Greg Ginn
Under An Ever Changing Flag
2008-06-30
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Of all of the hardcore punk groups to come out of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Black Flag was probably the most industrious, hard playing and hard touring group of all. Furthermore, the musicianship was noticeably more sophisticated than most of the bands playing at the time. Through all of the different singers, drummers and bassists (17 combined) the one constant was the lead guitarist and founder Greg Ginn.
In its inception, "punk" meant doing whatever you wanted and always being open to new music, ideas, bands, styles, instruments, etc. Greg Ginn still prefers this approach to music as exemplified by his newest musical projects The Taylor Texas Corrugators and Jambang, who will be playing LaSalle's this Wednesday, July 2nd in support of the new TTC record Goof Off Experts.
With his presence felt on over 30 recordings — either as musician or producer — Ginn has recorded with over 100 musicians, and by now he really has no concept of what it means to slow down or take a hiatus. All this man does is write, record and play live music, five- to six-nights-a-week. Asked if his resume indicates that he is an antsy or easily bored musican, Ginn said, "Not necessarily, but I don't like to do the same thing over and over... I don't like to play much old stuff."
The Taylor Texas Corrugators are an instrumental "jam band," as is Jambang. All of us know people in these jam bands and it serves that if you are in a jam band you are in two or five or a dozen.
"On tour, the Corrugators are just improvising,” explained Ginn. “The Jambang set is very structured, though there's a lot of improvising within it. In Jambang, we sync up with video and some samples which makes it more of a structured set, but in the Texas Corrugators set we decided to forego regular songs and do off-the-cuff improvising."
As for the lack of a vocalist in Ginn's latest project, it's not something that stands out as odd. "I've been playing instrumental music for a long time and have recorded several albums starting even when Black Flag was together; we did an instrumental album called The Process of Weeding Out. That's something that I've always done and I guess more in recent years," said Ginn.
Ginn has evolved to use electronic music in his projects over the last 15 years and has also introduced other instruments such as the mandolin, the saxophone and the organ.
"I've been doing that kind of stuff for a while, integrating electronic music into whatever I'm playing,” said Ginn. “In the ‘90s I got into electronic music and various kinds of techno. I like to open up those genres. I've done that kind of stuff with groups I've been with in the past such as Mojack and Hor. I've had a few groups that have been a hybrid of electronic and organic playing."
Ginn's music has come from the most in-your-face, confrontational aggression possible to the orchestration of an eclectic jam band, or two. He has been in love with guitar and is considered a connoisseur, making Rolling Stone's list of the Top 100 Greatest Guitar Players of all time (he's 99, but Joe Perry of Aerosmith is 48 and Ginn is definitely better than that douche). It's the improvisational character of jam bands that draws Ginn in.
"I always liked Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead,” he said. “In the last few years I've been seeing a lot of jam bands and just enjoying that whole genre of music. I like improvising coming back into rock music because it's something I've always tried to add and also to be in a community of people who are committed to improvising and creating stuff spontaneously."
A few years ago, Ginn, his family, and his record label SST moved from Long Beach, CA, to Taylor, TX, just outside Austin. SST is a staple of SoCal hardcore and punk, producing all the Black Flag records, introducing Descendents, All and even Hüsker Dü. Why Texas?
"I was interested in leaving Long Beach, mainly because I've been there so long,” explained Ginn. “And also I was interested in finding a place [SST Records] could relocate that didn't have so much overhead and wasn't so crowded. It's easy to drive in [to Austin] to go and see music. But, it's a small town and I like that aspect."
Though Ginn doesn't credit his taste in jam bands to Taylor (he’s always been open to new sounds and new things), he does appreciate discoveries made since being there.
"What has impacted me most with Texas music is hearing some of the great regional music,” he said. “I wasn't so aware of the extent of it. There are so many great bands who play only in Texas or just Texas and Oklahoma and play dancehalls and road houses who may not be known in California. And being able to see those kind of performers all the time is something you don't get in the LA area.”
It follows that jam bands are what Ginn is currently interested in. Being such a musical veteran, especially at crossing genres and styles, he is always searching for others who are pursuing the same thing.
"What happens with genres is that bands get stereotyped,” elucidated Ginn. “Like punk rock is this or that. You could play all kinds of things for them and some say it doesn't fit the mold or whatever. Right now, I think a lot of the jam bands are doing a lot of exciting stuff. They're mixing a lot of electronic music and not being so conscious of the genres."
Asked about what music he thinks more people should be aware of, Ginn responded, "I'm sure people out there are aware of New Monsoon, Tea Leaf Green — Bay Area bands. I would recommend them because you could probably see them easily. One that all of us appreciate a lot is STS9 and Hot Buttered Rum. They're from the West Coast."
So what else does this restless guitarist want to do musically?
"I don't know. I'm pretty happy with what I'm doing. Obviously I want to do new stuff. I will have to see what happens," he said.
No matter what it is, I'm sure it will be unpredictable.
In its inception, "punk" meant doing whatever you wanted and always being open to new music, ideas, bands, styles, instruments, etc. Greg Ginn still prefers this approach to music as exemplified by his newest musical projects The Taylor Texas Corrugators and Jambang, who will be playing LaSalle's this Wednesday, July 2nd in support of the new TTC record Goof Off Experts.
With his presence felt on over 30 recordings — either as musician or producer — Ginn has recorded with over 100 musicians, and by now he really has no concept of what it means to slow down or take a hiatus. All this man does is write, record and play live music, five- to six-nights-a-week. Asked if his resume indicates that he is an antsy or easily bored musican, Ginn said, "Not necessarily, but I don't like to do the same thing over and over... I don't like to play much old stuff."
