Greg Ginn Quotes

• You have to keep the business side together as well as the creative side. We have constantly surprised people and stayed with bands until they have grown on people.

  Greg Ginn

• We’ve gotten involved in cat rescue – we take them in and find homes for them. I’ve always loved cats. I saw how homeless cats were living out there. We take them in, put out flyers.

  Greg Ginn

• We’re not good at propping up old carcasses. We want to be on top of what’s vital at any particular time, and not just hold onto something because it has a name.

  Greg Ginn

• We were excited when we sold our first 10 records. I always felt that if we could get the music out there, and if people became accustomed to it, then a substantial number of them would enjoy it.

  Greg Ginn

• We had a lot of riots. We came under attack from many of the police departments. It certainly wasn’t some publicity thing. I was afraid for many years. We couldn’t play in LA for many years. A lot of people got very cynical.

  Greg Ginn

• We aren’t as concerned about the live aspect as other labels. The best live bands are the easiest to record.

  Greg Ginn

• There’s not much music I’ll listen to if it doesn’t have pretty heavy swing. Rhythm is so important. Punk rock would have more power and feeling if it had swing.

  Greg Ginn

• There aren’t enough people who are scaring the kind of people who work at these record companies.

  Greg Ginn

• There are several books out on punk history, but I haven’t read any of them. I was there.

  Greg Ginn

• The small companies who feel that the majors are a threat, or are predators, will use that as an excuse for their eventual downfall. Don’t blame others for your own inadequacies.

  Greg Ginn

• The REM and Nirvana successes don’t mean much to me except as a potential distraction for bands who want to cash in on the trend. Don’t try to sound like someone else. REM and Nirvana don’t sound like anyone else.

  Greg Ginn

• The public is usually slow to catch on to new things, and it’s important that musicians stick to their guns and not look for that instant gratification.

  Greg Ginn

• The Minutemen were seen as more of an art thing than Black Flag, although I didn’t see them that way. It confused people when we put out Saccharine Trust, too.

  Greg Ginn

• The English scene got more media attention with their emphasis on fashion, with the safety pins and all. There were some really good bands over there. The Sex Pistols were great.

  Greg Ginn

• The biggest disappointment has been seeing the number of people in this business with very shortsighted views.

  Greg Ginn

• Stores can be indifferent to something new.

  Greg Ginn

• SST was formed to put out the first Black Flag record. Basically, there wasn’t anyone else to do it. I felt that what I was doing with Black Flag was very worthwhile, and I wanted to get it out there.

  Greg Ginn

• Putting out the things that I like best hasn’t been the easiest way to run a label, and it still isn’t because it requires finding an audience for each record.

  Greg Ginn

• Punk rock really came out of N.Y. as a philosophy before the groups were ever recorded. I had a kind-of intellectual interest in the idea of creating a new scene that could be a grassroots thing.

  Greg Ginn

• People from major labels were afraid to go to Black Flag gigs throughout most of the band’s existence. They treated our gigs as something threatening. I’m sure that it probably was. They probably had reasons to be scared.

  Greg Ginn

Greg Ginn (31)

Birth:	8th June, 1954
Nationality:	American
Profession:	Guitarist, Lyricist, Singer

About

Gregory Regis Ginn is an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986, and again in 2003. The band announced another reunion on January 25, 2013. He was born in Tucson, Arizona.

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