ALL (band)

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ALL is a spin off punk band formed by members of The Descendents. After the departure of singer Milo Aukerman from the Descendents in 1987 to pursue a graduate degree in biochemistry, the three remaining bandmembers formed ALL, naming themselves after the Descendents' last record. (Milo Aukerman re-united with the Descendents in 1996, and both bands continue to co-exist.)

The instrumental lineup of ALL has remained constant and consists of guitarist Stephen Egerton, bassist Karl Alvarez, and drummer Bill Stevenson. (Only Stevenson, formerly of Black Flag, was an original member of the Descendents.)

ALL's first two albums, "Allroy Sez" (1988, Cruz/SST Records) and "Allroy for Prez" (1988, Cruz/SST EP) were recorded with vocalist Dave Smalley (formerly of East Coast hardcore and punk bands DYS, Dag Nasty and Down By Law). Scott Reynolds took over vocals until 1993, singing on the albums "Allroy's Revenge", "Trailblazer", "Allroy Saves", "Tony All/Old Girl New Story", "Percolater", and "Dot". When Reynolds left, he was replaced by current singer Chad Price for the 1993 album "Breaking Things."

ALL joined major label Interscope Records for 1995's "Pummel". Disputes over marketing and promotion of "Pummel" resulted in a departure from Interscope. "Mass Nerder" (1998), "Problematic" (2000), and "Live + One" (2002), which includes a live All CD and a bonus CD from the Descendents' reunion shows in 1996 were released on Epitaph Records.

ALL has two new albums in the works, but no scheduled release dates. One album, which was written and partially recorded at the same time as The Descendents' album Cool To Be You (early 2002), is reported to consist of all new material with the familiar sound of ALL, while the other is expected to be more instrumental and experimental.

ALL is no longer under contract with Epitaph Records. In a 2004 interview, Bill Stevenson said that the new ALL material might be released on their own label Owned & Operated.

Perhaps the best introduction to ALL's work is "ALL," a best-of album released in 1999 on Stevenson's Owned & Operated label. The album contains remastered songs, an extensive booklet with lyrics, photos, a complex family tree of the Descendents/ALL, track selections by the fans, and an otherwise unavailable song with Aukerman.

The band members of ALL often express frustration that The Descendents are so much more popular than ALL, despite the fact that the drummer, guitarist and bassist are the same in both bands, and the songs are sometimes very simlar (and, at times, the same). For example, the Descendents often records demo songs that end up as ALL songs, and vice versa. When the Descendents play live they often play ALL songs in their set and vice versa.

Right now, ALL is in a period of inactivity, with all the members workign on other projects. Bill is playing in Only Crime, The Lemonheads, and recording at his studio 'The Blasting Room'. Karl also finished playing bass on The Lemonheads 2006 album, and also played with All Systems Go!. Chad is playing in an alt-country band Drag The River. Stephen has been opening his own recording studio called Armstrong Records, and has spent some time as a guitar tech for the band MXPX.

1 Current Line-up
2 Former members
3 Discography
4 External links

[edit] Current Line-up

[edit] Former members

Dave Smalley - Vocals (1987-1989)
Scott Reynolds - Vocals (1989-1993)
- Reynolds is the former lead singer of many pop-punk bands, including the Pavers, Goodbye Harry, as well as ALL from 1989-1993. Reynold's songwriting contributions with ALL were notable; his "Dot" off 1993's Percolator was the group's first single not written by drummer Bill Stevenson. He is currently fronting the metal punk band Bonesaw Romance.