The entire Primavera Sound venue can be seen from the terrace of the AC Forum hotel where we are greeted by Gregg Graffin who is a bit annoyed because it is difficult to sleep with the music coming from the festival reverberating in the room until the wee hours of the morning . The leader of Bad Religion, one of the seminal bands of Californian punk, has been coming to Barcelona for over thirty years, although this is his first visit to Primavera Sound. He attends La Vanguardia the afternoon before the performance, with the serenity of a university professor, his other job. Doctorate in Zoology at Cornell University, he has taken Evolution classes at the same Ivy League institution, where he developed his admiration for Charles Darwin.
Do you still feel nervous before going on stage?
I just want the show to go well, we've always been very precise when it comes to playing big festivals, I'm not worried about the guys because they're all professionals. They are as focused as I am not to make mistakes, we are very united in this. But there's always a bit of doubt when you perform in front of a new audience, especially with people who haven't heard you, that's the nervous part.
You have played in Barcelona many times, what do you like about the city?
Maybe he'll get mad about it, but I always say it reminds us a lot of our hometown, Los Angeles. The lifestyle seems quite similar, very carefree, and the people are nice. Every time we come we learn something more about the history of Barcelona, so long, deep and illustrious.
Do people still remember Californian punk?
Perhaps it is Barcelona itself that is rediscovering it. There are bands from that era that continue to play and continue to do well, but they also show their own growth and evolution.
What defines Californian punk?
I've always felt a bit of an outsider and maybe that's the appeal of this music, that it mattered to people who felt like they weren't part of Southern California culture, but they lived there. I think this feeling is there wherever you go, maybe many people who grew up in Barcelona don't feel part of the Barcelona culture. There's an attraction to that punk element that makes you feel like you're not part of mainstream society. We've always tried to show that the music has a lot of... I wouldn't say message, more of a philosophy, of continuing to develop your mind, questioning common perceptions. And I think that will appeal to people for years, because every generation has a certain number of people who are interested in that.
You see him in shape, and so does his music.
I've always thought that our live show should be a replica of what's on the record. The audience wants to see it in real time, they want it to sound like the record because the record is what they listen to over and over again, they grow up on it, it's part of their life. This is especially true for my voice, which is why I have taken care of it all these years.
There has been a growth of conservative thinking in the US.
Let's not forget that in the fifties and sixties there was also a conservative movement. Then, in the sixties and seventies, it became a more liberal atmosphere, so maybe what we're seeing is that the pendulum is swinging back. Regression will always be there, because it is the basis of the conservative party, that does not change, it is also the basis of religion. It's the same in politics, religion, and all the topics we talk about in our songs.
These are the topics that interest Bad Religion fans.
We have mostly liberal fans, but there are also conservatives who like Bad Religion, appreciate the questions we ask because they are challenging and not just a call to stupidity. They encourage you to use your intellect. I think it is better to adopt liberal policies as long as they are based on reflections that rely on objective evidence for answers, because then we can make progress.
When are you weirder, as a punk in college or as a teacher on stage?
Both areas are equally confused, they don't get it, so I've written a couple of books on the subject, to try to show that there's an alternative way of thinking in how I approach punk rock and how I approach academia . I'm referring to the satisfaction I get from questioning things, and hoping that the public can also use their minds and educate themselves on these issues that are so important to everyone's lives.
Are you working on new music?
Brett and I are always composing. Last month we talked about making new songs, so there will be more, stay tuned.
