Greg Graffin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Greg Graffin
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Graffin performing with Bad Religion in 2018
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gregory Walter Graffin |
| Born | November 6, 1964 Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day |
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| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboard, harmonica |
| Years active | 1980–present |
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Gregory Walter Graffin (born November 6, 1964) is an American singer and a scientist who studies how living things change over time. He is best known as the main singer for the rock band Bad Religion. He helped start the band in 1980.
Greg Graffin also has a solo music career. He released his first solo album, American Lesion, in 1997. Later, he released Cold as the Clay and Millport.
He earned a special degree called a PhD in zoology from Cornell University. He has also taught science classes at the University of California, Los Angeles and Cornell University.
Contents
Music Career
Starting Bad Religion
In 1980, when Greg Graffin was just 15, he and some friends from high school formed the band Bad Religion. They started in Southern California. The band quickly became popular in the punk music scene in Los Angeles.
They released two shorter albums (called EPs) and two full albums. Around 1985, the band broke up for a short time.
Bad Religion's Comeback
Bad Religion got back together in 1986 with some new members. Greg Graffin was still the singer. In 1988, they released an album called Suffer. This album was a big success for the band. It also helped define the sound of Southern California punk music.
Bad Religion is known for its smart lyrics. These lyrics often talk about important social and political issues. The band's music is also known for being fast-paced and having strong melodies. Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz are the main songwriters for the band.
After working with a major record label for a while, Bad Religion returned to Epitaph Records. Brett Gurewitz rejoined the band. Since then, they have continued to write songs together. They have released several more albums, including The Process of Belief (2002) and Age of Unreason (2019).
Greg Graffin's Solo Music
In 1997, Greg Graffin released his first solo album, American Lesion. The songs on this album were softer and more like folk music. Many of the songs were written during a difficult time in his life.
His second solo album, Cold as the Clay, came out in 2006. This album mixed new songs by Graffin with older American folk songs from the 1700s and 1800s. Brett Gurewitz helped produce this album.
In 2017, Graffin released his third solo album, Millport. This album continued the folk style of his previous solo work. Members of the band Social Distortion also played on this album.
Science and Education
Greg Graffin went to El Camino Real High School. He then studied Biology and Geology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 2003, he earned his PhD in Zoology from Cornell University. His PhD work was about how evolution and religion are viewed by scientists.
After finishing his studies, Graffin returned to UCLA to teach natural science classes. He also co-taught classes at Cornell University.
In 2011, a new type of ancient bird was named after him. It is called Qiliania graffini. This was done to honor his work in evolutionary biology. It also recognized his efforts to share science through his music and inspire young scientists.
As an Author and Teacher
In 2008, Greg Graffin received an award for his ideas about humanism.
In 2006, a book was published that featured an email discussion between Greg Graffin and a historian named Preston Jones. The book was called Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? It explored ideas about science, religion, and how the natural world works.
In 2010, Graffin released a book he co-wrote called Anarchy Evolution. In this book, he shared his views on the world. He explained that he believes in naturalism, which means he relies on observation, experiments, and evidence to understand things.
He also worked on a TV show pilot called Punk Professor. In 2012, Bad Religion played at an event called the Reason Rally in Washington, D.C. Greg Graffin sang the U.S. national anthem there.
In 2015, he released another book called Population Wars. This book went deeper into the topic of evolution. In an interview, Graffin said that life is about discovery and learning from mistakes. He believes people can keep learning as they get older.
Discography
Bad Religion
Studio albums
- How Could Hell Be Any Worse? (1982)
- Into the Unknown (1983)
- Suffer (1988)
- No Control (1989)
- Against the Grain (1990)
- Generator (1992)
- Recipe for Hate (1993)
- Stranger than Fiction (1994)
- The Gray Race (1996)
- No Substance (1998)
- The New America (2000)
- The Process of Belief (2002)
- The Empire Strikes First (2004)
- New Maps of Hell (2007)
- The Dissent of Man (2010)
- True North (2013)
- Age of Unreason (2019)
Solo
- American Lesion (1997)
- Cold as the Clay (2006)
- Millport (2017)
See also
In Spanish: Greg Graffin para niños
- List of celebrities with advanced degrees
Taxon named in his honor
- Sturisoma graffini is a type of catfish. It lives in South America, in the Madre de Dios River basin in Peru. It was named after Greg Graffin.
