Social Distortion have been die-hard analog aficionados since day one. Back as far as 1997 the punk-rooted but rock- and country-influenced band told the Washington Post they “used all analog equipment until the very last moment” on a recording that year; and in 2010 they talked to Mix about tracking on tape even as they mixed on Pro Tools. It wasn’t just music: founder/guitarist/vocalist Mike Ness told a reporter, “I was one of the last to get a cell phone… I made it 50 years without having to have a password for anything.” Out on the road, they took analog with them at front of house and monitors. But that changed on the band’s most recent string of dates late last year, their first North American shows since 2019.
“The band is set up for all rock & roll—no computers, not even any wireless except for their in-ears, which are kind of recent,” says Bill Black, Social Distortion’s monitor engineer, who says that he “inherited” the band’s analog gear when he came aboard. “I was cool...
