvarez, guitarist Stephen Egerton, and drummer Bill Stevenson—but have different lead singers: Chad Price for All and Milo Aukerman for the Descendents. Live Plus One reached #45 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart, making it the only All release and the second Descendents release ever to chart.

<i>Allroy for Prez</i> 1988 EP by All

Allroy for Prez is an EP by the American punk rock band All, released in 1988 through Cruz Records. Released the same year as the band's debut album, Allroy Sez, the EP was All's final release with their original singer Dave Smalley.

<i>Trailblazer</i> (album) 1990 live album by All

Trailblazer is a live album by the American punk rock band All, released in 1990 through Cruz Records. It was recorded in July 1989 at CBGB in New York City during the band's tour to promote their second studio album, Allroy's Revenge. The album was titled after a brand of portable toilet used by the band while on tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She's My Ex</span> 1989 single by All

"She's My Ex" is a song by the American punk rock band All, released as a single from their 1989 album Allroy's Revenge. Written by drummer Bill Stevenson, the song describes an ex-girlfriend with whom he had a tumultuous romance. The B-side track "Crazy?", written by bassist Karl Alvarez, is from the Allroy's Revenge recording sessions but was not included on the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guilty (All song)</span> 1994 single by All

"Guilty" is a song by the American punk rock band All, written by drummer Bill Stevenson and released as the second single from the band's 1993 album Breaking Things. The single also includes two more songs recorded during the Breaking Things session that were left off the album: "All's Fair", written by Stevenson, and "Man's World", written by Stevenson, singer Chad Price, and bassist Karl Alvarez.

<i>New Girl, Old Story</i> 1991 studio album by All with Tony Lombardo

New Girl, Old Story is collaborative album between the American punk rock band All and Tony Lombardo, the original bassist of All's precursor band the Descendents. Credited to "TonyAll", it consists of twelve songs written by Lombardo between 1979 and 1989. Lombardo played bass guitar on the entire album, with the members of All playing the rest of the instrumentation. Vocals were split between Lombardo and All singer Scott Reynolds, with All bassist Karl Alvarez also singing one song. Along with their 1990 album Allroy Saves, recorded at the same time, New Girl, Old Story was the last album recorded by All before their relocation from Los Angeles to Brookfield, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All discography</span>

The discography of All, an American punk rock band, consists of nine studio albums, one compilation album, two live albums, one EP, six singles, and five music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just Perfect</span> 1988 single by All

"Just Perfect" is a song by the American punk rock band All, released as a single from their 1988 debut album Allroy Sez. Written by drummer Bill Stevenson, "Just Perfect" was remixed from the original album version for release as a single. The B-side track "Wishing Well", written by singer Dave Smalley, is from the Allroy Sez recording sessions but was not included on the album. Both tracks were later included on the compact disc release of All's following EP, Allroy for Prez (1988).

<i>Filmage</i> 2013 American film

Filmage: The Story of Descendents/All is a 2013 independent documentary film chronicling the history of the American punk rock bands the Descendents and All. It was written by Matt Riggle, who produced and directed it with Deedle LaCour. The film uses an oral history format, telling the bands' stories through the use of interviews with over 40 subjects, as well as new and archival footage. It stars drummer Bill Stevenson, singer Milo Aukerman, bassist Karl Alvarez, and guitarist Stephen Egerton, and features nearly all past and present members of both bands. Filmage also features numerous musicians who were contemporaries of, worked with, or were influenced by the Descendents and All.

References

  1. ↑ Darling, Cary (1989). "Noteworthy Albums for the First Half of '89: ALL – Allroy's Revenge (Cruz)". allcentral.com. Orange County Register. Archived from the original on 2001-07-17. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  2. ↑ "Tours: ALL / Big Drill Car". Punknews.org. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "Riot Fest | Scott Reynolds". Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  4. ↑ "ALL show in Portland, Oregon on October 3, 2009". Punknews.org. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "Tours: ALL / Off With Their Heads / Shot Baker (East Coast)". Punknews.org. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Yancey, Brynne (December 30, 2009). "All postpones East Coast tour". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  7. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Two Headed ALL show and Descendents Karaoke at Los Globos in Hollywood, CA on September 09th, 2014". YouTube.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 LaCour, Deedle (Director); Riggle, Matt (Director) (2013). "Bonus Cut". Filmage: The Story of Descendents/All (DVD). Manchester: Rogue Elephant Pictures. Event occurs at 11:39.
  9. ↑ Allroy Sez (CD booklet). All. Long Beach, California: Cruz Records. 1988. CRZ-001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ↑ Allroy for Prez (CD booklet). All. Long Beach, California: Cruz Records. 1988. CRZ-004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ↑ Allroy's Revenge (CD booklet). All. Long Beach, California: Cruz Records. 1989. CRZ-006.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ↑ Allroy Saves (CD booklet). All. Long Beach, California: Cruz Records. 1990. CRZ-011.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ↑ Mass Nerder (CD booklet). All. Los Angeles, California: Epitaph Records. 1998. E-86531.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ↑ All (CD booklet). All. Fort Collins, Colorado: Owned & Operated Recordings. 1999. O&O-007.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ↑ Problematic (CD booklet). All. Los Angeles, California: Epitaph Records. 2000. E-86585.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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