Punk rock institution
BAD RELIGION will begin recording the follow up to 2004's heralded
"The Empire Strikes First" next month at
Grand Master Studios in Los Angeles, California. Slated for a July 10 release through
Epitaph, the yet-to-be-named disc will be produced by
Grammy-nominated producer
Joe Barresi (
TOOL,
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE,
WEEZER).
In support of the forthcoming disc,
BAD RELIGION —
Epitaph's flagship band — will headline the coveted main stage for the entire
2007 Vans Warped Tour this summer. Songwriting principals and co-founders
Brett Gurewitz (guitars) and
Greg Graffin (vocalist) are currently writing songs together in Los Angeles, taking full advantage of
Graffin's return to California to teach a class at
UCLA this semester.
Graffin — who holds a master's degree in Geology from
UCLA and a Ph.D. in Zoology from
Cornell University, near his main home in Ithaca, N.Y. — is currently teaching Life Science 1: Evolution and Biodiversity. "When I was an undergrad and a graduate student at
UCLA, I used to play and write with
BAD RELIGION at night," the singer marvels. "Now, I'm back to that schedule as a professor."
Graffin also recently co-wrote a book with Arkansas history professor
Preston Jones. Titled
"Is Belief In God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? A Professor and A Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism and Christianity" (
IVP Books), the tome catalogs the email correspondence between the two.
Jones, a seminal punk fan, initially contacted
Graffin by email, prompting the conversations that spawned the book.
In advance of the studio work, the remaining members of
BAD RELIGION have kept remarkably active lately. As
Epitaph's owner and founder,
Gurewitz remains as insanely busy as ever. Drummer
Brooks Wackerman is currently on tour in Australia with
TENACIOUS D, while founding bassist
Jay Bentley and

s
Greg Hetson and
Brian Baker participated in the
9th Annual Punk Rock Bowling Tournament in Las Vegas the weekend of January 18–21.
Fresh off a successful tour of Canada with the
DROPKICK MURPHYS at the end of 2006, and in advance of its studio plans, the revered punk band — now in its 27th year — will also headline the kickoff event for the upcoming
Warped Tour exhibit
"Warped: 12 Years of Music, Mayhem and More" at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 26 in Cleveland, Ohio.