The Taylor Texas Corrugators are an instrumental "jam band," as is Jambang. All of us know people in these jam bands and it serves that if you are in a jam band you are in two or five or a dozen.
"On tour, the Corrugators are just improvising,” explained Ginn. “The Jambang set is very structured, though there's a lot of improvising within it. In Jambang, we sync up with video and some samples which makes it more of a structured set, but in the Texas Corrugators set we decided to forego regular songs and do off-the-cuff improvising."
As for the lack of a vocalist in Ginn's latest project, it's not something that stands out as odd. "I've been playing instrumental music for a long time and have recorded several albums starting even when Black Flag was together; we did an instrumental album called The Process of Weeding Out. That's something that I've always done and I guess more in recent years," said Ginn.
Ginn has evolved to use electronic music in his projects over the last 15 years and has also introduced other instruments such as the mandolin, the saxophone and the organ.
"I've been doing that kind of stuff for a while, integrating electronic music into whatever I'm playing,” said Ginn. “In the ‘90s I got into electronic music and various kinds of techno. I like to open up those genres. I've done that kind of stuff with groups I've been with in the past such as Mojack and Hor. I've had a few groups that have been a hybrid of electronic and organic playing."
Ginn's music has come from the most in-your-face, confrontational aggression possible to the orchestration of an eclectic jam band, or two. He has been in love with guitar and is considered a connoisseur, making Rolling Stone's list of the Top 100 Greatest Guitar Players of all time (he's 99, but Joe Perry of Aerosmith is 48 and Ginn is definitely better than that douche). It's the improvisational character of jam bands that draws Ginn in.
"I always liked Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead,” he said. “In the last few years I've been seeing a lot of jam bands and just enjoying that whole genre of music. I like improvising coming back into rock music because it's something I've always tried to add and also to be in a community of people who are committed to improvising and creating stuff spontaneously."
A few years ago, Ginn, his family, and his record label SST moved from Long Beach, CA, to Taylor, TX, just outside Austin. SST is a staple of SoCal hardcore and punk, producing all the Black Flag records, introducing Descendents, All and even Hüsker Dü. Why Texas?
"I was interested in leaving Long Beach, mainly because I've been there so long,” explained Ginn. “And also I was interested in finding a place [SST Records] could relocate that didn't have so much overhead and wasn't so crowded. It's easy to drive in [to Austin] to go and see music. But, it's a small town and I like that aspect."
Though Ginn doesn't credit his taste in jam bands to Taylor (he’s always been open to new sounds and new things), he does appreciate discoveries made since being there.
"What has impacted me most with Texas music is hearing some of the great regional music,” he said. “I wasn't so aware of the extent of it. There are so many great bands who play only in Texas or just Texas and Oklahoma and play dancehalls and road houses who may not be known in California. And being able to see those kind of performers all the time is something you don't get in the LA area.”
It follows that jam bands are what Ginn is currently interested in. Being such a musical veteran, especially at crossing genres and styles, he is always searching for others who are pursuing the same thing.
"What happens with genres is that bands get stereotyped,” elucidated Ginn. “Like punk rock is this or that. You could play all kinds of things for them and some say it doesn't fit the mold or whatever. Right now, I think a lot of the jam bands are doing a lot of exciting stuff. They're mixing a lot of electronic music and not being so conscious of the genres."
Asked about what music he thinks more people should be aware of, Ginn responded, "I'm sure people out there are aware of New Monsoon, Tea Leaf Green — Bay Area bands. I would recommend them because you could probably see them easily. One that all of us appreciate a lot is STS9 and Hot Buttered Rum. They're from the West Coast."
So what else does this restless guitarist want to do musically?
"I don't know. I'm pretty happy with what I'm doing. Obviously I want to do new stuff. I will have to see what happens," he said.
No matter what it is, I'm sure it will be unpredictable.
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Greg Ginn
Bio[+]Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is a guitarist, songwriter and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the punk rock band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986.
Since breaking up Black Flag, Ginn has recorded a few solo albums, and has performed with the bands HOR, Fastgato, The October Faction, Gone, Confront James, EL BAD, Mojack, The Texas Corrugators, Jambang, and he also played bass with Tom Troccoli's Dog. He also owns the Texas-based, independent record label, SST, originally begun as an electronics company called Solid State Transmitters when he was a teenager in Long Beach, California. He remains very active in music; in a recent interview he states he still performs "about six nights a week." This is similar to how he was with Black Flag; with them he was very strict about practicing and would practice for up to 7 hours a day, 6 days a week according to Henry Rollins.
Interview
Greg Ginn (current page)
Bio[+]
Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is a guitarist, songwriter and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the punk rock band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986.
Since breaking up Black Flag, Ginn has recorded a few solo albums, and has performed with the bands HOR, Fastgato, The October Faction, Gone, Confront James, EL BAD, Mojack, The Texas Corrugators, Jambang, and he also played bass with Tom Troccoli's Dog. He also owns the Texas-based, independent record label, SST, originally begun as an electronics company called Solid State Transmitters when he was a teenager in Long Beach, California. He remains very active in music; in a recent interview he states he still performs "about six nights a week." This is similar to how he was with Black Flag; with them he was very strict about practicing and would practice for up to 7 hours a day, 6 days a week according to Henry Rollins.
Interview
Greg Ginn (current page)