Descendents will always be one of my favorite punk rock bands but let’s not forget that when vocalist Milo Aukerman left the band to pursue a graduate degree in biochemisty guitarist Stephen Egerton, bassist Karl Alvarez and drummer Bill Stevenson decided to carry on. They used the name of the last studio album from Descendents, All, as their new band name and enlisted the talents of Dave Smalley on vocals.
If you know anything about classic old school punk rock you will know that was quite a coup. Smalley was the vocalist for two unbelievable bands, the straight edge hardcore band from Boston DYS (Department of Youth Services) and then Washington, D.C.’s Dag Nasty. All released one album and one EP in 1988 before Smalley left the band. Scott Reynolds took over on lead vocals from 1989–1993 and Chad Price then became the band’s third and current vocalist. They released a total of nine studio albums from 1988-2000 and although they have been on hiatus for years, they did play a show November 2018 after Descendents ended their tour.
I am a big fan of Dave Smalley so that is my favorite output from the band. However, the single “She’s My Ex” from Allroy’s Revenge, their second studio album and first with singer Scott Reynolds is easily my favorite song from All. They are a great punk rock band and deliver a strong pop aesthetic in all their songs. Great stuff.
This live video of “She’s My Ex” is seriously bad ass. Watch to find out why.
Cheers!
The Musings of Frank Gallardo 