Greg Graffin Preview

Greg Graffin
Beat Kitchen, Chicago
Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Bad Religion frontman Greg Graffin proves deep down inside, he’s a big softy.

You likely know Graffin as the singer and half of the songwriting team behind legendary hardcore punk outfit Bad Religion. He has made a career being loud, fast, heavy, and pissed. Now, 26 years after Bad Religion formed in Los Angeles, Graffin introduces a whole different side of himself: the side that loves the acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica, and mandolin. His most recent solo release, (Graffin issued a record under the alias American Lesion in 1997) Cold As Clay, stems from a Bad Religion recording session where guitarist Brett Gurewitz suggested the singer record an album of the authentic roots music Graffin loved as a child. Graffin wrote a handful of original tunes for Cold and covered a number of traditional 18th and 19th century songs and was backed by Stephen Carroll, Greg Smith, and Jason Tait of The Weakerthans. The album is a surprisingly authentic take on rootsy folk and was was recorded campfire style (all players sitting knee to knee in a circle) and mixed in only seven days. That old school punk DIY mentality never goes away, even when the amps are turned down.

–Trevor Fisher

Click here to download Greg Graffin’s “Talk About Suffering.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly