Social Distortion are definitely a road band, often at the expense of recording new music. But frontman Mike Ness confirms in a new interview that there is a timetable to begin their next disc.

He tells the Salt Lake Tribune, “[We're going to] shock everyone and release it in a timely fashion. I don’t like to take it for granted that fans will stick around. We had some big gaps between albums.” Ness says that he feels great about the band’s last release ‘Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes,’ and felt it “left the creative door open” for new music. The singer says they’ve already got a good start on the new record and while there’s plenty of touring ahead of them this year, writing will begin in earnest in January.

While Ness is getting older, he’s not letting it slow him down. He tells the paper that he feels better than ever now that he’s 50 years old, and reveals, “I box four-to-five times a week. I’m in a better place than when I was 30, spiritually and emotionally. It’s like a fresh start. What can I do over the next 50 years?”

The singer may have the punk attitude, but he’s also a family man. He says that he told his son not to get any tattoos, but his warnings failed. So he drove him to an established tattoo parlor when he turned 17 to make sure it was done right. The singer says he got his first tattoo when he was 17 and he was drunk at the time, so he wanted to make sure it was a more thought-out and professional experience for his son.

Having just finished a spring run, Social Distortion will get a bit of a break in the schedule before heading overseas in August for European dates.

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