Substance Over Style 5/11/98

Far from just being prophets of doom, Bad Religion is the Plato of punk rock. They are the wise forefathers of a generation of misguided, disillusioned youth that has blossomed into an almost-thirtysomething, disillusioned working class. While others from the Los Angeles punk scene came and went, Bad Religion is still writing, recording and releasing music nearly two decades after forming.

In an L.A. valley suburban garage in 1980, four teenagers--vocalist Greg Graffin, guitarist Brett Gurewitz, bassist Jay Bentley and drummer Jay Lishrout (who was shortly thereafter replaced by Peter Finestone)--began making noise as Bad Religion. Over the years, various members came and went (including Circle Jerks guitarist Greg Hetson, who is now a mainstay, and current drummer Bobby Schayer), but through it all the songwriting team of Graffin and Gurewitz remained intact...that is, until the second half of the '90s. Between 1981 and 1993, Bad Religion released 10 records/EPs on Epitaph, the indie label owned by Gurewitz. Only one Epitaph album is better left collecting dust (the '70s pop Into The Unknown); the remainder are average or exceptional. The stand-out, and probably one of the better punk rock records from SoCal, was 1989's No Control--with the demanding tracks "I Want To Conquer The World" and "Change Of Ideas." The Atlantic/Epitaph co-release of 1993's Recipe For Hate was just the beginning of significant Bad Religion changes; it was followed by their most successful record, the Atlantic release Stranger Than Fiction (1994) with the hits "Stranger Than Fiction" and "21st Century (Digital Boy)"--the latter of which first appeared on 1990's Against The Grain. This heightened success meant a hectic tour schedule, to which Gurewitz couldn't commit due to the growing success of his record label (thanks to Rancid and the Offspring). Gurewitz quit the band, and apparently not all that peacefully, as he later referred to Bad Religion as "the bloody corpse of Thesaurus Rock." Even with Gurewitz out, and former Minor Threat/Dag Nasty/Junkyard guitarist Brian Baker in, the identifiable Bad Religion four-chord sound and intellectual lyrics didn't change much; the song/sound remains similar on "A Walk," "Punk Rock Song" and "Ten In 2010" from their 1996 release The Gray Race.

Thesaurus Rock or just thought-provoking? How many times have you heard the words "conflagrations" and "paradigm" in punk lyrics? For some 17 years, Bad Religion's style and matter have remained the same. The early tracks were perhaps Bad Religion paradigms--some just had a little more conflagration than others. In 1997, Bad Religion released Tested, an import-only live record on Sony Dragnet Records, with 27 songs culminated from their Gray Race Tour; rumor is Atlantic may release it in the States in Fall '97, but nothing is confirmed. The Bad boys are also working on new material, but no recording date is set. Although busy running his record label, Gurewitz also recently formed the studio quartet the Daredevils, releasing the CD single "Hate You"/"Rules, Hearts."

This Biography was written by Jennifer Clay

No Substance Atlantic 1998

The Gray Race Atlantic 1996

All Ages Epitaph Records 1995

Stranger Than Fiction Atlantic 1994

Recipe For Hate Atlantic 1993

Generator Epitaph Records 1992

80-85 Epitaph Records 1991

Against The Grain Epitaph Records 1991

No Control Epitaph Records 1989

Suffer Epitaph Records 1988

Tested MSI (import)

Along The Way Epitaph Records 1993

Punk-O-Rama III Epitaph Records 1998

MTV 120 Minutes Live Atlantic 1998

Punk-O-Rama Epitaph Records 1994

Clerks Chaos Recordings 1994

American Lesion

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