“There are so many moments when I thought, ‘How on earth did this band stay together?
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:How did you guys decide that now was the time for a Bad Religion biography?
Greg Graffin:We got to give due credit to Jim Ruland, the author of the book.
Credit: Alison Braun
Even though we are listed as the authors, Jim really did the work.
[He] had a herculean task.
He had to put 40 years of history into a readable and enjoyable narrative.
I think he did a fantastic job.
In New York, the punk scene got big.
Then by 1982 punk died.
Those were the years that Bad Religion was extremely industrious.
That story was interesting to tell.
Well, the most important thing of course is to not give up.
I think the drive was there from the beginning.
We wanted to open people’s minds and make them aware of the world that they were living in.
That’s never far from my mind.
Bad Religion’s music was always able to tap into younger audiences.
How do you continue to do that after 40 years?
I see a lot of the younger kids in the audience and that’s deeply meaningful.
Or something like that.
That’s very meaningful to me.
I’ve always approached being a lead singer like being a professor.
He can’t relate to me.”
You guys did the box set for your 30th anniversary, you are doing the book for your 40th.
Anything planned for a 50th yet?
Or are you just going to play that card when you get there?
We’d talk about them and show a big presentation and bring them up on stage.
When you’ve been around that long, you’ve been in partnership with a lot of people.
Anything else coming up for you or the band?
I always write music acoustically.
There’s a lot of that coming out.
Do What You Want: The Story of Bad Religionis out Aug. 18.
