In comparison to the often-bizarre noises emanating from the aforementioned SST talent, the Descendents were a virtually conventional punk band, writing short, playful, tight numbers from the perspective of the eternally bemused adolescent. Singer Milo Aukerman, drummer Bill Stevenson, and a revolving crew of guitarists and bassists put out several smoking albums and EPs in the '80s, including the Spot-produced Fat EP (with "My Dad Sucks," "I Like Food" and the 8-second "Weinerschnitzel") and Milo Goes To College ("Suburban Home," "Bikeage," the defiant "I'm Not a Loser").

"Once the punk stuff started, I was pumped up," says Spot. "No one had any money, but we had opportunities and we took advantage of them. My philosophy was to get the band in, make them feel good in the room, then roll the tape and let them play. I wanted to get them when they were inspired and not afraid of the process. I started to lose interest when bands decided that since R.E.M. was popular, it was time for them to be popular too; they stopped being what they were and started laboring over things trying to get a certain 'sound.' I still worked but the romance was over.

"I got out of L.A., moved to Austin in '86, and started playing again. I got into playing traditional Irish music because it had always been a dream of mine to be some kind of fiddler, and in Austin there were numerous opportunites to play traditional music. I love 'tune sessions' with just a bunch of people sitting around playing tunes. When it really gets going, there's nothing like it. I try to keep things raw and rough. I play solo and with bands, live and I record for my own No Auditions label," he says. "It's what I love."