Mike Ness (born Michael James Ness, born April 3, 1962) is a country music singer and guitarist, best known as the vocalist, guitarist, and chief songwriter for the American punk rock band Social Distortion . Ness was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts and raised in Fullerton in Orange County, California. Kicked out of his parents' home in Fullerton at the age of fifteen, he dabbled in drugs and petty crime, involving himself in the punk scene and founding Social Distortion in 1978. The band signed a contract with Posh Boy Records in 1981, releasing the Mainliner/Playpen 7" re… read more