Mike Ness Discusses His Journey For Social Distortion’s New Album

“I wasn’t sure about anything a couple of years ago, even if I was going to be able to sing again.”

Mike Ness joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday (May 7) to help fans get ready for Social Distortion’s new album, Born to Kill. A big part of the journey that led to the release of this record is Ness’ personal battle with tonsil cancer — something that completely shifted his outlook.

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“I felt like I was singing like there was tomorrow,” Ness told Loudwire Nights‘ Chuck Armstrong about getting into the studio after the surgery for his cancer.

“It changes your perspective and gave me a sense of urgency and I feel like that came across in the vocal performances.”

It was quite the experience for Ness to fear he would never sing again and then realizing his voice might be the strongest it’s ever been.

“I’m very proud of this record, it was a lot of work,” he shared.

“I’m already thinking about the next one. I feel like I’m at a place in life, this was such a good experience making a record with this producer [D. Sardy] and him and I working together. I want to make as many records as I can in the next 10 years. I don’t want to make them with anybody else.”

Ness said he’s already working on new songs and he’s hoping that he shocks his fans in a good way.

“There’s just so many songs that we went through to pick these [for Born to Kill], some dating back 30, 35 years. It’s 35 years of writing, maybe even longer. Some of them are just little voice memo ideas, some of them are crammed in a drawer. It was really fun to dig them all out and pick the ones for this record but there’s so many left over. They didn’t make the record not because they weren’t good enough, there’s just not enough room.”

He admitted that over the last couple of years, he’s already written a dozen new songs, too.

“Making the record and touring keeps you in that mode of creativity.”

Battling Tonsil Cancer + Envisioning the Future

As Ness opened up about Born to Kill, he was also honest about what it was like battling tonsil cancer and the recovery that followed.

“I lost 20 pounds in the hospital,” he shared.

“I had a feeding tube, they sent a robot down my throat and cut it all out. This system that I’ve been using my whole life had been interrupted and had to be relearned … I was medicated the whole time. I lost so much weight and having the kids see me like that, seeing the fear in their eyes, it’s really hard. You have to just try and you have to be strong for them.”

The uncertainty of everything was a burden on Ness, too. As he endured it, he knew nothing was guaranteed.

“That’s the hardest, just not knowing,” Ness admitted.

“I still get tested once a year and I get anxious every time it’s time to get blood work. It’s nerve-racking.”

In an interview about 10 years ago, Ness was talking about the song “Ball and Chain” and how he’s not necessarily a religious guy, but does find a connection to spirituality. As fans might expect, the last couple of years have only deepened that connection

“At times I found myself trying to bargain with him or her,” he said about a higher power.

“I had a grandson on the way and I had a record on the way. It was like, whatever happens, just let me get this. Let me at least get to experience the grandson. Let me finish the record.”

Something that helped him through it all was a realization that he had to do his best to keep a positive mindset, too.

“I just tried to envision the future, you know,” he said.

“I’d be in once a week, getting chemo. You’re there for about four hours sitting in a chair. I was literally listening to the record, what we had done of it, and that was keeping my eye on the prize.”

As he put it, he felt there was a reason he was still on this earth.

“[I tried] to believe the higher power wants me to continue on. Otherwise, why didn’t I die 40 years ago? This wasn’t my first brush with death — but definitely the most profound.”

Mike Ness Discusses Writing ‘Vulnerable’ Songs

Ness has always been honest and transparent in his lyrics; it’s one of the reasons why Social Distortion’s fanbase is stronger than it’s ever been before. There’s a deeply personal connection that he has to the songs that fans immediately relate to.

And with the life-threatening experience he went through, he’s not holding back in his music and sharing it with his fans, either.

But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy on him to be so open, regardless of the topic.

“There’s a couple of songs that I’ve already written,” he shared, “that you’re not thinking about when you’re up there onstage and you’re looking at the setlist, this is the next song like ‘Don’t Take Me For Granted’ or something. [You’re not] thinking about what the situation was like when you wrote it. I wrote that after Dennis Danell died, but every now and then you’ll be up there performing it and it’ll hit you.”

READ MORE: How Throat Cancer + Blackberry Smoke Pushed Jason Newsted Toward the Chophouse Band’s First Official Tour

Ness said he’s working on a song right now that didn’t make Born to Kill, but he and the band tracked it, that holds a similar emotional weight.

“It’s a song called ‘Time Won’t Wait,'” he explained.

“It talks about my parents and our relationship. It’s gnarly. I’m just listening to a rough track right now and reading my lyrics. I’m like, man, this is, this is, this is vulnerable. But you know what? So was ‘When the Angels Sing’ and a lot of my songs and people can relate to that because it’s just human. It’s just life.”

What Else Did Social Distortion’s Mike Ness Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What runs through his head when someone calls him legendary: “It’s kind of weird. We didn’t really set out to become role models or legends or anything like that, but I’ll take it. I mean, I’ve been called a lot of things in my life. I’ll take that one.”
• The song he thinks new fans should start with to dive into the world of Social Distortion: “‘Born to Kill.’ I mean, that song is kind of the mission statement for our whole career. It’s a great place to start and then you’ll discover other records of ours.”
• The dreams he had for Social Distortion when he started out in 1978: “I wanted to be in a rock and roll band since I was five years old. When it was starting to finally come together, you weren’t thinking about making any money. You were just grateful to be up there in front of people, even if it was just 10 people at a kegger party, you know? It was like a dream coming true. It’s just like, ‘Wow, this is actually happening.’ Then it’s like, ‘Okay, what do I have to do to take it to the next level?’ Not every musician can write songs. I was very fortunate to have the ability to write songs early on. I had a focus and a passion and a determination, but at the same time, we didn’t really think we were going to live this long. We’re lucky to have made it out of it, put it that way.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below or the Video at the Top of the Page

Mike Ness joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, May 7; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.