Gregory Walter Graffin (born November 6, 1964) is an American singer and evolutionary biologist. He is most recognized as the lead vocalist and only constant member of
punk rock band
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...
, which he co-founded in 1980. He embarked on a solo career in 1997, when he released the album ''
American Lesion''. His follow-up album, ''
Cold as the Clay
''Cold as the Clay'' is the second solo album by Bad Religion's vocalist Greg Graffin. It was released on July 10, 2006 in Europe, and the following day in the United States. '', was released nine years later. His newest solo work is ''
Millport'', released in 2017.
Graffin obtained his
PhD in zoology at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
and has lectured courses in
natural sciences
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
at both the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
and at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
.
Career
Bad Religion
In 1980, at the age of 15, Graffin and a few high school classmates formed Bad Religion in Southern California's
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
. After making a name for themselves in the Los Angeles punk scene, releasing two EPs and two full-length albums, they disbanded around 1985. However, Bad Religion reformed in 1986 with a new line-up, consisting of Graffin on vocals,
Brett Gurewitz
Brett W. Gurewitz (born May 12, 1962), nicknamed Mr. Brett, is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and a number of sister labels. He has produced albums f ...
and
Greg Hetson
Greg Hetson (born June 29, 1961) is an American guitarist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and has lived in the Los Angeles area since he was 2 years old. Active since 1979, Hetson is best known as the guitarist for the influential hardcore pu ...
on guitars,
Jay Bentley
Jay Dee Bentley (born June 6, 1964) is the bassist and co-founding member of the punk rock group Bad Religion. He has played with the band through its whole existence with a small break between 1983 and 1985. Along with vocalist Greg Graffin, Bent ...
on bass, and
Pete Finestone
Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities ...
on drums. In 1988, they released ''
Suffer'', which was a comeback for Bad Religion as well as a watershed for the
Southern California punk sound popularized by guitarist Gurewitz's
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
. The reunion line-up made two more records before Finestone left the band in 1991.
Bad Religion has been known for its articulate and often politically charged lyrics as well as its fast-paced
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
,
melody
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
and
counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
. Graffin and Gurewitz are the band's two main songwriters, though Graffin wrote the bulk of the material on his own for a three-album period in the late 1990s. Gurewitz had left the band in 1994 to concentrate on the future of Epitaph.
upGraffin with Bad Religion in 2007 at the , New Jersey">Starland Ballroom, New Jersey
After a stint with major label
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
ended in the early 2000s, Bad Religion re-signed with Epitaph and Gurewitz rejoined. They have since continued to co-write songs and recorded six records: ''
The Process of Belief
''The Process of Belief'' is the twelfth studio album by the American punk rock band Bad Religion. It was produced by its leaders Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz, and was released on January 22, 2002, through Epitaph Records. After touring in sup ...
'' (2002), ''
The Empire Strikes First
''The Empire Strikes First'' is the thirteenth studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on June 8, 2004. The album is heavily influenced by the then-current Iraq War (most notably in the songs "Atheist Peace", "Let Them Eat ...
'' (2004), ''
New Maps of Hell'' (2007), ''
The Dissent of Man
''The Dissent of Man'' is the fifteenth studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released on September 28, 2010. It was their first album in three years, following the release of '' New Maps of Hell'' in 2007. The band co ...
'' (2010), ''
True North
True north (also called geodetic north or geographic north) is the direction along Earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole or True North Pole.
Geodetic north differs from ''magnetic'' north (the direction a compass points toward the ...
'' (2013), and their latest, ''
Age of Unreason'' (2019)
Solo career
Graffin recorded a solo album in 1997, called ''
American Lesion'', which consisted of softer, more pop-oriented folk songs. Most of this album was written during the breakup of his marriage, and the songs reflect this in lyrics and style.
In 2005, Graffin recorded his second solo album, ''
Cold as the Clay
''Cold as the Clay'' is the second solo album by Bad Religion's vocalist Greg Graffin. It was released on July 10, 2006 in Europe, and the following day in the United States. .'' The album is an amalgamation of new songs by Graffin and 18th- and 19th-century American folk songs. It was produced by
Brett Gurewitz
Brett W. Gurewitz (born May 12, 1962), nicknamed Mr. Brett, is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and a number of sister labels. He has produced albums f ...
and released via
ANTI-
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop (Sage Francis, The Cou ...
on July 10, 2006.
