Recently, Punk Globe got the chance to interview Bill Stevenson – who is a producer, musician, founding member of Descendents, All, Only Crime, the former drummer of Black Flag. And current member of FLAG. In this interview Bill speaks about his influences and love for Black Sabbath, his production work and songwriting, about experiences and inspirations, in the early days of Descendents and his lifestyle now.
Punk Globe: With all your projects - Descendents, All, or Black Flag and Only Crime, you’ve always been doing different roles in each band – songwriter, drummer, producer. Isn’t it hard to do ?
Bill: I think, I view it all as one big thing: it’s just all music – different sides of it.
Punk Globe: When it comes to work – songwriting or production, what helps you to do your best ?
Bill: I think, the same things help me that help anybody else. Maintaining good physical and mental health. Trying not to worry about the things too much. If I do those things – I can do my best. Well, one more thing…Which would be – a lot of coffee.
Punk Globe: Even though you’ve always been a highly-productive and respected musician - “Hypercaffium Spazzinate” released in 2016 became the first record by The Descendents after a 14 year hiatus. Tell us about that ?
Bill: We all are best friends. Even during times when the band is not very active we all still communicate with each other constantly. It’s just very natural for us to play and record. It’s the thing that comes most naturally to all of us.
Punk Globe: How do you usually write songs ?
Bill: Well, for me, the songs coming to existence by a few different methods. The method I prefer is when I have a sort of dream… It’s usually right in the morning, when I first open my eyes. I kind of have a song already in my head. Before I wake up! Those are the funniest ones! Usually I have the whole chorus in my mind. And then I can just do the work of writing – finishing the lyrics or writing a verse or whatever may be lacking. But if I get that dream - - or, that premonition…I don’t know exactly what to call it! But those are the funniest ones! Other times I might just be taking a walk or doing something. And then an idea pops in my head. If it’s a good idea then it may become a song. Another way would be… If I’m just playing guitar or playing bass and I just come up with something I like – and I make a song out of it…That third way is usually not the way for me. I think that's the way for most rock-bands I know. They kind of play the guitar and: “Oh! That sounds cool!” – Let’s write some more! I don’t do that very much! Usually for me it’s the ‘dreams”.
Punk Globe: By the time you founded Descendents you became one of the very first punk-bands in the U.S. After the rise of hippie culture in the 60’s and first proto-punk bands – Ramones, The Stooges and Dead Boys – How did you feel being a part of thatmovement ?
Bill: I was just a kid! I was just 15 years old, and had just gotten my first drum-set! This guy that I met in school said he played guitar. So we just started playing! I never really thought in terms of “the punk-rock movement”, Or how that related to what the hippies were doing. I never related in that way – until I was older. Then I realized that there was more cultural significance to this music that I was into. But to me – I just liked the music. But I also like Black Sabbath ( laughs ). It all was just fun for me! But once I started learning more about it, I can see that: “Oh! The Ramones decided to make song structures really short… to make things little more simple – more like initial versions of rock-n-roll!” – and all that. And I get that now. But at the age of 15 I was just a stupid kid trying to play the drums, guitar and bass and have fun!
Punk Globe: Who were your drum-heroes at that point ?
Bill: Right when we first started the band…I’d say the drummers I was look up to…When we very first started…Were Bill Ward from Black Sabbath and Charlie Watts from The Rolling Stones. And…Maybe Peter Criss from Kiss. When I first got my drum-set – when I was still 14, I would play along with Kiss records, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath. It’s hard to play along with Black Sabbath though, because Bill Ward is just special. He has his own way of doing everything. Hopefully some people think of me in the way they think of Bill Ward. – hopefully they think that I kind of “do it my own way! Once we started playing in our band, and Frank [Navetta] started taking me to go and see shows. Punk-rock shows. Then I had a new set of influential punk-rock drummers. And those would be the one that maybe ended up having a bigger influence on my actual playing. And those would be Robo from Black Flag, Jack Reynolds from The Last; John McCarthy from The Alley Cats; Don Bolles from Germs; Carlos Quintana from The Plugz and DJ Bonebrake from X. Jeff Nelson from Minor Threat. And of course, Tommy Ramone – probably more than any of them…
Punk Globe: Within Descendents and All, most people notice that within these band you had this amazing ability to combine punk-rock vibes with moldiness. Is it hard for you to unite these two aspects ?
Bill: It comes naturally to me! I liked a lot of pop-music when I was a kid. I liked The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Carpenters. And even Kiss…Kiss is a pop-band, really! My favorite song of all time was “Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town”. That was a very sad song. I think that one song had a big influence on me. But I’ve never put that much thought into it. Like: “Well, I’m gonna combine pop-music with punk-rock vibes” – I’ve never thought about it! It’s just sort of how it came out.
Punk Globe: Within your lyrics you’ve always been writing about different aspects of life. And relationships in particular. Whether it’s “She’s My Ex” or “Shreen”. Do you always write about your background experience or there are also some of the thoughts worrying you, fantasies etc ?
Bill: I don’t write very many things that aren’t 100% true from my life. Maybe there are a couple of things I sort of created from my imagination I’m trying to think of an example…Ok, “Jean Is Dead” was from my imagination. I had a dream about what happened in that song. But it didn’t actually happen in real life…
Punk Globe: You’ve always been speaking about mid-late eighties as about incredible time in music within tectonic changes happened back then. And I think in a sense, “My War” became a good example of these changes. Your drum-parts on that record sounds quite different – in comparison with your early works. Didyou feel that you stepping from a well-known path?
