Brett Gurewitz (Epitaph Records / Bad Religion)
A Preamble
The last few years have been full of changes for one of punk rock's legends, "Mr." Brett Gurewitz. After a extended hiatus from Bad Religion, he rejoined the band last year to co-write the bands' latest release, "The Process of Belief" with longtime friend and bandmate Greg Graffin. He's also the Head-Man-In-Charge at Epitaph Records, and a self-admitted webgeek. We were quite stoked to find out that he's also a big fan of Surfstation. So, without further adieu, our interview ensues...
Prepared by Greg Huntoon for SRF.STN
The Details
> Age: 39
> Location(s): Los Angeles, California
> Hobbies: Chess, Snowboarding, Backpacking, Reading
> Computer: PC and Mac
> Music Equipment: Marshalls, Fenders, Gibsons, Boogies, Westbeach Recorders (full service 48 track analog recording studio), Protools, V-Drums, Collection of vintage mics, mic pre's and compressors, I could geek out on recording gear forever so let's just say I've got a bunch of equipment.
> Favorite Programs: Protools
> Sources of Inspiration: Current events, other artists esp. musicians, writers and designers, adversity, love, life, joy and disappointment
> Favorite Sites: Yahoo! Games (Chess Room), K10K, Drudge Report (I'm a news junky), and of course Surfstation
> Books: Nabakov "The Defense", Anything by Phillip K Dick, Neil Stephenson "Snow Crash", Tom Delillo "White Noise", E.O. Wilson "Consillience" , John Krakauer "Into Thin Air", Thomas Wolfe "Look Homeward Angel", Anything by Vonnegut but especially "God Bless You Mr. Rosewater", Dostoyevsky "The Idiot"
> Music you're listening to (Epitaph and/or otherwise): Dillinger Escape Plan, Division Of Laura Lee, Tom Waits, Ikara Colt, Mclusky
> Fonts: Helvetica,
> Colors: Blue and Orange
> Drink: Diet Pepsi
> Food: Peanutbutter and banana shakes, Bacon, Nozawa, Chocolate
> Dislikes: L.A. Cops
> Habits Good / Bad: Yes, some of both
> Distinguishing Features: Numerous tattoos, big nose, amazing hair, attention deficit disorder
Questions
Not too many people from Surfstation are going to know your background, so could you tell us a little bit about your past? Where did you grow up? What was your childhood/adolescence like?
1. Born 1962
2. Grew up in a suburban wilderness known as Woodland Hills California
3. 1980, started a punk band called Bad Religion with three chums from High School
4. Dropped out of High School, started punk record label, named it Epitaph
5. Became addicted to drugs
6. 1987 Quit drugs and alcohol, recorded Bad Religion "Suffer" album
7. 1994 Epitaph becomes wildly successful thanks to The Offspring "Smash" (which went on to sell over nine million copies), Rancid "And Out Come The Wolves" not to mention BR, NOFX, Pennywise and many other great bands.
8. 1995 regrettably started getting high again. Lots of bad stuff happened, did not pass go, did not collect $200, went directly to jail. Developed a strong aversion to LAPD
9. 1998 Got clean again launched a new record label called Anti- inc., released Tom Waits "Mule Variations"
10. 2002, Surfstation invites me to do an interview.
Question #1
When did you start playing? Who were your biggest influences musically?
I started playing guitar at age 16. Among my biggest influences were, The Beatles, The Stones, Bowie, Alice Cooper, T-Rex, Ramones.
Question #2
How did Bad Religion come together? Was that your first band?
BR all met in High School. My first band was a cover band that never played anywhere and then I had this sort of new wave band called The Quarks who played once at my High School talent show. This was the first time Greg and Jay (later of Bad Religion) ever heard me play.
Question #3
When did you start Epitaph Records, and why?
Epitaph started in order to put out the first Bad Religion 7" EP in 1981.
Question #4
You left Bad Religion in the early nineties, and BR left Epitaph to Atlantic Records - what happened, if you don't mind my asking?
I don't mind at all. To give the abbreviated version, it was a time of unprecedented growth for both Epitaph and Bad Religion and I could no longer manage to do both. I figured that Bad Religion could do with out me while Epitaph couldn't and I made a tough choice. After writing and recording "Stranger Than Fiction" with BR for Atlantic Records, I left the band to devote myself full time to Epitaph.
Question #5
Which, of course begs the question, what brought you back to BR?
I missed the guys, and the creative process.
Question #6
Punk has been on the rise since the early nineties. What do you attribute to punk going mainstream?
I don't know but don't blame me.
Question #7
Is there a mitosis happening within the punk genre? If yes, what separates the two (or more) cells?
No, but an interesting analogy!
Question # 8
There are a lot of design sites out there that are really pushing electronic music to the masses. Are there any electronic artists that you enjoy or listen to regularly?
I really enjoy the warp catalogue as I feel they've almost exclusively cornered the market in progressive electronic music. Digital Hardcore are also doing interesting things. It really annoys me when people talk of electronic music in terms of one category. It would be utterly ridiculous if I were to talk of "live music" in similar terms thereby putting The Dillinger Escape Plan and Merle Haggard in the same category. I also want to say keep your ears peeled for a little project coming out on my label called Error.
