Greg Ginn


Gregory Regis Ginn is an American musician and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986, and again in 2003. Since the breakup of Black Flag, Ginn has recorded solo albums, and performed with such bands as October Faction, Gone, Confront James, Mojack, and others. He was 99th on Rolling Stones list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

Early life

Ginn was born June 8, 1954, in Tucson, Arizona. As a child, Ginn moved to California, living first in Wasco, then settling in Hermosa Beach. He began an electronics company in Hermosa Beach, California, called Solid State Tuners, when he was 12 years old. He was also an amateur radio operator. Ginn became a vegetarian at 17 years old in 1971 and has been a vegan since 1998.
Ginn claims to have never genuinely enjoyed rock music during his youth, believing it to be "just trying to interject some kind of legitimacy into making three-minute commercials."

Legacy

Many artists have cited Ginn as an influence or have expressed their admiration for him, including Buzz Osborne of Melvins,who also stated that he brought Kurt Cobain to his first punk show, a Black Flag show in 1984 where Kurt stated that he wanted that guitar sound for his band. Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers, William DuVall of Alice in Chains, Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Kurt Ballou of Converge, Justin Sane of Anti-Flag, RM Hubbert, Bill Kelliher of Mastodon, Zach Blair of Rise Against, Weasel Walter, Andrew Williams of Every Time I Die, Laurent Barnard of Gallows, and Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos.

Personal life

Ginn is the older brother of artist Raymond Ginn, who goes by the pseudonym of Raymond Pettibon.
Ginn owns the Texas-based independent record label SST Records, an outgrowth of his original Solid State Transmitters company.

Allegations of child abuse

On October 10, 2014, Ginn's ex-wife Marina filed a motion in court to prevent Ginn from having access to their two daughters, claiming Ginn was "routinely denying them food and threatening them," abusing alcohol and other substances while in their presence, had forced them to do cleaning chores until 2 a.m. despite the presence of numerous employees, "locked in a room alone with no contact with the outside world through cell phone or emails," and had "throw cups of water in their face." She also claimed he had told his daughters "you're hot" and "whistled at them," and told them "they are getting fat and need to lose weight and that their diets will have to be more strenuous." She also alleged that the children lived with Ginn in an industrial building that he was using for rehearsals as well as business dealings. She also alleged that their youngest daughter required hospitalization due to anxiety and stress. Her affidavit closed with: "Please grant me an emergency temporary orders hearing so my daughters don't have to live in fear." Former Black Flag member Ron Reyes subsequently testified in court in support of Marina Ginn's accusations. Ginn suffered no criminal charges.
Ginn said the court decided he should retain custody of his children, and his lawyer said none of the ex-wife's allegations "were ever sustained by the court".

Discography

Solo

  • Getting Even LP
  • Dick LP
  • Payday EP
  • Don't Tell Me EP
  • Let It Burn LP
  • Bent Edge LP – with The Taylor Texas Corrugators
  • Goof Off Experts LP – with The Taylor Texas Corrugators
  • Freddie 7" – with The Taylor Texas Corrugators
  • Legends of Williamson County LP – with The Taylor Texas Corrugators
  • We Are Amused LP – with The Royal We
  • We Are One 12" – with The Royal We
  • Fearless Leaders LP – with The Royal We

    Black Flag

  • Nervous Breakdown EP
  • Jealous Again EP
  • Six Pack EP
  • Louie, Louie single
  • Damaged LP
  • TV Party EP
  • Everything Went Black double LP
  • The First Four Years compilation cassette
  • My War LP
  • Family Man LP
  • Slip It In LP
  • Live '84 live cassette
  • Loose Nut LP
  • The Process of Weeding Out EP
  • In My Head LP
  • Who's Got the 10½? live LP
  • Annihilate This Week live EP
  • I Can See You EP
  • What The... LP

    Minutemen

  • Paranoid Time EP

    SWA

  • Your Future LP

    October Faction

  • October Faction live LP
  • Second Factionalization LP

    Tom Troccoli's Dog

  • Tom Troccoli's Dog LP

    Gone

  • Let's Get Real, Real Gone for a Change LP
  • Gone II – But Never Too Gone! LP
  • Criminal Mind LP
  • Smoking Gun remix EP
  • All the Dirt That's Fit to Print LP
  • Damage Control remix EP
  • Best Left Unsaid LP
  • Country Dumb LP
  • The Epic Trilogy double CD

    Minuteflag

  • Minuteflag EP

    Lawndale

  • Sasquatch Rock LP

    Rig

  • Belly to the Ground LP

    Mojack

  • Merchandizing Murder CD
  • Home Brew CD
  • Rub-A-Dub CD
  • Under The Willow Tree CD
  • The Metal Years CD
  • Hijinks CD
  • Car CD

    Hor

  • House CD
  • Slo N' Sleazy CD
  • A Faster, More Aggressive Hor CD
  • Bash CD
  • Culture Wars CD

    Confront James

  • Test One Reality CD
  • Just Do It CD
  • Ill Gotten Hatred CD
  • Chemical Exposure CD
  • Black Mountain Bomb CD
  • We Are Humored CD

    El Bad

  • Bad Motherfucker CD
  • Trick or Treat CD

    Hotel X

  • Uncommon Ground CD

    Bias

  • Model Citizen CD

    Get Me High

  • Taming the Underground CD

    Killer Tweeker Bees

  • Tweaker Blues CD

    Fastgato

  • Feral CD

    Limey LBC

  • Life of Lime CD

    The Perfect Rat

  • Endangered Languages CD

    Jambang

  • Connecting CD
  • 200 Days in Space DVD

    Ten East

  • Robot's Guide to Freedom CD

    Libyan Hit Squad / Round Eye

  • "Full Circle" EP

    Good for You

  • Life Is Too Short Not to Hold a Grudge LP
  • Too! LP
  • Fucked Up "7"
  • ''Full Serving''