Greg Ginn

Born June 8 1954, Greg Ginn is known for his work as the band leader, producer and guitar player of Black Flag. Father of bass player Dori Ginn. He also runs the label SST records. Since Black Flag, he has recorded solo albums and played in a few bands. He reformed Black Flag in 2003 for a one off night for a cat rescue benefit (he owns 80 cats). Greg Ginn is best known for his unorthodox playing style which bears many similarities to free jazz (like Ornette Coleman), where he shows technical prowess but, because of the "off keys" and "wrong notes", he opts for more of an emotionally charged type of playing. Greg formed his first band, Panic, with Keith Morris, in 1976. That band would later evolve into Black Flag. He also performed in a few side projects, October Faction and Tom Troccoli's Dog. In 1986, he formed an instrumental trio called Gone which ran until 1987, at which time Greg retired from performing all together and concentrated on running SST Records and its sub-labels, Cruz Records, New Alliance Records, and the short-lived Issues Records. He returned to performing in 1993 and between 1993 and 1998 he issued a number of records under his own name, as well as projects like Hor, Confront James, Get Me High, Bias, Mojack, Killer Tweeker Bees, and Gone (with new members). In 1998, SST went into hibernation and not much was heard from Greg, although he continued to record and perform. In 2008, Greg returned with new releases on SST by Gone and Mojack, along with his new bands, Jambang and Greg Ginn and the Taylor Texas Corrugators. He has also performed and recorded with the Perfect Rat and Ten East, although their records have been non-SST releases.