| Greg Ginn | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gregory Regis Ginn |
| Also known as | Dale Nixon |
| Born | June 8, 1954 |
| Genre(s) | Hardcore punk, Heavy metal, Instrumental rock, Punk jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Record label owner |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1976 – present |
| Label(s) | SST, Cruz |
| Associated acts | Black Flag Gone Confront James EL BAD Mojack |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Ampeg Dan Armstrong Lucite | |
Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is a guitarist, songwriter and singer. Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hardcore punk (now usually referred to as simply hardcore) is a subgenre of Punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s Instrumental rock is a type of Rock music which emphasizes Musical instruments, and which features no or very little Singing. Punk jazz describes the amalgamation of elements of the jazz tradition (usually the Free jazz and Jazz fusion of the 1960s and '70s with the instrumentation A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Events January-February January 5 - Bob Dylan releases Desire January 6 - Peter Frampton The present is the Time that is perceived directly not as a recollection or a speculation In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music SST Records is an American Independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach California by musician Greg Ginn. Cruz Records was a Record label similar to SST Records, owned by the Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. Black Flag was a Hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in southern California, largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist Gone is a three-piece punk -based Instrumental rock band formed by Greg Ginn in late 1985 Confront James is a Los Angeles musical group It's leader is Greg Ginn, who plays guitar and bass on all records Mojack is an instrumental rock band formed by ex- Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. Ampeg is a musical instrument amplifier manufacturer headquartered in Woodinville, Washington. Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) A guitarist is a Musician who plays the Guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the punk rock band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986. Black Flag was a Hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in southern California, largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist
Since breaking up Black Flag, Ginn has recorded a few solo albums, and has performed with the bands HOR, Fastgato, The October Faction, Gone, Confront James, EL BAD, Mojack, The Texas Corrugators, Jambang, and he also played bass with Tom Troccoli's Dog. Gone is a three-piece punk -based Instrumental rock band formed by Greg Ginn in late 1985 Confront James is a Los Angeles musical group It's leader is Greg Ginn, who plays guitar and bass on all records Mojack is an instrumental rock band formed by ex- Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. [1]. He also owns the Texas-based, independent record label, SST, originally begun as an electronics company called Solid State Transmitters when he was a teenager in Long Beach, California. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music SST Records is an American Independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach California by musician Greg Ginn. Long Beach is a city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast He remains very active in music; in a recent interview he states he still performs "about six nights a week. " [2] This is similar to how he was with Black Flag; with them he was very strict about practicing and would practice for up to 7 hours a day, 6 days a week according to Henry Rollins. Henry Rollins (born February 13 1961 as Henry Lawrence Garfield) is an American singer-songwriter Spoken word Artist, Stand-up comedian, author
Ginn's guitar sound is distinctive, often recognizable within a few notes. His guitar tone is typically characterized by a lack of highs and a high amount of mids, which creates a muffled sound. Black Flag singer Henry Rollins has repeatedly compared Ginn's playing not to any other guitarists, but to free jazz saxophonists Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. Henry Rollins (born February 13 1961 as Henry Lawrence Garfield) is an American singer-songwriter Spoken word Artist, Stand-up comedian, author For the Ornette Coleman album after which this genre was named see Free Jazz A Collective Improvisation. The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind Ornette Coleman (born March 9, 1930) is an American saxophonist Violinist Trumpeter and Composer. Eric Allan Dolphy ( June 20, 1928 &ndash June 29, 1964) was an American Jazz alto saxophonist, flautist, and These may initially appear unlikely comparisons, but a closer examination reveals some similarities: Like both saxophonists, Ginn tends towards highly emotive playing and has a thorough grasp of musical harmony, though often choosing to play notes that are technically "incorrect" but which frequently carry a greater visceral impact than "proper" playing. In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously and chords actual or implied in Music. Ginn is an avid jazz fan, stating he generally prefers music by saxophone or piano players. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States
One review of Black Flag's Slip It In (1984) notes that Ginn's "playing was becoming increasingly avant-garde and exciting. Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard Rather than simply coughing up one clichéd solo after another, he wandered harmolodically up and down the fretboard as a jazz player like Blood Ulmer would, making the material more interesting than what most Black Flag-influenced bands were playing. Harmolodics is the musical philosophy of Jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman and is therefore associated primarily with the jazz Avant-garde and James "Blood" Ulmer (born 2 February 1942 in St Matthews South Carolina) is an American Jazz and blues " [3]
Ginn made it to 99th on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.
