Search Results for: Brett Gurewitz

Independent record labels behind artists like The White Stripes, Deep Purple and Arctic Monkeys announced a global deal Saturday to pool access to their catalogs, seeking to grab a bigger share of online music sales from the major record companies. Indies and their trade groups from more than a dozen countries signed up to Merlin, a nonprofit licensing agency that will cut deals on their behalf with download sites under the terms of the agreement unveiled at Midem, a music industry gathering in the French Riviera town of Cannes. Smaller record companies with just a handful of successful artists fear… Read more »

Veteran Los Angeles punk outfit Bad Religion will release a new studio album, “The Empire Strikes First” June 8 via Epitaph. Like its predecessor, 2002’s “The Process of Belief,” the forthcoming disc was co-written and co-produced by guitarist Brett Gurewitz and frontman Greg Graffin. “It’s not ready for public consumption yet, but it’s basically recorded and finished,” Graffin told Billboard.com. “We really put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make the best album we could. ‘The Process of Belief’ is considered by many to be our comeback, since Brett and I started writing together again. After so many years… Read more »

In a move likely designed to appeal to fans disappointed by indie punk band Rancid’s switch to Warner Bros., the group’s new album will not carry any mention of the label’s name. The veteran act has left its long-time home of Hellcat/Epitaph Records for the release of its forthcoming album, “Indestructible,” due Aug. 26. A spokesperson for the band says Rancid will continue to be aligned with Hellcat, the label co-run by frontman Tim Armstrong and Epitaph founder/Bad Religion member Brett Gurewitz. “It’s a unique deal that doesn’t play by the traditional record biz rules,” says the spokesperson. “It’s Rancid… Read more »

Bad Religion – the L.A. band that was a catalyst of the Eighties punk revival – have re-formed to record The Process of Belief, fourteen throttling songs designed to remind Sum 41’s worshippers about the oft-neglected cerebral side of punk. Working that old, reliable combination of buzz-saw guitars and shouted, instantly memorable melodies, the songwriting team of singer Greg Graffin and guitarist Brett Gurewitz strives to jolt listeners into awareness of the world around them, covering classic punk ground about the voided-out values of consumer culture and the numbness of the age. Their songs may not be elegant – many… Read more »

Veteran punk act Bad Religion is lining up a North American tour in support of its upcoming Epitaph album “The Process of Belief,” due out Jan. 22. Before setting out with Hot Water Music and Less Than Jake for a March 1 opener in Houston, Bad Religion will play four special club shows on Jan. 23 in San Francisco and Jan. 24-26 in Los Angeles. Those gigs will mark only the second live appearance that founding member Brett Gurewitz has made with Bad Religion since leaving the group in 1995. As previously reported, “The Process of Belief” is Bad Religion’s… Read more »

Bad Religion has lined up a string of tour dates in support of its upcoming release, Process Of Belief, including a trio of Los Angeles shows following the album’s January 22 release. The group, which recently welcomed back into the lineup co-founding member and Epitaph Records boss Brett Gurewitz, will perform at four record release parties, beginning January 23 in San Francisco and then three shows at different clubs on L.A.’s famed Sunset Strip on January 24-26. The punk veterans will then take their music to other parts of the country beginning March 2 in Dallas. The tour also features… Read more »

For certain punks, there was no Bad Religion from 1996 through 2001. During that dark period, co-songwriter Brett Gurewitz split the seminal act he co-created with his pals in high school. He was disenchanted with the band’s major-label deal (at Atlantic), overwhelmed by the sudden hugeness of Epitaph – the label he founded to release Bad Religion records and eventually home to Rancid and the Offspring – and increasingly strung out on smack. The band would release two albums in his absence, both guided solely by the vision of Gurewitz’s estranged collaborator, Greg Graffin. Both records – 1996’s Gray Race… Read more »

KOCH International, a leading distributor of music, video and DVD, announced today an exclusive distribution agreement with the independent punk-rock label Epitaph Records. Epitaph Records was founded in 1981 by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz and has become one of the world’s leading independent labels specializing in punk and punk-influenced music. Since its formation, the label has developed an eclectic repertoire of imprints which include Hellcat (street punk), Anti (all styles) and Fat Possum (blues). Epitaph is located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Fourth quarter releases will include new titles from the (International) Noise Conspiracy ‘New Morning, Changing Weather’,… Read more »

Southern California punk stalwarts Bad Religion were forced to cancel their European tour due to drummer Bobby Schayer’s shoulder injury. Moreover, the damaged rotator cuff will take him out of the band’s lineup permanently. The injury prohibits Schayer from lifting his arm above his shoulder, effectively ending his drumming career, according to the band’s publicist. Suicidal Tendencies drummer Brooks Wackerman is slated to replace the fallen percussionist. Schayer’s injury has “left us stunned and greatly saddened,” the bandmembers posted on their official Web site (www.badreligion.com). “His doctor tells us that he has lost a very significant amount of motion in… Read more »

Returning to their legendary punk roots, Bad Religion is looking back to Epitaph as well as guitarist and co-songwriter Brett Gurewitz, for a new studio album late this year. Gurewitz, also the owner of Epitaph, will be rejoining the boys in the studio this summer and is excited to get to work on what is shaping up to be as he says, “my favorite record we’ve ever done.” Epitaph, initially created for Bad’s debut, has gone on to launch the careers of a number of successful punk bands. With the original boys back at the label, fans can again look… Read more »