Web Exclusive: A conversation with Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz

Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 09-Jul-08 @ 11:26 AM

Brett Gurewitz and his band BAD RELIGION have schooled you for more than 25 years with nothing more than three chords and enlightened sociopolitical ideologies. On the recent deluxe release of their 2007 full-length, New Maps Of Hell, the band speak to you in more hushed tones--that is, through the bonus acoustic tracks, which include several original compositions by the band and stripped-down takes on familiar classics. Gurewitz recently discussed with Brian Shultz the mammoth release's veritable wealth of bonus content, as well as the band's forthcoming 15th(!) studio full-length and the Epitaph Records head's interesting take on internet piracy--at least in regards to one particular case.

There haven't been a ton of Bad Religion acoustic recordings through the years. Would you attribute that to reluctance, the idea never coming up, or something else entirely?
It's because we're a punk band, and that's not our style. That's not what we do. It's really something off the beaten path for us.

How did the idea come up, then?
Well, I think the way it came up is that... Well, I'm not sure exactly when it first came up. [Frontman] Greg [Graffin] and I have always written songs on acoustic guitar and piano. We've always had fun playing acoustic guitar together, whether we were playing Neil Young songs or Bad Religion songs. We'd play together and harmonize for fun. And then, not too long ago I produced a [solo] album for Greg called Cold As The Clay, which was not in any way Bad Religion style, but it was comprised of traditional American folk music and some original compositions that Greg came up with that fit... I wouldn't say it fit that style--[more that] it was a complementary style. [But] definitely non-Bad Religion acoustic compositions.

We did that and had a lot of fun with it, and I think that's where we came up with the idea--"Hey, maybe we should do some of our songs this way." How were the original acoustic songs conceived?
Just the same way that we would usually write a Bad Religion song. A typical progression for BR is Greg or myself sitting down writing a song on acoustic with lyrics/verses/chorus, then recording an electric demo of that tune, and then presenting it to the band and working it out from there. Nobody ever gets to hear the acoustic part of it--maybe sometimes if the song is real popular, then someday we'll come out and play it acoustic live or something like that.

The normal progression from a fan's point of view is to hear the song electric first, then someday they get to hear an acoustic version, at least as far as Bad Religion is concerned. So the idea here was, "Let's compose some original songs, record them acoustically first, let the fans hear those, and then next time we do a studio album, let's do those songs electric." So conceptually, it's interesting to me because then the fan gets inside our process as songwriters. They get to hear acoustic first and then go, "Oh wow, I like it better electric," or "I like it better the original way." But it's a twist on it.

So these original songs will appear in full-band form on the next Bad Religion studio album?
Yeah, well, don't hold me to that, but that was the idea. If they don't come out well, I don't know if we want to put them on there. [Laughs.] I think one or two of them definitely will. I think they're gonna sound great electric, to be honest.

Do you think it was easier for Greg to break down the songs into these stripped-down formats since he'd recorded and released the solo record?
I don't think it had anything to do with it. Greg and I have been writing songs on acoustic forever. I wrote the songs "Stranger Than Fiction" and "Skyscraper" on a piano in my living room, but I never really anticipated [they] would be released that way. And Greg's written many of his best songs on either acoustic guitar or piano. So this is actually second nature for us. We've been doing it for years; we just never did it in this order.

Would the band ever consider doing an acoustic tour?
I hope not. We're a democracy, so... [Laughs.] I'd say no. I wouldn't like to see that, personally. That's my opinion. People have other opinions.

So you believe you'd still get a lot more out of the full-band show and the overall live performance?
Yeah, I mean, we're a punk band. I don't think we should go out there and do an acoustic show. I think a song or two is cool.

But do you think the acoustic setting does get across the message a bit clearer?
No, I actually think it's a little less effective in getting the message across, because it's a little more subdued. We might be old and out of shape now [Laughs], but we still play punk rock. The aggression is a significant part of the message itself I would say.

A lot of people who buy the original release of albums seem to feel a bit jilted when a year later they see all this bonus content they didn't get the first time around. But I noticed that at least the acoustic songs from New Maps Of Hell Deluxe are available at various digital stores online. As the head of a label, do you feel all labels should strive to provide their more faithful and honest consumers a way of acquiring this content that doesn't require them to buy a full album twice?
Yeah, totally. And that's why we did it. If people want the songs... Really, nowadays, to kind of look at the labels as the bad guy anymore is ridiculous. We're all dying. Everyone can have everything we make for free. [Laughs.] No one likes a middle man; everyone hates record labels. My label maybe less than others. But truth is, all that stuff's on iTunes or Rhapsody or wherever they want to get it. But all that stuff's also on [BitTorrent website] Pirate Bay. [Laughs.] Smart kids can just get the whole damn thing for free, including the DVD, through a torrent. I think kids who buy the music can be smart kids, too, so I don't want to confuse the issue here. I think bands who toil over music and recordings and writing should be able to sell their music for a fair price.

Will the DVD content be available to purchase separately at all?
No. [But] even though you can't get the DVD separately, the DVD itself is probably available for free for anyone who wants it on Pirate Bay, or any of the torrent sites like TorrentSpy.

Although, I'm sure you wouldn't want to say, "Epitaph Records is encouraging..."
Well, I'm just... I'm not against that if somebody's broke. There's fans, and they have disposable income, and the band's important to them, and they think that Deluxe is a cool thing and they want to have it as a keepsake, then they should go for it. They should buy it.

At least as far as the posters are concerned, they can't really print those out unless they really wanna go all out.
There's a book[let], there's a DVD, there's a CD, there's the acoustic tunes... I think there's a lot of value there for what we're charging for it.

Have you considered heading on the road outside California with Bad Religion or do the label's operations just keep you entirely too busy?
For the most part, yeah, I have to maintain my status as the "non-touring member." The reason I put that in quotes is because once in a blue moon it makes sense for me to go somewhere with the band. For example, I have to go to Japan on business once or twice a year, and it's such a long plane flight that I try to coordinate that with Bad Religion going there. But for the most part, no. For the most part, Epitaph is a full-time job or more.

Your band's next full-length will reportedly be recorded and released in 2009, just two years after New Maps Of Hell, as opposed to the three-year wait that occurred between Maps and 2004's The Empire Strikes First. What would you attribute the quicker turnaround to?
Well, first of all let's not count our chickens before they're hatched. I would attribute it to our being an ambitious band. We put out one record a year between '87 and '94--we put out seven records. So that's what we like to do. When I was a kid growing up and I was a fan of bands, bands used to put out a record every year. It was like writing songs was part of your job as a musician. We were always writing; we would always put out a new record. I don't think 13 months is a short time to wait for a person who's a fan. If I'm a fan of a group, I consume their record greedily and I'm ready for more in six months. So the reason is, I feel that it's a band's job to put out records and not wait forever. It's something you do for the fans, and it's something you do for yourself as an artist.

Whether we can do it remains to be seen. I'm super busy here at Epitaph and Greg is a professor at UCLA now, and so it's not as easy as it used to be to find the time to do a good job and write an album a year or so. The goal's an album for every two years and hopefully we can do it. alt

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