Contents |
Family
Greg has two brothers and two sisters. Rolling Stone is a United States -based Magazine devoted to Music, Politics, and Popular culture that is published Rolling Stone is a United States -based Magazine devoted to Music, Politics, and Popular culture that is published His father, Regis, was a teacher and self-published author and his mother was an immigrant from Estonia. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region The two met while Regis served in World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Ginn's younger brother, Raymond Pettibon, is an award-winning artist whose early works have appeared on album artwork for Black Flag and other SST bands; Pettibon also designed the Black Flag logo. Raymond Pettibon (born Raymond Ginn on June 16, 1957) is an American artist and sometime musician and lyricist The two had a falling out over the treatment of Raymond's artwork by SST and have not spoken since the mid-1980s.
Ginn's nephew Alex founded the punk band 1208.
Ginn is also active in cat-rescue, possessing approximately 30 cats, having reformed Black Flag in September 2003 for a cat rescue benefit.
Ginn has a 2-year-old daughter, and his wife is expecting their second child.
In 2007, Greg relocated from Long Beach, California to Taylor, Texas. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Long Beach is a city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast Taylor is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13575 at the 2000 census it was 15014 in the 2005 census estimate
Equipment
Guitars
For the majority of Black Flag's existence, Ginn used an Ampeg Dan Armstrong Lucite electric guitar with an interchangeable pickup nearly exclusively; it can be seen in use here. Dan Armstrong was an expert Guitar Luthier and recording session musician The guitar had become extremely worn out after intensive use and was stolen on April 16, 1986. Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Ginn would play it so hard that sweat (as well as blood) would seep inside the guitar and cause it to short circuit. To fix this problem he soldered the tone and volume knobs in place and installed a waterproof switch. Ginn does not use any effects pedals-every sound he gets is from his amp and guitar.
After his Ampeg was stolen, he switched to using an Ibanez Roadstar II. Ibanez (ˈaɪbænɛz or /aɪˈbænɛz/ is a Guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki and based in Nagoya Aichi, Japan. According to Ginn, he also used an Ibanez Flying V with a Sound City tube amp for a little while. He has said that this Sound City amp was horrible and was the last time he used a tube amp. He has said that he dislikes tube amps because they round off the sound and he wants a sharper tone.
His current guitar and the one used at the Black Flag Reunion shows in 2003 is a custom-made ebony Stratocaster model called "Graffiti. The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of Electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares " This guitar is unique in that it has a graphite neck and is rather heavy for a Stratocaster copy.
Amplifiers and speakers
Originally, Ginn used a Peavey Standard Series 260 four channel P. A. Head to create his signature tone. He simply plugged directly into the amplifier and played with the volumes turned up to the point to where the signal being produced was naturally overdriven. This procedure created a rather abrasive sound that he tuned along side of the vocal stylings of each singer of the band. This is the sound you hear on Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown single, up to the album Damaged. Ginn later used a rack mounted Roland SIP-300 guitar preamp along with a QSC power amp until 1985 when he began using a Yamaha PG-1 guitar preamp with the same power amp until switching to a Crest PL400 power amp during their last tour. is a Japanese manufacturer of Electronic musical instruments electronic equipment and Software. All of Ginn's amps and preamps were solid state, as he preferred them over tube amplifiers.
The earliest speaker cabinets that he used were probably marshall 4x12's. He used a Sound City 4x12 also. His earliest hand made speaker cabinets were fitted with two Peavey Black Widow 15" speakers. His later speaker cabinets were hand made, and used Electro-Voice speakers. Electro-Voice (commonly referred to as EV) is a manufacturer of Audio equipment including Microphones, Amplifiers and Loudspeakers One contained six 12" speakers, and the other with two 15" speakers. He then had two custom built cabinets with two 12" and one 15" speakers each. The type of speakers, being heavy duty and engineered for P. A. use therefore largely contributed to his notably dense guitar tone.
Currently, he uses a solid state Sansamp Preamp (overdriven) and uses a Macro-Tech Crown Power Amp with "more Wattage than I really need. " The power amp drives a custom made 6x12 cabinet.
Discography
Studio albums
- Getting Even (1993)
- Payday (1993)
- Dick (1995)
- Let It Burn (1997)
- Bent Edge (2007) - with The Texas Corrugators
External links
Getting Even was a 1993 rock album released by Greg Ginn on Cruz Records, his first full-length solo albumDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic