I’d like to hang out with Bill for hours. I’d like to see his studio, talk about music, time signatures and gear until the wee hours of the night, but alas! I don’t know him personally. And I think he might be a crazy person. By “crazy” I mean smarter than the rest of us and therefore able to see far beyond the borders we create for ourselves to live in … I mean trap ourselves in … I mean live in.

The single minded determination that he’s had in order to build his music career is nothing but impressive.

I first became aware of him on the Warped Tour in the late 90s. For me, the Warped Tour often started out the same. A sea of bands and sounds that pummel you with so much cacophony that it doesn’t easily translate into anything but noise at first.. Between the heat and exhaustion, is can difficult to hear anything else while chugging water and wiping the sweat out of my eyes.

Descendents, however, stuck out right away as something very different.

They were just that good.

Punk rock with melody and even cooler: harmonies. Who the hell does that?

I guess a lot of people do now, but they were the first.

And if you take just a second to look around, it becomes quite clear the number of bands they’ve influenced. I can’t imagine it’s easy being the first at anything. It’s much easier to follow a premeditated path for sure.

…But it’s much cooler when you don’t.

I don’t have many heroes in my life, but as I’ve grown up, I realize that Bill is one of them. And to quote a dear friend of mine, “Bill seems almost naively aware of the powerhouse human he is. There’s beauty and inspiration in that.” I agree!

Without further ado, Bill Stevenson…

Q: What is your favorite sandwich and who makes the best one?

B.S. I make it with Lox, Red Onion, Tomato, and Jalapenos, and put it on a plain bagel.

Q: What is your favorite meal your mom makes?

B.S. I liked her pot roast the best, also biscuits and gravy, and her sour dough pancakes – I still use her recipe.

Q: How did you meet your best friend?

B.S. In high school.. the teacher was being a dick to him. I became sympathetic, then interested in him as a person.

Q: When or how did you find what you wanted to do?

B.S. Music has always been my interest, since I was 2. But I never really thought of it is a career… just a very fun thing to do.

Q: How did you pursue it?

B.S. By having fun doing it, and trying to get better at it.

Q: Did you have a mentor/mentors in pursuing it? Who were they and what did they do for you?

B.S. There were many great bands in LA when I was starting. I looked up to each of them, and their members, in different ways…Some for their creativity, others for their diligence.

Q: What do you dream of doing or are you doing it? If so, then what is the goal?

B.S. I dream of a life with fewer moving parts and less “white noise.”

Q: What would your 15-year-old self say to you now?

B.S. Why did you let your health get so bad? Why did you eat so many Snickers bars?

Q: If life were a person what would you say?

B.S. Must you constantly give me anxiety? Why do you make it seem like a war?

Q:  If you were in charge of the world and you have no restrictions, real or imagined, what is the one thing you would give it?

B.S. I would give it a lack of human cruelty.

Q: Has morality disintegrated to the point that we now need Yelp for people?

B.S. They can corrupt that system, the same way they do the listed businesses.

Q: How is society getting things right?

B.S. Not really getting much right. Everywhere you look there is poverty desperation, oppression.

Q:  What do people need in order to see each other as equals?

B.S. At a young age, to be taught to cooperate, not to compete.

Q: Do we still need religion?

B.S. Some do. I do not at this time.

Q: Do you have hope for the future?

B.S. Yes. I will be peaceful and happy someday soon. I am heading toward it.

Q: Hot topic of the week: This is an open discussion. Could be Gay marriage or Confederate flag, Donald Trump, for example.

B.S. America continues to make huge mistakes that impact the whole world. We are the stupidest country, the stupidest people, the world’s asshole.

Q: What are three things that work for you? For example, I can’t find a good razor. Because of a near unbridled need for massive profits I find that many products don’t live up their advertising. What works for you?

B.S. My coffee maker totally works for me. I would be dead without it.

My (smart) phone, (of all the stupid things to give props to), gives great usefulness, it is a great supplement to my very poor memory. It can remind me of the things I have forgotten. And I can listen to Ornette Coleman on it.

My drum sticks work pretty well. No complaints.

More thought-provoking questions:

1:  Do Americans have the right to complain about immigration?

B.S. I don’t believe in borders. It’s a ridiculous concept….People should be able to go where they want.

2: If our value system is based on scarcity then what of a human life, now that the population is in the billions?

B.S. There is abundance… it is just all in the hands of a very few rich, greedy pigs.

3: Would life be easier if racism were accurate? (This is a question to get you thinking about racism. Often ideas of race are talked about as an absolute truth.)

B.S. I don’t understand or think about racism – whether accurate or inaccurate. Everybody is the same. It’s a fact. Anybody tells you different – they are wrong.

4: What would you like to see written about you on your gravestone?

B.S. Bill was a decent human being.