Brett Gurewitz

Brett Gurewitz (born May 12, 1962) is the guitarist, songwriter and founding member of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records (which has released almost all of Bad Religion’s albums) and sister-labels ANTI-, Burning Heart Records, Fat Possum Records, and Hellcat Records.

Gurewitz formed Bad Religion in 1980 with vocalist Greg Graffin, bassist Jay Bentley and drummer Jay Ziskrout, who was later replaced by Pete Finestone. The band released two albums and one EP before temporarily breaking up in 1984. After their brief reunion, which lasted for just one EP, Gurewitz rejoined Bad Religion in 1986, and the band went on to release a number of well-received albums (including Suffer) before signing to Atlantic Records in 1993.

A very important part of Gurewitz’s career in the music industry was signing notable punk bands to Epitaph during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, such as The Offspring, NOFX, Rancid and Pennywise. The unexpected success of The Offspring’s third album Smash in 1994 prompted Gurewitz to leave Bad Religion (who at the time were also achieving commercial success) and run Epitaph full-time.

Gurewitz once again rejoined Bad Religion in 2001, and is still a member of the band to this day, although, due to commitments with his label, he does not tour with them. He does, however, perform occasional live appearances with Bad Religion at shows close to his hometown Los Angeles, and even appears on the band’s 2006 live DVD Live at the Palladium.