Mike Ness and Ben Nichols both front bands that blur the already-blurry genre lines between punk, Americana, country, and more—so it's no surprise that the two get along. Nichols' band, Lucero, opened for Ness' band, Social Distortion, on a tour about a decade ago, and the two hit it off. Since then, Lucero returned the favor by taking out Jade Jackson's band—which features Ness' son Julian on guitar. The occasion for this Talkhouse conversation is the release of Lucero's newest album, When You Found Me. The two songwriters talk about their craft, their kids, and how to write a song that makes a statement without getting political. —Josh Modell, Executive Editor

This episode was produced by Kevin O’Connell. The Talkhouse Podcast theme was composed and performed by The Range.