In a September 2015 interview, Graffin revealed that he had been working on his third solo album, on which he planned to continue the folk style of ''Cold as the Clay''. That record, ''Millport'', was released on March 10, 2017. It was co-written and produced by Gurewitz and features members of
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...
as backing musicians.
Academics
Graffin attended
El Camino Real High School
El Camino Real Charter High School (also known locally as "ECR" or "Elco") is an independent charter secondary school located in the Woodland Hills district of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. ...
, then obtained both his
BA Biology,
BS Geology and
master's
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in Geology at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
(UCLA). He went on to earn his PhD in Zoology from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. The PhD dissertation was supervised by
William B. Provine. After years of being out-of-print, the title of his dissertation changed to "Evolution and Religion: Questioning the Beliefs of the World's Eminent Evolutionists".
Graffin returned to UCLA where he taught natural science courses.
In a June 2008 interview with Bad Religion bassist
Jay Bentley
Jay Dee Bentley (born June 6, 1964) is the bassist and co-founding member of the punk rock group Bad Religion. He has played with the band through its whole existence with a small break between 1983 and 1985. Along with vocalist Greg Graffin, Bent ...
, he mentioned that Graffin would be teaching there from January to March 2009. In April 2011, Graffin revealed that he would return to
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
that fall to co-teach for 14 weeks.
In 2011 the new
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
''
Qiliania graffini'' of an extinct bird from the lower
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
was named after Graffin "for his contributions to evolutionary biology, his public out-reach through music, and his inspiration to young scientists around the world".
Work as an author and educator
Graffin received the Rushdie Award for Cultural Humanism from the Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy in 2008.
Throughout 2003, Graffin was engaged in an ongoing email discussion with Preston Jones, a historian at the Christian
John Brown University in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
and fan of Bad Religion. The informal philosophical debate that resulted was published as a book titled ''Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? A Professor and Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & Christianity'' in 2006.
In 2009, Graffin announced that he had co-written a book with American author
Steve Olson titled ''Anarchy Evolution'', released on September 28, 2010 (the same day his band Bad Religion released their 15th album ''
The Dissent of Man
''The Dissent of Man'' is the fifteenth studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released on September 28, 2010. It was their first album in three years, following the release of '' New Maps of Hell'' in 2007. The band co ...
''). In his book, Graffin writes that he is an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
: "I've never believed in God, which technically makes me an atheist". Although Graffin is not religious, he prefers to identify as a
naturalist rather than as an atheist. "Naturalism is a belief system. A lot of scientists bristle at that. We all have to believe we can find the truth. Evidence is my guide. I rely on observation, experimentation and verification." He also filmed and co-produced a television pilot called ''Punk Professor''.
In 2010, he commented on the project, "It's sitting on someone's shelf waiting to be developed. I'm not actually pursuing it. I said, yeah, I'll shoot the pilot, then it's out of my hands."
On March 24, 2012, Bad Religion headlined the
Reason Rally
The first Reason Rally was a public gathering for secularism and religious skepticism held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2012. The rally was sponsored by major atheistic and secular organizations of the United States and wa ...
in Washington, D.C., where Graffin performed the
U.S. national anthem.
Another book entitled ''Population Wars'' was released in September 2015. It had been in the works since at least April 2011 and Graffin spoke about it to be "a bit more in depth about the process of evolution".
In a November 2015 interview with ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' journalist J.C. Maçek III for Graffin's book ''Population Wars'', Graffin stated "I've made a lot of mistakes, but you can't dwell on mistakes because life is about an adventure. It's about discovery. And you learn from your mistakes so unless you're completely shut down to improving your life, I believe you can continue learning until you're very, very old. You have to look at those past missteps as learning experiences."
Discography
Bad Religion
Studio albums
* ''
How Could Hell Be Any Worse?
''How Could Hell Be Any Worse?'' is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on January 19, 1982 by Epitaph Records. Released almost a year after their self-titled EP, it was financed by a $3,000 loan by guitarist ...
'' (1982)
* ''
Into the Unknown'' (1983)
* ''
Suffer'' (1988)
* ''
No Control'' (1989)
* ''
Against the Grain'' (1990)
* ''
Generator
Generator may refer to:
* Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals
* Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy.
* Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...
