SOCIAL DISTORTION STILL CLEAR ABOUT ROLE AS PUNK PIONEERS.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Mike Ness is the real thing, a lifelong rebel who isn't going to change for anyone.

The down-to-earth leader of Social Distortion, considered the last great punk band, remains one of the few rockers to inspire unbroken loyalty.

Emerging in 1979 from Orange County's beer- and violence-fueled punk scene, Ness has maintained a rootsy, honest sound even while maturing as a songwriter and setting himself apart from the one-dimensional assault of other Southern California ensembles falling under the punk banner.

Social D.'s just-issued ``Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll'' (Time Bomb) is exactly as uncompromising and hard-hitting a new disc as you'd expect from the group's first long-player in eight years. In songs such as ``Live Before You Die'' and ``Footprints on My Ceiling,'' Ness observes friendship, loss and love in plain-speaking, heartfelt ways.

``People keep telling me this is an optimistic record, but that's not what I set out to do,'' Ness, 42, said recently. ``I've learned to embrace positive ideas and feelings and use that as inspiration rather than always being negative or complaining. But I think you can be just as powerful and passionate. If anyone questions whether my music is still dangerous, I say what's more dangerous than love? Some guys would rather have a dozen fistfights than deal with one broken heart.''

In a stunning demonstration of Social D.'s staying power, the band continues a five-night run on Friday at the Wiltern, where Ness holds forth through Monday (the Explosion and Tiger Army open the shows). It's a box-office feat few locally based punk bands outside of the Red Hot Chili Peppers could match.

``There really are no other punk bands anywhere that could pull it off, except maybe for the Ramones, if they were still around,'' said Will Pendarvis, operations manager of Sirius Satellite Radio's Faction channel, which specializes in punk, hip-hop and hard rock. ``Social D. is one of the only originals left and they've managed not to disappoint anybody along the way. It has a lot to do with Mike Ness' honesty and credibility. He's never tried to write a hit song, he's never run after the media. You don't see his face on MTV all the time. He writes about things that matter to him and people naturally relate.''

In ``Don't Take Me for Granted,'' one of the new disc's most nakedly emotional songs, Ness deals with the loss of Dennis Danell, the band's longtime rhythm guitarist, who died four years ago of a brain aneurysm. Rancid's Matt Freeman handles bass duties on the current tour.

``Losing Dennis was heartbreaking and extremely hard and I wrote that song about three days after he died, right in the heat of the moment,'' Ness said. ``It hit me that I can't just give the band up. I was able to turn a negative situation into an inspiring one. I knew I had a purpose and should continue this in his honor. I realized this is what he'd want me to do.''

Ness has traveled a hard road. Legend has it he was carted off to jail at Social D.'s first-ever gig in '79, at a house party in Yorba Linda, when the 17-year-old singer-guitarist spat at a cop. Heroin, scrapes with the police and further stints behind bars followed until 1985, when Ness entered recovery.

In 1990, the band signed to Sony's Epic label for two albums. The street-toughened Orange County punk outfit didn't mind-meld with the company's corporate culture, despite alt-rock radio hits ``Story of My Life,'' ``Bad Luck,'' ``Ball and Chain'' and Ness' stirring cover of Johnny Cash's ``Ring of Fire.'' Afterward, Ness put the band on hiatus to record a couple of records and tour as a solo act.

``The major labels are one of the last vestiges of white slavery,'' Ness declared. ``You have these people in these towers and sometimes the simplicity is so simple they don't get it. From the beginning, I remember having meetings to discuss the artwork for the record. And these people had nothing remotely in common with us and here they are giving us feedback. Today, it feels so nice not have those middlemen in the way. When you go with a big company, all of a sudden you have a stack of people in your way. It becomes a huge obstacle.''

Ness takes nothing for granted and is just thankful that his band has managed to maintain a strong bond with its original audience while developing a younger following. Social D., incidentally, also appears Dec. 12 at KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas show at the Universal Amphitheatre.

``It feels good,'' Ness said. ``I don't understand it, but I'm grateful for it. I think the word-of-mouth is still one of the most powerful things working in our favor. I think what happens is, an older brother or sister might say, 'Hey, get the new Blink-182 - but while you're down there at the store, pick up a Bob Marley record and a Social D. record. It's a great place to start.

``I think a lot of people have heard about us for years. And we never went away.''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

SOCIAL DISTORTION

Where: Wiltern LG, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. Friday through Monday.

Tickets: $25. Call [phone].

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Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness has channeled his survivor's mind set into the band's latest disc, ``Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll.''