We're joined by Bad Religion co-founder and Epitaph Records founder BRETT GUREWITZ at Brain Dead Studios in Hollywood, CA.
We're joined by Bad Religion co-founder and Epitaph Records founder Brett Gurewitz at Brain Dead Studios in Hollywood, CA.
We discuss growing up in the West San Fernando Valley, discovering the Ramones in the late 70s, meeting Greg Graffin and Jay Bentley at El Camino Real High School and starting Bad Religion in the quad, founding Epitaph to put out the Bad Religion 7", the entire BR discography, leaving the band right before the overnight success of Offspring's Smash, rejoining for Process of Belief, his thoughts on streaming as it dominates the music landscape today, and his favorite hardcore records ever.
A genuine honor with a genuine legend and one of the best punk songwriters to ever live.
Check out Colin's hand picked Bad Religion playlist of hits and deep cuts and enjoy: Spotify & Apple Music.
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Cool links:
• Get 15% off DUNABLE GUITARS with code HARDLORE: https://dunableguitars.com
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00:00:00 - Start
00:00:48 - Brett Gurewitz, Epitaph Records in 2025/2026
00:02:26 - Growing Up in the San Fernando Valley, Finding Music, CCR
00:06:44 - From Elton John to the Ramones: Discovering Punk
00:08:40 - Meeting Greg Graffin & Jay Bentley, Starting Bad Religion
00:16:29 - When Does It Become "Bad Religion"?
00:19:40 - What is Punk, and What is Hardcore?
00:23:28 - The "Crossbuster" & The Bad Religion Logo (Fritz Quadrata Pro Bold)
00:27:32 - Starting Epitaph Records For the BAD RELIGION S/T 7"
00:36:41 - HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE?
00:50:02 - INTO THE UNKNOWN... Selling 10,000 Records (and getting them all back)
00:53:13 - Going to Rehab/Leaving Bad Religion
00:55:17 - Pardon This Interruption...
00:58:32 - Epitaph During 1983-1987, Rejoining Bad Religion, West Beach Studios
01:04:54 - The Beach Boys to the The Adolescents to Bad Religion
01:06:56 - SUFFER... Operation Ivy, NOFX, Growth in Epitaph & As an Engineer
01:10:47 - NO CONTROL... Learning from Suffer, Doing Everything with Integrity, Tribute to the Germs
01:17:05 - Greg Songs That Gave Him Goosebumps, No Control Title Track
01:20:35 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, I Want Something More, Tape Editing in Recording
01:24:40 - AGAINST THE GRAIN... Being Insecure With 21st Century Digital Boy, Songwriting, Picking Singles
01:30:45 - Touring For Bad Religion By 1990
01:32:40 - GENERATOR... Never Writing on Drugs, Split 7" With Noam Chomsky, Bobby Schayer
01:36:20 - RECIPE FOR HATE... American Jesus, Eddie Vedder, Touring While Balancing Epitaph, Struck A MF Nerve
01:41:39 - Bad Religion Leaving Epitaph & Signing to Atlantic
01:45:31 - STRANGER THAN FICTION... Andy Wallace, Better Off Dead, Falling Off the Wagon
01:49:49 - Leaving Bad Religion, Offspring's Smash, Rancid's ... And Out Come The Wolves, Feel The Darkness Re-Release
01:57:44 - Brian Baker, Losing Contact with The Band
01:59:24 - The Landscape of Music Changing, Napster, Torrents, & Brett's Thoughts on Spotify
02:12:39 - PROCESS OF BELIEF... Returning to Bad Religion, Brooks Wackerman, Sorrow
02:20:15 - EMPIRE STRIKES FIRST... L.A. Is Burning, The Iraq War, Why Brett Doesn't Play With BR Now
02:24:38 - NEW MAPS OF HELL, THE DISSENT OF MAN, TRUE NORTH, AGE OF UNREASON...
02:31:28 - Brett's Top 4 Hardcore Records