Descendents

The Descendents were a big part of the early '80s California punk (some call it hardcore) scene that also included Black Flag and the Minutemen. They were more influential than popular, inspiring bands like Blink-182, whose frontman Tom DeLonge said, "I was trying to emulate that band. Really punchy guitars, fast, simple and formulaic nursery rhyme love songs."

They got their name because they were inspired by ("descended" from) other bands, particularly one called The Last, whose bandmember brothers Dave and Joe Nolte helped the Descendents get started and were a major influence on their sound.

Three of the members were teenagers when they released their debut album, Milo Goes To College, but the fourth, bass player Tony Lombardo, was older. He never disclosed his age, but his bandmates sussed out that he was older than they thought... by a lot. "He was actually quite a few years older than us, I think 16 years older than us," lead singer Milo Aukerman told Songfacts. "We didn't know it until much later. We always assumed that he was more our age, maybe a few years older."