Interviews

GREG GINN

Interview by Marcia Taylor

    When I heard a rumor about a Black Flag reunion, it seemed like a good idea to talk to Greg Ginn, the band's founder. Ginn met with me at SST Records, the label he has managed for many years, in downtown Long Beach. We talked about the label's latest releases, Ginn's involvement in rescuing homeless cats (an effort he and his wife make together), and the upcoming reunion show (yes, it's true: September 12 at the Palladium in Hollywood).

SKRATCH: Would you tell me about the upcoming Black Flag reunion show and how it came about?
GINN: Since Black Flag broke up—or since I decided not to do that any more (that was about 1997)—what with all the band reunions, I have been approached every year forever, but it's not been something I wanted to do. Black Flag (when it was going) practiced all the time. You can't just throw everyone together and have it be up to the standard I'd be interested in. However, an opportunity came in L.A. where if we played we could make a lot of money. The only way that I would do that would be as a benefit show. Because we've gotten involved in cat rescue—we take them in and find homes for them—I decided to do the benefit in that way. I figured that if Goldenvoice was interested under those circumstances, I would do it. The people at Goldenvoice are positive about the idea, [and] the promoters in L.A. are real excited. Also, seeing so many good cat organizations, so many people who put the money to good use, working at the grassroots level with no bureaucracy, made me want to do it. And that's where we'll donate the money. We're going to do as good a job as we can and put as much time into it as we can. I'd like to put more time into it, but it looks like it will be in September.

SKRATCH: I read in a local publication about your cat rescue efforts, which I want to talk with you about. But first, can you tell me what you have been doing lately on the music front?
GINN: After quite a long hiatus, we [i.e., SST Records] have four new records coming out. We went through a rough period, with our distributor going bankrupt. Now we have good distributor. I play in all four of the bands. One is Fast Gato, a new band that I started. The vocalist is Scott Reynolds. Another band is Confront James. This will by the fourth album by them. The other two are instrumental groups: Mojack, with saxophonist Tony Atherton; and Hor, which is an electronic/regular instrument hybrid. We use lots of electronic samples on drums, guitar, and bass. This is also the fourth release for this group.

SKRATCH: It sounds like you spend a lot of time playing music.
GINN: I work during the day at SST, but I try to [play a lot of music]. If I'm not playing live, I'm jamming six nights a week. I play with a lot of people.

SKRATCH: Please tell me about the cat rescue work that you and your wife have gotten involved in, how it started and how long you've been doing it.
GINN: We started five or six years ago. It began with one of the dogs, Sugar Bear, just because we had the room. He was running the street, and we couldn't find the owner, so we kept him. Then we started taking in cats. I've always loved cats, but I moved around so much for so many years that I couldn't think of owning an animal. I had lots of cat collectibles, though! I've stopped doing that now that we have the real cats. I saw how homeless cats were living out there. Most don't live long. They get parasites, diseases, injured (and then the injuries aren't taken care of)...It's a pretty cruel life. People think, "They'll catch a mouse," but it's not that easy. We take them in, put out flyers. I enjoy having them around; I like them. We're not set up as an organization, though. And the benefit show has nothing to do with our cats, but other organizations that are set up as non-profits and can take donations.

SKRATCH: I was struck when I saw you play the other night at the Liquid Den in Huntington Beach by the variety of music that your trio plays. In addition to the Black Flag material, you played a lot of blues-influenced guitar jams. What kind of music do you listen to?
GINN: I like playing. It's not like I play every style of music, but I like a lot of different kinds of music. With new music, I like a lot of electronica. I like older jazz rather than newer. There's a real good blues band called Café Rhythm & Blues that plays at the Blue Café. They might be playing tonight.

SKRATCH: The reason that I was so struck by your playing blues-influenced music is that I love that type of music. I grew up with it, pretty much started listening to music and buying records during the blue-eyed, white boy, British blues invasion of the late '60s and early '70s. It had so much soul and feeling to it. As much as I love punk, the one thing that disappointed me about punk was that, although it had anger and aggression, it seemed lacking in heart and soul. That's why I loved the Cadillac Tramps' first record. They were probably the first band I heard that played really fast but very bluesy.
GINN: I totally relate to what you're saying. To me, it still has to swing. There's not much music I'll listen to if it doesn't have pretty heavy swing. Rhythm is so important. I would say that's the kind of music I try to play. In punk rock, a lot of music is played straight, but it would have more power and feeling if it had swing.

SKRATCH: Yeah. It's the same with metal, too. There are all these insanely fast, technical guitar solos, but to me they have no heart.
GINN: I still think the best metal bands have a blues feel. The first Black Sabbath album is kind of a bludgeoning of blues. Deep Purple also started out as a blues band.

SKRATCH: Are there any guitar players you especially enjoy listening to or who have influenced your playing a lot?
GINN: I play bass, too, just as much as I play guitar. I don't think I'm particularly more influenced by guitar players than anything else. I probably like as many horn players. At this point, I've heard so much music…I don't really study any one [style]; I just mainly work on my music.

SKRATCH: Have you been doing many live shows recently?
GINN: I haven't for awhile, but recently I've done more. I wanted to play out before the benefit show, although I've always played consistently. I learned some Black Flag songs that I haven't played for awhile. I'm doing some shows locally, doing some Black Flag, but I plan to add new stuff.

SKRATCH: Will the four bands you play with and whose albums SST will be releasing tour?
GINN: Confront James, Mojack, and Hor will be playing out in the future, definitely. As far as touring, it depends on the time people have available. I'll definitely do a tour with the trio under my name, [and also] hopefully [with] Hor and Confront James down the line. I look forward to touring.

SKRATCH: Do you have any ideas why Black Flag's music continues to be so popular with new generations of listeners?
GINN: I think that's something for others to judge, but not me. I enjoy playing it still. All I know is we put a lot of work into it and tried to play with as much intensity and feeling as possible. But beyond that…it's probably more for other people to say. However, I get a lot of feedback about it. People say this album, that song, that show seemed to have an impact beyond entertainment—which was our goal. You have to have a goal, otherwise it's just entertainment. Not that that's bad. It's good to have musicians who put individual effort into trying to communicate. But even music that does [communicate], sometimes it fades away, too.

SKRATCH: I think so many of your lyrics are still so relevant today, like "TV Party". So much hasn't changed in our society; what you sang about still rings very true.
GINN: I'm sure the lyrics are part of it.

SKRATCH: Did you read Steven Blush's book, AMERICAN HARDCORE? He devoted more space to Black Flag than to any other band. If you did, what did you think of it?
GINN: I'm not that nostalgic. I've never seen any punk band reunions—although maybe I'd go if they were playing new music.

SKRATCH: There are people who are just very forward-looking, and maybe you're one of those.
GINN: Well, I listen to a lot of old music, too. No, I didn't read that book. There are several books out on punk history, but I haven't read any of them. I was there. So I don't feel I can comment on how what he says about Black Flag.

SKRATCH: Okay, back to cats. If someone wants to get a cat, what's the best way to go about it?
GINN: Cats are easier to talk about than music! Adopt one from a shelter. Petsmart and Petco both have adoption programs. Or find a place nearby. Adopt one that's homeless; don't buy one at a pet store.

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