Melbourne’s rising femme-punk provocateurs Arabella and the Heist have just dropped their current single Electric, …
If you went back through the Hysteria archives you’d probably come across hundreds of groups referred to as ‘punk icons’.
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None of them are as deserving of that title as Descendents. Since 1977, the Californian raised power-pop/surf-punk outfit have been regarded as innovators amongst the SoCal punk/hardcore movement. Their 1982 debut record release, Milo Goes To College, still stands up today as one of the most impactful and influential punk releases of the scene, with its mix of fast and aggressive hardcore punk alongside hooky melodies since being regarded as an influence on everyone from Blink 182 to Rise Against.
But while Descendents boast a catalog that many punk enthusiasts would refer to as perfect, it’s not an invitation for the band to be complacent.
“We all are striving for betterness,” remarks the group’s beloved frontman Milo Aukerman.
“Obviously, no one ever achieves perfection, but still, we’re all striving for betterness. It’s something to strive for. But you know, in reality, who really achieves such such perfect heights? We all have our failings, and I think that’s just part of living, so we all have to kind of give ourselves a break.”
Which is exactly what Aukerman did, whether by choice or not.
“I did have a mild heart attack,” he states when discussing the band’s mandated time off earlier this year.
“They put a stent in it and it seems to have really helped quite a bit. And thankfully, I’m feeling pretty good. I feel like I’m actually singing better than I was before,” he laughs.
“But, it’s made me realise that I need to be vigilant now. My family history is such that I should have been doing a better job already. My grandfather died of a heart attack at age 45, my father had three open heart surgeries for the same problem. So I kind of knew that I needed to be on the straight and narrow and while I wasn’t doing my best, I thought I was doing well.”
Now I’ve got a bit of a chip on my shoulder because I had a heart attack, so I want to get out there and just kind of be Superman.
[ Milo Aukerman ]
“But I just wasn’t doing well enough. You know, I probably should have been exercising more and eating better, which is kind of where I’m forcibly left right now.”
“So that was a real eye opener and a real heads up for me. So to then kind of realise that, I can take the positive that I’m singing better out of this, is great.”
Now back on the road touring, Aukerman is getting accustomed to both his new healthy living lifestyle and new lease on life. Which is made significantly easier due to the fact that Aukerman’s health scares now add on to a long list of previous health concerns from the Descendents camp.
“Now we’ve had Bill, who’s had major health problems. Carl, who had a heart attack and myself,” he laughs.
“And I think each of those health scares provided some fodder for songs. Bill’s written about his health issues on songs on Hypercaffium. hypercapnia, there’s songs about that. Although for me, the only song I can imagine writing about this event is a song that I’ve already written called No Fat Burger, which is on the same album.”
“And it’s like, if I would have written that song after my heart-attack, it would have been more appropriate. I’m basically talking about all the things that I need to eat now, and all the things I can’t eat. So I guess I’m counting that as my post heart attack song, even though I wrote it years before the heart attack,” he laughs.
With the group currently gearing up for their first Australian headliner tour since 2018, Aukerman spoke about his excitement about showing off his newly improved live vocals to rooms filled with Australian punters.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” he states.
“As I said, I’m singing better and I’m very curious how that’s gonna translate live. Is it going to be as good as what I’m hearing when I’m practising at home? I’m really looking forward to seeing how it goes. And plus, now I’ve got a bit of a chip on my shoulder because I had a heart attack, so I want to get out there and just kind of be Superman.”
