Bad Religion
The Most Popular Unknown Band
by Lee Sherman
Guitar, January 1994
Punk rock's "live fast, die young" ethos was a sure-fire way into the
history books for the Sex Pistols and the Dead Kennedys but it sure
doesn't explain Bad Religion. For 13 years the Los Angeles hardcore group
has been delivering the goods in relative obscurity, putting their albums
out on thier own independent label, Epitaph, and playing packed shows for
the faithful. Neither does it explain how Greg Hetson -- who holds the
distinction of having played with both the Circle Jerks and Bad Religion
and whose approach to guitar could best be described as "play fast,
high-strung" -- went from being a kid who could hardly play the instrument
to someone looked up to by a new generation of kids who see him as some
kind of hero. Bad Religion have seen contemporaries like Black Flag and
Germs come and go, while they've upheld the hardcore banner. Aside from
an ill-advised lapse into progressive rock on their second album, Into
The Unknown, Bad Religion's chainsaw buzz hasn't let up. It is only
now, on their seventh album, Recipe For Hate, that the band has
decided to take the tempos down a notch, take advantage of the recording
studio, and see what the music could sound like if both guitar players
played something different. Bad Religion's music has always been more
melodic than the other Southern California hardcore bands, but the
tunefulness of the songs and the abundance of appealing vocal harmonies
make this their most accessible album to date. But, before you accuse
them of seeling out, keep in mind that the band's message of individual
freedom comes through clearer than ever.
"We used to have two types of songs -- fast and really fast," says
Hetson. "It seems that when you slow things down a bit it gives you more
space to throw things in if you want. When you're playing a minor 7b5
chord at full distortion and full speed, you can't tell what it is."
The album features more guest shots than the David Letterman show. Pearl
Jam's Eddie Vedder brings his earthy vocals to American Jesus and
Watch It Die. Concrete Blonde vocalist Johnette Napolitano adds to
the harmonies on It Struck A Nerve, k.d. lang guitarist Greg Leisz
plays slide on Man with a Mission, and Jon Wahl and Chris
Bagarozzi of Epitaph labelmates Claw Hammer contribute guitar leads to
Kerosene.
"The attitude is still there, we just approach it a little differently,"
says Hetson. "We're more comfortable with experimentation but we're not
about to do a jazz album."
Hetson readily admits that his playing style is a direct result of never
having learned to play properly instead of a conscious attempt at
minimalism. Recently he took a few lessons. "I figured someday I'll be
playing in a Vegas lounge so I'd better learn a few jazz chords. I
started with 'Sunny' and moved up to 'Girl from Ipanema.'"
The band may not be known to the mainstream yet, but if Nirvana can get
to #1 with a similar kind of melodic punk then the time may be right for
Bad Religion. As Hetson says, "We're the world's most popular unknown
band. We do the things we need to do but for some reason it isn't picked
up by the major media. It's all word of mouth. We have a huge live
following and we sell a decent amount of records so they must be finding
out from somewhere. So we know it's not hype. People are there because
they like us, not because they read about it somewhere."
Perhaps only Johnny Ramone has put down more 16th notes on record than
Greg Hetson. If nothing else, he deserves some kind of medal for
perseverance alone. "If somebody picks up the guitar because they saw me
banging on it and they say, 'I can do that -- go up there, knock out a
few barre chords and make it sound decent,' then that's the best
compliment I could have. That's the basic philosophy of guitar from your
punk-rock-hardcore school. It's not this magical, mystical thing -- you
don't have to be an Yngwie Malmsteen." - Lee Sherman