'' (1992)
* ''
Recipe for Hate
''Recipe for Hate'' is the seventh studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on June 4, 1993. It was their last album on Epitaph Records for nine years (until 2002's '' The Process of Belief'') and the band had switched to A ...
'' (1993)
* ''
Stranger than Fiction'' (1994)
* ''
The Gray Race
''The Gray Race'' is the ninth full-length album of the punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released in 1996. It was the follow-up to the band's highly successful 1994 album '' Stranger Than Fiction''.
This was the band's first album not re ...
'' (1996)
* ''
No Substance
''No Substance'' is the tenth full-length album by the punk rock band Bad Religion. It was the band's third (or fourth, if the reissue of '' Recipe for Hate'' is counted) release on Atlantic Records, and their second studio album since guitari ...
'' (1998)
* ''
The New America
''The New America'' is the eleventh studio album by punk band Bad Religion. It was released in 2000 and is their last album (to date) on Atlantic Records.
''The New America'' is also Bad Religion's last album with Bobby Schayer on drums. Thou ...
'' (2000)
* ''
The Process of Belief
''The Process of Belief'' is the twelfth studio album by the American punk rock band Bad Religion. It was produced by its leaders Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz, and was released on January 22, 2002, through Epitaph Records. After touring in sup ...
'' (2002)
* ''
The Empire Strikes First
''The Empire Strikes First'' is the thirteenth studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on June 8, 2004. The album is heavily influenced by the then-current Iraq War (most notably in the songs "Atheist Peace", "Let Them Eat ...
'' (2004)
* ''
New Maps of Hell'' (2007)
* ''
The Dissent of Man
''The Dissent of Man'' is the fifteenth studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released on September 28, 2010. It was their first album in three years, following the release of '' New Maps of Hell'' in 2007. The band co ...
'' (2010)
* ''
True North
True north (also called geodetic north or geographic north) is the direction along Earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole or True North Pole.
Geodetic north differs from ''magnetic'' north (the direction a compass points toward the ...
'' (2013)
* ''
Age of Unreason'' (2019)
Solo
* ''
American Lesion'' (1997)
* ''
Cold as the Clay
''Cold as the Clay'' is the second solo album by Bad Religion's vocalist Greg Graffin. It was released on July 10, 2006 in Europe, and the following day in the United States. '' (2006)
* ''
Millport'' (2017)
Bibliography
A new locality of fossiliferous Harding Sandstone: evidence for freshwater Ordovician vertebrates ''
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
The ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1980 by Jiri Zidek (University of Oklahoma). It covers all aspects of vertebrate paleontology, including vertebrate origins, evolu ...
'', vol. 12, issue 1, pgs. 1–10. (1992)
*''Evolution, Monism, Atheism and the Naturalist World-View,'' Polypterus Press (2004)
*''Is Belief in God Good, Bad, or Irrelevant?,'' with Preston Jones (2006)
*
Evolution, Religion and Free Will', with William Provine, ''
American Scientist
__NOTOC__
''American Scientist'' (informally abbreviated ''AmSci'') is an American bimonthly science and technology magazine published since 1913 by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. In the beginning of 2000s the headquarters was in New ...
'', vol. 95, issue 4, p. 294 (2007)
*''Evolution and Religion: Questioning the Beliefs of the World's Eminent Evolutionists'', Polypterus Press, Ithaca, N.Y. (2010)
*''Anarchy Evolution: Faith, Science, and Bad Religion in a World Without God,'' with Steve Olson (2010)
*''Population Wars: A New Perspective on Competition and Coexistence'' (2015)
See also
*
List of celebrities with advanced degrees
This is a list of artists and entertainers with advanced degrees (PhDs and other academic degrees leading to the title of Doctor). Excluded are honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree ...
References
External links
*
Greg Graffin interview on NPR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graffin, Greg
1964 births
Living people
American atheists
American baritones
American people of Irish descent
Bad Religion members
20th-century naturalists
American naturalists
Critics of religions
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni
Musicians from Racine, Wisconsin
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
Singers from Wisconsin
American punk rock singers
American punk rock guitarists
Folk punk musicians
Evolutionary biologists
21st-century American zoologists
Guitarists from Wisconsin
American male guitarists
El Camino Real High School alumni
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American zoologists
21st-century naturalists
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century American singers
20th-century American singers
Anti- (record label) artists