Gregory Regis Ginn (, born June 8, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986, and again in 2003. The band announced another reunion in 2013. Since the breakup of Black Flag, Ginn has recorded solo albums, and performed with such bands as October Faction, Gone, Confront James, Mojack, and others. He was 99th on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Early life

Ginn was born June 8, 1954, in Tucson, Arizona. He began an electronics company in Hermosa Beach, California, called Solid State Tuners, when he was 12 years old. He was also an amateur radio operator. Ginn became a vegetarian at 17 years old in 1971 and has been a vegan since 1998.

Musical career

Black Flag

Black Flag is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter, and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band. They are widely considered to be one of the first hardcore punk bands. After breaking up in 1986, Black Flag briefly reunited in 2003 and again in 2013. Black Flag's sound mixed the raw simplicity of the Ramones with atonal guitar solos and frequent tempo shifts. The lyrics were written mostly by Ginn, and like other punk rock bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Black Flag voiced an anti-authoritarian and non-conformist message, in songs punctuated with descriptions of social isolation, neurosis, poverty, and paranoia. These themes were explored further when Henry Rollins joined the band as lead singer in 1981. Most of the band's material was released on Ginn's SST Records.

Dale Nixon

"Dale Nixon" is a pseudonym and multiple-use name originally used by Ginn to obfuscate the fact that he played bass on the later Black Flag albums, My War and What The... It has since been used by other artists (typically punk) to appear on albums without being in breach of record label contracts that stipulate label exclusivity. Other artists using the "Dale Nixon" moniker include Dave Grohl, who filled in on drums for the 1992 EP, King Buzzo, and Brian Baker, a founding member of Minor Threat, credited as Nixon on the 1992 Dag Nasty album Four on the Floor. The name appears once again, listed as a bass player, on the Ryan Adams album Orion; it is likely Adams himself, or his sound engineer, Charlie.

Legacy

Many artists have cited Ginn as an influence or have expressed their admiration for him, including Buzz Osborne of Melvins, Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers, William DuVall of Alice in Chains, Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Kurt Ballou of Converge, Justin Sane of Anti-Flag, RM Hubbert, Bill Kelliher of Mastodon, Zach Blair of Rise Against, Weasel Walter, Andrew Williams of Every Time I Die, Laurent Barnard of Gallows, and Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos.

Equipment

Guitars

Ginn's earliest guitar was a Ampeg Dan Armstrong electric guitar. He eventually started using an Westone Spectrum SX and Modulus Graphite Black Knife Stratocaster guitars in later albums.

Amplification

He would play both guitars through a head amp Peavey Series 260 Standard PA and Ampeg SVT-410HLF bass cabinet.

Effects

Ginn never uses any effects or distortion pedals, as depicted in the Nervous Breakdown EP.

Personal life

Ginn is the older brother of artist Raymond Ginn, who goes by the pseudonym of Raymond Pettibon. Ginn owns the Texas-based independent record label SST Records (SST), an outgrowth of his original Solid State Tuners company. On October 10, 2014, Ginn's ex-wife Marina filed a motion in court to prevent Ginn from having access to their two daughters, claiming Ginn was "routinely denying them food and threatening them," "abusing alcohol and drugs in front of them," had "forced [the children] to do cleaning chores until 2 a.m." "locked [them] in a room alone with no contact with the outside world through cell phone or emails," and had "throw[n] cups of water in their face." She also claimed he had told his daughters "you're hot" and "whistled at them," and told them "they are getting fat and need to lose weight and that their diets will have to be more strenuous." Former Black Flag member Ron Reyes subsequently testified in court in support of Marina Ginn's accusations. Ginn suffered no criminal charges.

Discography

Solo

Black Flag

Minutemen

SWA

October Faction

Tom Troccoli's Dog

Gone

Minuteflag

Lawndale

Rig

Mojack

Hor

Confront James

El Bad

Hotel X

Bias

Get Me High

Killer Tweeker Bees

Fastgato

Limey LBC

The Perfect Rat

Jambang

Ten East

Libyan Hit Squad / Round Eye

Good for You