Bill: I feel like the late 70’s were when the “tectonic changes” occurred… But, to answer your question about the “My War” Album… It was different I suppose to be combining aspects of Punk with Heavy metal, with a little prog thrown in as well… But, in other ways it was like returning to a few familiar things. Particularly on side two of that record, there are a lot of very direct influence from Black Sabbath. And also, some of the progressive stuff – like on “Swinging Man”, using a little bit of King Crimson or Mahavishnu Orchestra - stuff we liked to listen to. I don’t know! I just get behind the drums! I just play ( laughs ). I don’t think about it too much! I really don’t. I think if I’d think about it – it would make it less fun ( laughs ).
Punk Globe: By that time you started working as producer –contributing to Spot. Tell us, what did you learn from him at that point?
Bill: At that point I was too young and stupid to learn anything from him! But I’ve learned many-many things from him later in my life. I’m continuing to learn things from him now! I don’t know if I can verbalize any of them…Spot was really into this idea of “the unseen hand”. The idea that you shouldn’t hear the production – you should hear the band! And I think that’s a great philosophy. He believes in making “honest records” (and I also do) I love Spot very much,
Punk Globe: As a member of Black Flag you recorded quite a few albums with them, contributed to lots of songs and produced all these records.
Bill: In those days Spot was doing all the production. I would try a little bit, but didn’t know what I was doing. It took years and years for me to figure out how to do things without ruining them.
Punk Globe: Was it hard for you to work in such a frantic pace? Crazy-tours, recordings and touring again…
Bill: We were young and energetic. The cadence of it all did not seem difficult to us! It just seemed like… what was necessary at the time. We were writing songs. We wanted to go on tour; we wanted to record, we wanted everybody to hear our cool new songs. And we were just moving! Drinking coffee and moving! To work in that tempo nowadays, when I’m 56 years old – that would be too difficult for me. But when I was younger it was fairly easy.
Punk Globe: Wit each record of Descendents your drumming style changed a little bit. And “Everything Sucks” became a kind of mixture of various styles. But after you’ve been playing with All for a years, was it hard for you to switch on and write some stiff with Milo again ?
Bill: No. We are constantly writing songs. The songs on “Everything Sucks” weren’t written specifically to be “Descendents songs”, per se. (In fact, when we wrote most of them – we were rehearsing them as All). But it’s kind of one big thing to us.
Punk Globe: Do you have any sort of writing rules that you follow?
Bill: My brain is too constrictive already. So if I’m doing music, I try not to get my brain to have any creative rules. Punk Globe: You’ve built The Blasting Room after signing to Interscope Records. Since then it became your main activity – apart from touring. But running a studio for nearly 30 years is different experience – when it comes to being in a studio in a day-job-regime.
Punk Globe: Working with a variety of artists, what helps you to choose the direction of your drumming style for each project?
Bill: I just try to listen to the songs. And understand what the songs are. And try to think about what the band is. What the band is really wants to be. Who they are as people. And just to do things so all that stuff translates. So when people listen – they hear what the song is about, they feel where the song came from, and hopefully – they feel the personality of the band, and of the players. I definitely don’t have a set of consistent formula in a way I work. It’s just sort of different with each band. I think bands – especially the good ones – have their own identity - and I just try to figure it out what that identity is. And try to make the record display that.
Punk Globe: Lots of people working with you have noticed that sometimes it takes quite a while for a producer to get the right take while recording different parts –with instrumental as well as the vocal-parts. As producer do you usually focus on individual parts or like some producers who focus on technical side of things?
Bill: It’s all of those things! It starts with trying to get best songs you can. From there, you try to play them in a great way. And also, having good instruments that play well and sound good. Whether it’s the type of guitar - or what type of pick-up it has… Or choices to do with drums, or cymbals, etc… all these little choices along the way. The amplifier, the speaker cabinet – what kind of speakers are in the speaker cabinet ? What size are these speakers? Or microphone – which microphone do you choose ? How close or far is it from the source ? And what angle is it ? Does it directly in the center. Or it goes a little bit to the side. Do I use two mics or one mic ? Do I use two dynamics or two condenser mics ? Or one dynamic and one condenser? Or what sort of pre-amp is the mic running though? What compression? How much compression? Or there is no compression? Equalization? Even though I try to get drum tuned perfectly – does the drums still need to be EQ-ed ? A little brighter? more ? Just all on the way these are just a million little decisions…
Punk Globe: But after you take in all these decisions, what helps you understand when your work is done ?
Bill: … probably when the time runs out. I mean, you sort of never finish… Like with the great paintings…I don’t think the painters ever finished them. I think at the certain point they just have to give up and say: “Well, fuck it! It’s done!”. I can work on something forever! There are always some tiny things you can change and try to make it better. Or … YOU THINK that it will make it better. It’s hard not to get caught up in all that. It’s probably why the universe created recording budgets. Like: “Ok! The money’s gone! It means that the record’s done!”(laughs).
Punk Globe: What’s your favorite Black Sabbath era ?
Bill: My favorites are the first four albums, and “Heaven and Hell”.
Punk Globe: Thanks so much for interview, Bill!
