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Old time
religion >>
Punk warhorse Bad Religion, back together and better than ever
Mirror: With
the new record, it seems that the songwriting has a bit more roots attached
than previous records. Jay Bentley:
I think most of our songs are very bluegrass- or Hank-Williams-inspired.
Tom Waits once described us as Irish music on speed. We can talk about
the Clash, the Ramones and the Pistols as influences, but I think when
people lose us a bit is when we go into Elvis Costello influences or
something like that. I think it’s weird that people would be shocked
that we are into Neil Young. We have a saying in the band when we’re
working on new songs, to just pump it up like Neil Young’s “Cowgirl
in the Sand” times 100. M: Now that
Brett Gurewitz is back in the band, it seems that you guys are back
on track. You and Gurewitz slung some mud at each other in the press
when he left and things got kind of ugly. JB: That
was like ex-girlfriend shit. You broke up with this girl and you loved
her but she’s not around so you say shit to save face. Brett, myself
and Greg Graffin have known each other since we were 15 years old, so
we are a lot closer to each other as brothers than band members. M: Did Gurewitz’s
drug and marital problems make it hard for you to stand aside and watch? JB: Definitely.
To explain to you just how family we are, I phoned up his mom and dad
when he was at his worse point to talk with them and let them know I
was sorry and if there was anything I could do, to let me know. M: Now that
you have three guitarists, did Brian Baker, originally brought in to
replace Brett Gurewitz, ever think he might’ve been out of a job?
JB: No way,
he’s the best guitarist in the world. He knew he wasn’t going
anywhere. When we told him that Brett was coming back to play guitar,
he said, “That’s great, where’s (third guitarist) Greg
Hetson going?” (laughs) M: What
is the secret to remaining a punk rock band for 22 years? JB: I think it would be learning not to rely on the band to make you happy. We all have stuff we do outside of the band. My thing is raising my kids and that’s a big enough job. If the band is taking up too much of our time, we just trim it back. We have hit a block in the past, where we looked at each other and said, this just isn’t fun anymore. So we’re careful to make sure we’re still having fun. This is such a great opportunity you have to make sure not to screw it up. : With Less
Than Jake and Hot Water Music at Jarry Park Tennis Centre on Friday,
March 15, 7pm, $25, all ages
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Now
two-decades-and-change into the So-Cal punk game, San Fernando Valley
boys Bad Religion have always been prolific at squeezing out an album
a year, but the quality has always been a bit of coin toss. Their new
album The Process of Belief gets back to basics and proves to be their
strongest release since 1990’s Against the Grain. The Mirror talked
with Bad Religion bassist Jay Bentley.