Question # 9
II know you've been to a bunch of those sites, because I know that you're a big Surfstation fan, and supreme web geek extraordinaire. Judging also by your latest Bad Religion release, its packaging, and your new BR website you place a great importance on design. What sort of design do you like? Meaning, is there a certain aesthetic that attracts you?
I love all kinds of design. From the literal, to the extremely surreal to the cleanest minimalism. When it comes to music packaging I always look for the design to communicate the essence of the group. These days with ripping and burning it also has become important that the packaging itself become an integral part of the listeners experience thereby making ownership more worthwhile.
Question # 10
Which of your possessions most singly exemplifies your design sense?
My girlfriend Gina's bum (which I only possess with consent).
Question # 11
What makes a good website? Which are your favorites?
1. Content that is, dense, dynamic, and of high quality.
2. Ease of navigation
3. Sexy good looks
My favorite sites right now are k10k and surfstation.
Question # 12
Could you describe your own creative process?
Obsessive, riddled with self doubt, manic, I drift into the nether regions of the creative state, I get very weird, I freak myself out, sometimes when I'm deep into it, I sense a presence in the room, sometimes I'll work and work and work to come up with nothing, only to find that the following morning an entire song flows out at once. Sometimes I'll chip away at a particular song for months. Often my stuff will come to be through a series of accidental mutations and adaptations not unlike evolution.
Question # 13
Lastly, I'd feel remiss if I didn't ask why it is that every time we talk donkey balls are mentioned at least once. What's the deal with that? A pack-animal obsession or fetish? A South American delicacy?
None of the above, it's just that on Epitaph's current website we have a user review utility and it seems that the kids nowadays think donkey balls are the highest insult. I guess I just find it pretty amusing.
Viewer Questions #1
from: Kurt Krejny
URL: n/a
Besides 'The Process of Belief' being an amazing album, the CD sleeve layout and artwork is very unique and unlike anything else I've ever seen. How did you and the group go about conveying your ideas to the art director Mackie Osborne?
Mackie Osborne is an old friend of ours and we just asked her to see what she could come up with. We gave her a copy of the music and in general terms told her the kind of CD packaging we've been into lately. She then brought us some elaborately worked out mock ups and they blew us away. From that point it was a series of small revisions and aesthetic decisions until we ended up with the final version.
Viewer Questions #2
from: Vishal Khanna
URL: http://www.producecreative.com/
How, if at all, has living independently (ie: working for yourself) influenced your creativity?
It has afforded me a great deal of creative freedom.
Viewer Questions #3
from: J
URL: n/a
I'm not sure why you would be featured here, since its mostly design related. Anyhow, my question is, and this may a good time to address it: "how do you feel about the current prevailing sell-outness of punkbands?" as owning the big label, how do you feel bout commercialization and all that?
I guess Greg and Thomas asked me to do this because creatives from different fields can benefit from cross pollination. In any case this is how I feel and why I agreed to the interview. As far as the current "sell-outness" or commercialization of punk bands, all I can say is there's something out there for everybody.
Viewer Questions #4
from: Ian Millar
URL: n/a
Whats up with the bitter music?
Who ever said life was fair?
Viewer Questions #5
from: Wes
URL: n/a
Mr. Brett: What do you think the ideal drug policy strategy is? Would you advocate that the United States should move towards harm reduction policies for hard drugs that have been adopted in the Netherlands and Switzerland, or do you think that the current system optimal?
I think a move toward the more progressive policies of some of the European countries is the way to go. A combination of decriminalization, coupled with rehabilitation. In Los Angeles' prop 36, which recently passed and guarantees treatment for 1st and 2nd time non-violent drug offenders, is a step in the right direction.
Viewer Questions #6
from: Yves
URL: n/a
What's the hardest part about being in a more than 10 year old band: writing songs or maintaining good relations with the other band members?
The writing and relating has actually been quite easy. The toughest part was probably trying to live to up the fans expectations.
Viewer Questions #7
from: Nick Pritchard
URL: http://www.metrosea.com
Could you explain the relationship between the design and the music on the 'process of belief' album?
I've always enjoyed kicking back with a new record, perusing the artwork and lyrics while listening to the music. When I was a kid I used to do this and imagine the artwork held a secret key that could unlock some hidden level of meaning in music. Sometimes it did. Surely sometimes I only imagined it did but then, that's just as good. Either way, the design contributed to my experience of the recording. On the "Process Of Belief" we wanted to get that kind of integration between the material and sonic aspects of the project, to make the experience of owning the record a little bit deeper.
Viewer Questions #8 and #9
from: Ignacio Di Ranni
URL: n/a
Is there any specific goal as an artist - and particularly as a songwriter - that you feel you haven't reached yet?
I think I still have my best song in me.
Seeing all this new wave of punk bands like Blink 182 or Sum 41 and the easy success they have acquired, don't you sometimes feel it's a little bit unfair for a band like Bad Religion which has been on the road for more than 20 years now and hasn't received as much recognition from the media? A big paradox because you are the ones who have influenced all these bands. Don't you feel you deserve more recognition?
Those bands have worked very hard for their success and it seems to me that Bad Religion has received quite a fair share of recognition. But thanks for looking out!
Viewer Questions #10
from: Brandon
URL: n/a
How do you keep bringing new ideas and sounds to your music?
The most fun part of writing for me is experimentation and discovery. Often new sounds and ideas come out of happy accidents in the course of my creative process.