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. 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 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 and the newest, 2016's Hypercaffium Spazzinate. 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.
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 album released on Victory Records by Canadian hardcore punk band Comeback Kid. 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 #16 on Top Heatseekers and #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. 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.
Bane was an American hardcore punk band that began in 1995 as a side project between Aaron Dalbec and Damon Bellorado. Dalbec approached Matt Firestone to sing and they played under the moniker of Gateway for a few shows, before Firestone parted ways to focus on other projects. Dalbec then approached Aaron Bedard about singing for Bane. They went into the studio in December 1995 with a few friends and released a five-song demo. The next year saw the release of their first EP, and many shows throughout central Massachusetts. In early 1997, Bane released Free to Think, Free to Be EP, and in 1998 the band released the Holding This Moment 7" and CD collection, and embarked upon their first US tour. Like many other hardcore bands, Bane are known for their promotion of tolerance and unity within the scene.
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.
To The Nines is the first album by melodic hardcore side project 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.
Hagfish were an American rock band originated in Sherman, Texas that rose to notoriety via performances in the Deep Ellum district of Dallas, Texas, drawing influences from both punk rock and alternative rock. The lineup included lead vocalist George Stroud Reagan III, guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Doni Blair and drummer Tony Barsotti for the majority of the band's career, including nearly all of their recorded work. Formed by the Blair brothers in 1991, Hagfish emerged with contemporaries Tripping Daisy and Toadies as part of the 1990s Dallas/Fort Worth alternative rock scene and were also heavily influenced by the Descendents/All, whose members recorded and produced two of the band's studio albums. After officially disbanding in 2001, Hagfish have reunited occasionally for live performances.
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.
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.
Cover Ups is a compilation album by the Santa Cruz, California-based hardcore punk band Good Riddance, collecting all of the cover songs the band had previously released. It was released July 2, 2002 through Lorelei Records, a record label co-founded by the band's singer Russ Rankin.
Only Crime and Outbreak is a split EP by punk bands Only Crime and Outbreak. It was released on June 26, 2007.
Capricorn One: Singles & Rarities is a compilation album by the Santa Cruz, California-based punk rock band Good Riddance, released through Fat Wreck Chords July 6, 2010, three years after the band's breakup. The tracks on the album span 1993 to 2006 and include songs from Good Riddance's Gidget and Decoy EPs and their split releases with Reliance, Ignite, Ill Repute, and Ensign, as well as three tracks from Fat Wreck Chords compilations and six previously unreleased demo tracks. All of the tracks were digitally remastered by Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room. The compilation is titled after the 1978 film Capricorn One, about a Mars landing hoax. The album's liner notes include Rankin's lyrics and comments on each song.
Ignite / Good Riddance is a split EP by the hardcore punk bands Ignite and Good Riddance, released in 1996 through Revelation 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.
Good Riddance / Ill Repute is a split EP by the hardcore punk bands Good Riddance and Ill Repute, released in 1996 through It's Alive 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.
Good Riddance / Ensign is a split EP by the hardcore punk bands Good Riddance and the Ensign, released in 1997 through Orphaned Records. Good Riddance's "What We Have" was one of seven songs 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. Their second track, "Salt", also appeared on their third album Ballads from the Revolution in 1998.
Pursuance is the third full-length studio album from melodic hardcore band, Only Crime. The album was released on May 13, 2014 and is the band's first studio album to feature bassist Dan Kelly, formerly a member of the punk rock band The Frisk and guitarist Matt Hoffman, formerly of the punk band Modern Life is War. Pursuance is the band's first album to be released on Rise Records, having the previous two studio albums released on Fat Wreck Chords. The album was produced by Bill Stevenson and was recorded at Stevenson's own recording studio The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado.
