List of Bad Religion members

Bad Religion is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1980, the group originally included vocalist Greg Graffin, guitarist Brett Gurewitz, bassist Jay Bentley and drummer Jay Ziskrout.[1] The band consists of Graffin, Gurewitz (who doesn't tour) and Bentley, alongside guitarists Brian Baker (since 1994) and Mike Dimkich (since 2013) and drummer Jamie Miller (since 2015).

Three line-ups of Bad Religion performing in 2010, 2013 and 2018.

History

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Ziskrout left the band halfway through the recording of their debut full-length album How Could Hell Be Any Worse? and was replaced for the rest of the sessions by Pete Finestone.[2] 1983's Into the Unknown featured bassist Paul Dedona and Davy Goldman, both of whom left after the album was released.[1] Bad Religion briefly broke up in 1984, as Gurewitz left the band to focus on his record label Epitaph Records and recording studio Westbeach Recorders, before returning with guitarist Greg Hetson, bassist Tim Gallegos and drummer Finestone for the 1985 EP Back to the Known.[2]

Bentley and later Gurewitz returned to Bad Religion in 1986, with the five-piece lineup releasing three albums in three years before Finestone left again in 1991.[2] He was replaced by Bobby Schayer, whose first album with the band was Generator in 1992.[2] After Bad Religion signed to Atlantic Records and released Stranger than Fiction in 1994, Gurewitz left the band again.[3] Shortly after the album's release, Brian Baker took Gurewitz's place in the group.[4] After three more albums, Schayer departed the band in 2001 due to a shoulder injury, and was replaced by Brooks Wackerman.[5] Around the same time, Gurewitz returned to the band for a third time.[6] Longtime guitarist Hetson left in 2013 and was replaced by Mike Dimkich,[7] and in 2016 Jamie Miller replaced Wackerman after he joined Avenged Sevenfold.[8]

Members

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Current

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Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Greg Graffin 1980–present
  • lead vocals
  • keyboards
  • piano
  • acoustic guitar
all Bad Religion releases
Brett Gurewitz
  • 1980–1984
  • 1988–1994
  • 2001–present
  • (inactive on tours since 2001)
  • guitar
  • backing vocals
all Bad Religion releases from Bad Religion (1981) to Into the Unknown (1983), from Suffer (1988) to Stranger than Fiction (1994), and from The Process of Belief (2002) to present
Jay Bentley
  • 1980–1982
  • 1986–present
  • bass
  • backing vocals
all Bad Religion releases except Into the Unknown (1983) and Back to the Known (1985)
Brian Baker 1994–present
  • guitar
  • backing vocals
all Bad Religion releases from The Gray Race (1996) to present
Mike Dimkich 2013–present guitar all Bad Religion releases from Age of Unreason (2019) to present
Jamie Miller 2016–present drums

Former

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Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Jay Ziskrout 1980 drums
Pete Finestone
  • 1981–1982
  • 1984–1987
  • 1988-1991
Paul Dedona 1982–1984 bass Into the Unknown (1983)
Davy Goldman drums
Greg Hetson 1984–2013
  • guitar
  • occasional backing vocals
all Bad Religion releases from Back to the Known (1985) to True North (2013)
Tim Gallegos 1984–1985 bass Back to the Known (1985)
John Albert drums none
Lucky Lehrer 1987
Bobby Schayer 1991–2001 all Bad Religion releases from Generator (1992) to The New America (2000)
Brooks Wackerman 2001–2015 all Bad Religion releases from The Process of Belief (2002) to Christmas Songs (2013)

Timeline

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Lineups

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Period Members Releases
Mid – late 1980
January 1981 – late 1982
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Pete Finestone – drums
none
Late 1982 – early 1984
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar
  • Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals
  • Paul Dedona – bass
  • Davy Goldman – drums
Band inactive early – late 1984
Late 1984 – mid-1985
  • Greg Graffin – vocals
  • Greg Hetson – guitar
  • Tim Gallegos – bass
  • Pete Finestone – drums
Band inactive mid-1985 – early 1986
Early 1986 – September 1987
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Greg Hetson – guitar
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Pete Finestone – drums
none
September 1987 – early 1988[9]
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Greg Hetson – guitar
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Lucky Lehrer – drums
Early 1988 – April 1991
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals
  • Greg Hetson – guitar
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Pete Finestone – drums
April 1991 – summer 1994
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals
  • Greg Hetson – guitar
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Bobby Schayer – drums, percussion
Summer 1994 – May 2001
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Greg Hetson – guitar
  • Brian Baker – guitar, backing vocals
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Bobby Schayer – drums, percussion
May – June 2001
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals (inactive on tours)
  • Greg Hetson – guitar
  • Brian Baker – guitar, backing vocals
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Bobby Schayer – drums, percussion
none
June 2001 – April 2013
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals (inactive on tours)
  • Greg Hetson – guitar
  • Brian Baker – guitar, backing vocals
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Brooks Wackerman – drums, percussion
April 2013 – October 2015
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals (inactive on tours)
  • Brian Baker – guitar, backing vocals
  • Mike Dimkich – guitar
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Brooks Wackerman – drums, percussion
none
February 2016 – present
  • Greg Graffin – lead vocals
  • Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals (inactive on tours)
  • Brian Baker – guitar, backing vocals
  • Mike Dimkich – guitar
  • Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
  • Jamie Miller – drums, percussion, backing vocals


References

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  1. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bad Religion: Biography & History". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Gormely, Ian (March 4, 2013). "Bad Religion: Empire State of Mind". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  3. ^ "A fitting Epitaph: Brett Gurewitz on punk rock, independence and making it big". PIAS Recordings. November 30, 2015. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Brian Baker: 'I Never Tried Out For Guns N' Roses'". Ultimate Guitar Archive. March 1, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  5. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (June 22, 2001). "Bad Religion Drummer Forced Into Retirement". MTV. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  6. ^ Schumacher-Rasmussen, Eric (May 10, 2001). "Bad Religion Reunited With Brett Gurewitz, Epitaph Records". MTV. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  7. ^ Hartmann, Graham (May 7, 2014). "Longtime Bad Religion Guitarist Greg Hetson Confirms Departure From Band". Loudwire. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  8. ^ Frankel, Ricky (February 17, 2016). "Drummer Jamie Miller joins Bad Religion". Punknews.org. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  9. ^ "Black Market #7 | Media | The Bad Religion Page - Since 1995". www.thebrpage.net. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
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