Misplaced Pages

"Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World"
Single by the Descendents
A-side	"Ride the Wild"
B-side	"It's a Hectic World"
Released	1980 (1980)
Recorded	1979 at Media Art, Los Angeles
Genre	Power pop surf punk new wave
Length	4:22
Label	Orca (001)
Songwriter(s)	Frank Navetta, Tony Lombardo
Producer(s)	David Nolte
Descendents singles chronology
""Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World"" (1980) "I'm the One" (1997)

"Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World" is the 1980 debut single by the American punk rock band the Descendents. It was the band's first release and displayed a new wave and surf sound. It was recorded at a time when the band lacked a lead singer, so vocals on the recording were provided by guitarist Frank Navetta and bassist Tony Lombardo. With the addition of singer Milo Aukerman in 1980, the band moved towards a hardcore punk sound. "Ride the Wild" and "It's a Hectic World" were re-released in later years on compilation albums.

Background

In 1977, middle school friends Frank Navetta and David Nolte began writing songs on acoustic guitars with the intention of forming a band. They initially called themselves The Itch, until Navetta came up with the name Descendents. In mid-1977, they met classmate Bill Stevenson, who impressed them with his musical talent and became their drummer. In 1979, they met bassist Tony Lombardo in Long Beach, California and recruited him to the band. By that Spring, however, Nolte bowed out to join his brothers in The Last. The singerless "power trio" lineup of Navetta, Lombardo, and Stevenson recorded the band's debut single at Media Art studios and released it on their own label, Orca Productions, named after Stevenson's fishing boat. Navetta sang "Ride the Wild" while Lombardo sang "It's a Hectic World". Nolte produced and mixed the session, and his brother Joe turned the lead guitar level up, resulting in the guitar being very loud in the mix.

The band's music at the time was described by Stevenson as a "coffee'd-out blend of rock-surf-pop-punk music The sound consisted basically of Lombardo's hard-driving, melodic bass lines, Navetta's tight guitar riffing, and my 'caffeinated' surf beats." Steven Blush, author of American Hardcore: A Tribal History, described the single as "a blend of Devo-style new wave and Dick Dale-like surf." Ned Raggett of Allmusic described it as surf-inspired power pop with a new wave edge: "Not quite Devo if they grew up on the coast, but there's something to that comparison." Stevenson sold copies of the single to fellow students at Mira Costa High School, attracting the attention of classmate Milo Aukerman: "One day Bill came to school with a stack of singles that he was selling," recalled Aukerman, "and I say 'What’s your band all about?' He said 'Oh, we're punk or whatever', so I bought one and I loved it. I came up to him and said 'I love this single. Can I watch you guys play?' He said 'Yeah, you can come watch us practice.'" Aukerman soon joined the band as their lead singer, and their music moved in a hardcore punk direction with shorter, faster, and more aggressive songs.

Both "Ride the Wild" and "It's a Hectic World" were reissued on the compilation Bonus Fat in 1985, and on Two Things at Once in 1988 which combined Bonus Fat with the band's 1982 debut album Milo Goes to College. Both songs were re-recorded with Aukerman on vocals for the band's eighth album, 9th & Walnut.

Cover versions

Cover versions of the single's two songs were later recorded by other artists for Descendents tribute albums. For Homage: Lots of Bands Doing Descendents' Songs (1995), Tru Zero covered "Ride the Wild" while Pavement covered "It's a Hectic World". Teen later covered "Ride the Wild" for Milo Turns 50: Songs of the Descendents (2013).

Track listing

Personnel

Band

• Frank Navetta – guitar, vocals on "Ride the Wild"
• Tony Lombardo – bass guitar, vocals on "It's a Hectic World"
• Bill Stevenson – drums

Production

• David Nolte – producer, mix engineer

References

1. Robbins, Ira. "Descendents". Trouser Press. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
2. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Review: Bonus Fat". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
3. ^ Blush, Steven (2001). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Los Angeles: Feral House. p. 79. ISBN 0-922915-71-7.
4. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, eds. (2002). All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 303. ISBN 0-87930-653-X. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
5. ^ "F.A.Q." descendentsonline.com. Descendents. Archived from the original on 2010-02-11. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
6. ^ LaCour, Deedle (Director); Riggle, Matt (Director) (2013). Filmage: The Story of Descendents/All (DVD). Manchester: Rogue Elephant Pictures. Event occurs at 8:25.
7. Blush, p. 310.
8. ^ Stevenson, Bill (1989). Hallraker: Live! (CD liner). Descendents. Lawndale, California: SST Records. SST CD 205.
9. "Bonus Cut". Filmage: The Story of Descendents/All. Event occurs at 38:16.
10. "Descendents Return with New Album '9th & Walnut' | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
11. "Homage: Lots of Bands Doing Descendents' Songs". Allmusic. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
12. "Free Download: Filter Magazine Presents: Milo Turns 50 Full Descendents Covers Album". filtermagazine.com. Filter. 2013-01-07. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
13. ^ Two Things at Once (CD liner). Descendents. Lawndale, California: SST Records. 1988. SST CD 145.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

• 1979 singles
• Descendents songs