The story
Descendents formed during 1977 in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, California, USA. Their initial formation was as the acoustic duo of Frank Navetta, and David Nolte. Bill Stevenson soon hooked up as their drummer, making the duo into a trio. At the end of 1977, Nolte became bass player for The Last, and that group took precedent over David's commitment to the Descendents, so he was replaced by Tony Lombardo — although David stuck around briefly to sing with the band. Their first release (as a trio, with Navetta and Lombardo handling vocals) was the '5278411' 7-inch in the style of melodic garage pop. For a six-month stretch the band included the female singer, Cecilia Loera. Descendents then enlisted Stevenson and Navetta's classmate and a constant presence at Descendents' rehearsals, Milo Aukerman, as a singer during late 1980. It's at this point the Descendents reappeared as a 'proper' punk band, becoming a major player in the developing hardcore scene of Los Angeles.
Their debut album the following year, '630039', introduced a strong element of melody and sensitivity that set them apart from most other hardcore bands. Stevenson's songs, in particular, would go onto greatly influence the melodic pop-punk bands of the 1990s, with themes of love, loss and alienation (themes far less common in the punk scene during the early 1980s).
Following the album's release, Milo actually went to college to embark on an education that would take him as far as a doctorate in biochemistry. The band then recruited Ray Cooper (3) to handle vocals, but around this time Bill Stevenson became the drummer with fellow hardcore punks Black Flag. Although the plan was to play in both bands, Black Flag's rigorous touring scheduled proved to be too time-consuming. From 1983 to mid 1985 Descendents gigs were sporadic. There were a few gigs where the band appeared as a 5-piece, with both Navetta and Cooper playing guitar plus Milo on vocals. One show included Navetta (in his underwear), Lombardo and Cooper playing under the name Ascendents. The Descendents did not record again until April 1985, from which they returned with the album '630066'. This was much more sensitive than 'Milo Goes to College', despite '...Grow Up' including humorous songs such as 'Pervert' and 'No F.B'.
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