John William Stevenson is an American musician and record producer. He is the drummer, main songwriter, and the 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.
Revolutions per Minute is the second studio album by American punk rock band Rise Against, released on April 8, 2003, by Fat Wreck Chords. After establishing a fanbase with their 2001 debut, The Unraveling, the band members wanted to record an album that distinguished them from other Fat Wreck Chords bands of the time. They chose Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore to produce the album, with whom they developed a strong rapport. Recording took place from November to December 2002 at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Stephen Patrick O'Reilly, known professionally as Stephen Egerton, is an American guitarist, producer, mixer, and engineer, who is best known for his work playing in Descendents and All.
Wake the Dead is the second studio album by Canadian hardcore punk band Comeback Kid. The album was released on February 22, 2005. Bill Stevenson recorded it over 13 days at the Blasting Room in Ft. Collins, Colorado. The album's main hit, the title track "Wake The Dead", was featured on the soundtrack of the video game Burnout Revenge, and Burnout Legends. The album peaked at number 16 on Top Heatseekers and number 27 on Top Independent Albums. It was the final album with Scott Wade on vocals, with Andrew Neufeld taking over on the later releases.
Good Riddance is an American punk rock band from Santa Cruz, California. They released seven full-length studio albums on Fat Wreck Chords, then disbanded after releasing a live recording of their farewell concert in 2007. They reformed in 2012 and released an eighth studio album, Peace in Our Time, in 2015. The band released Thoughts and Prayers, their eighth full length album, on July 19, 2019. Led by vocalist Russ Rankin, the band's longtime lineup includes guitarist Luke Pabich, bassist Chuck Platt, and drummer Sean "SC" Sellers. Their sound is influenced by the hardcore punk scene and the band was known for their combination of fast punk with catchy melodies. Lyrical themes vary from political protests and critical analyses of American society to personal struggles and alienation.
Only Crime is an American melodic hardcore group formed by Good Riddance singer Russ Rankin and Bane guitarist Aaron Dalbec in 2003. The band plays melodic but hard-hitting punk rock that borrows heavily from early-1980s hardcore bands such as Black Flag.
Mute Print, released on April 20, 2004 through Nitro Records, is the third full-length album from the Massachusetts based melodic hardcore band A Wilhelm Scream. It is their first studio album since changing their name from Smackin' Isaiah in 2002.
To The Nines is the first album by melodic hardcore band Only Crime. It was released by Fat Wreck Chords on July 13, 2004, and features Good Riddance's Russ Rankin, Bane's Aaron Dalbec, and renowned drummer and producer, Bill Stevenson, of Black Flag and Descendents fame. It also features Doni and Zach Blair, brothers who made up half the band Hagfish.
A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion is the second album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released June 4, 1996, through Fat Wreck Chords. It was the band's first album with drummer Sean Sellers, replacing Rich McDermott who had left the group. The album includes two cover songs, of The Kinks' "Come Dancing" and Government Issue's "Hall of Fame", the latter included as a hidden track. "Last Believer" was titled after an episode of the 1991 PBS documentary series on President Lyndon B. Johnson; the song had previously been released on the band's debut EP Gidget in 1993 and was re-recorded for A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion.
Operation Phoenix is the fourth album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released May 4, 1999 through Fat Wreck Chords. It marked a change in recording location and production team for the band: their previous three albums had been recorded in San Francisco with producer and recording engineer Ryan Greene, but for Operation Phoenix the band traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado to record at The Blasting Room with Jason Livermore and Descendents/All members Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton. This marked the beginning of a long-term working relationship: Good Riddance would record all of their studio material at The Blasting Room using the same production team until 2003, when the band slipped into inactivity and singer Russ Rankin started Only Crime with Stevenson. Stevenson and Livermore would return to record and produce Good Riddance's final studio album My Republic in 2006, which was recorded in San Francisco. Rankin later commented that working with The Blasting Room team was a major turning point in recording for the band:
We did our first three albums with Ryan Greene and Ryan Greene is a great engineer and a really great guy and we learned a lot about being prepared to record ... his studio know-how was top-notch, his demeanor was top-notch, and we learned a lot, but when we decided we wanted a change, and we went to the Blasting Room, it was like...so different ... they knew what we were trying to do ... Also, the way they recorded...it was completely out of the ordinary...we'd been through the culture where you'd lay down the drums first, then you lay down the bass, then you lay down the guitars, and then you do the vocals...and we get to the Blasting Room and once the drums were done it was like, all bets are off, Chuck [Platt, bassist] would go in for a couple hours, then I would go in, then Luke [Pabich, guitarist] would go in, and we'd just be chipping away at these songs ... it was definitely a new approach for us anyway, we'd never done anything like that before...so I think that those guys really brought out the best in us, they challenged us, but they also, I think, had a really innate sense of knowing what we were trying to get done.
