It was such a physical and pared down show, and the music was so raw, that it just struck me so hard. I remember when they played with Devo, it was at this big arena and they were up there playing their hearts out, and the people in the audience were kind of chatting among themselves. They were really one of my favourite bands back then. So I was able to experience all these other LA punk bands, and I enjoyed them as well. But he also played the Germs and Black Flag, and so on. From that I started listening to Rodney On The ROQ, out there in LA, and he played a lot of X. I thought, ‘Well I like these guys better than Devo.’ X was the one that really got me going. But I just happened to see Devo play, and X were opening – all of a sudden my eyes just popped open. Before that, I was listening to new wave. X is the band that got me into punk rock, really. Of all those early day bands that you would go and see, who were your favourite? Basically, there was a lot of people who really enthusiastic and supportive.” They supported each other, and that helped us break through whatever resistance there was. And the thing about LA was that there were all these bands that played up in Hollywood, so no matter what resistance we encountered there was this good groundswell of bands, kind of like a family, I would say. But it became more popular, in LA for sure. And I was, like, ‘No, this is just what the barber shop gave me!’ But it was the first time I realised that, even in my high school, there were kids that were willing to put up a resistance against it. I remember the first time I got my hair cut really short, and someone at my school called me a dirty name. You encountered the same kind of resistance that you may have encountered in England where people just didn’t know what to make of it. “Well, it was just a small little group of people who were into punk. When you began your life as a punk, what was perception from the wider society of the genre as a whole? Kerrang! caught up with Milo to discuss a lifetime in punk, and whether or not he does like to be beside the seaside. Later this summer, the band will visit the UK for a somewhat rare appearance, at this summer’s punk rock jamboree, Rebellion, in Blackpool. Because of this, their place on the honour roll of American Punk Rock’s Hall of Fame is assured. But while The Descendents have never been what you’d call prolific – just seven studio albums in 37 years – they are consistent. After the release of Milo Goes To College, Milo actually did go to college, meaning that its successor, I Don’t Want To Grow Up, would only emerge a full three years later. The Descendents emerged in an LA scene whose energies were beginning to turn sour, and whose creativity was ceding ground to cliché. Reassuringly, both are still punks, and both remain in bands that are pivotal players from American punk rock’s difficult second act. Today, Graffin is the professor of evolution at Cornell University, while Aukerman holds a doctorate in biology from San Diego State. Shortly after this, the two bands’ singers – respectively, Greg Graffin and Milo Aukerman – entered the field of full-time education. On Epitaph, Bad Religion unveiled the nascent How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, while The Descendents issued Milo Goes To College, on New Alliance. In 1982, two Los Angeles based punk rock bands released debut albums.
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