The Phenomenon of Craving is an EP by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released May 23, 2000 through Fat Wreck Chords. A portion of the proceeds from this album benefit the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, CA. Their drummer Sean Sellers had left the band in December 1999, so Dave Raun of Lagwagon drummed on the EP and on several tours with the band. A full-time replacement would be found in Kid Dynamite's Dave Wagenschutz, who joined the band for their fifth album Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit the following year.
Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit is the fifth album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released July 10, 2001 through Fat Wreck Chords. It was their only release ever to chart, reaching #32 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart. It marked the debut of drummer Dave Wagenschutz with the band; their longtime drummer Sean Sellers had left in early 1999, and Lagwagon drummer Dave Raun had filled in on the 2000 EP The Phenomenon of Craving and on several tours until Wagenschutz, formerly of Kid Dynamite, joined Good Riddance full-time.
Bound by Ties of Blood and Affection is the sixth studio album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released May 20, 2003 through Fat Wreck Chords. Like their previous two studio albums it was recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado with the production team of Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore. It was their last album with drummer Dave Wagenschutz; following his departure the band slipped into a period of inactivity during which singer Russ Rankin formed Only Crime with Stevenson. Good Riddance would return in 2006 for My Republic with drummer Sean Sellers, who had previously been in the band from 1996 to 1999.
My Republic is the seventh studio album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released June 27, 2006 through Fat Wreck Chords. It marked the band's return from an almost three-year period of inactivity, during which singer and primary songwriter Russ Rankin had been active in his new band Only Crime while guitarist Luke Pabich had started a side project called Outlie. It also marked the return of drummer Sean Sellers to Good Riddance, replacing Dave Wagenschutz who had played on the band's two previous albums Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit (2001) and Bound by Ties of Blood and Affection (2003). Sellers had previously been a member of Good Riddance from 1996 to 1999, playing on A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion (1996), Ballads from the Revolution (1998), and Operation Phoenix (1999), and had played with Pabich in Outlie during Good Riddance's hiatus.
Virulence is the second full-length studio album from melodic hardcore band, Only Crime. It was released on January 23, 2007 and features the same line-up as the previous album, To the Nines, including Russ Rankin from Good Riddance, Bill Stevenson from Black Flag, Descendents and ALL, Aaron Dalbec from Bane, and the Blair Brothers from Hagfish.
Russ Rankin is an American musician, best known as the singer for the punk rock bands Good Riddance and Only Crime.
Good Riddance / Reliance is a split EP by the Santa Cruz, California-based punk rock bands Good Riddance and Reliance, released in 1996 through the Austin, Texas label Little Deputy Records. Good Riddance's tracks were two of seven that had been demoed for their second album A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion but had been left off the record; they were recorded in a separate session from the album, with Andy Ernst at Art of Ears, and used on split EPs with Reliance, Ignite, Ill Repute, and Ensign over the following year.
"Satellite" is a song by American punk rock band Rise Against, featured on their sixth studio album Endgame (2011). Written by lead vocalist Tim McIlrath, "Satellite" is a melodic hardcore song expressing the idea that the band stood by their social and political beliefs, and that they would not conform to mainstream media. The song first premiered on March 4, 2011 in a webisode series detailing the recording process of Endgame, but was not released as the album's third single until November 1, 2011. The song impacted radio on the same day.
Peace in Our Time is the eighth studio album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released April 21, 2015 through Fat Wreck Chords. It is the band's first studio album since their 2007 breakup and 2012 reunion.
Thoughts and Prayers is the ninth studio album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, released July 19, 2019 through Fat Wreck Chords. It is the band's second studio album since their 2007 breakup and 2012 reunion. Unlike previous albums which featured some musical writing contribution from Luke Pabich and Chuck Platt, Thoughts and Prayers was solely written by frontman Russ Rankin.
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