Hachette Books – 18 August 2020
Do What You Want is well documented, but lacks punch
The first time I heard Bad Religion was in 1996, when I was 12. My older brother played The Gray Race on the car stereo when my family was driving together to go to somebody’s birthday party. That day I became a fan. As both a fan of Bad Religion and band biographies, I was really excited by the announcement of Bad Religion’s book Do What Your Want.
The biography tells the story of Bad Religion primarily though founding members Greg Graffin, Jay Bentley and Brett Gurewitz. For those who don’t know, the latter also founded Epitaph, the label that was or is home to many of your favourite bands. I was eager to learn about the earliest days of the band (and the label) and this is where Do You What You Want really delivers. In the first chapters it really become apparent that the band always an enormous work ethic, both on stage and in the studio. I never realized that Suffer, No Control, and Against the Grain were released on consecutive years; all between touring, Graffin’s academic ambitions, and Gurewitz’ label and studio work.
It’s also nice to see old band members chime in as well: early drummers Jay Ziskrout and Pete Finestone both offer a unique perspective on those early days. The only ex-member that we don’t hear from is Greg Hetson, since he declined to partake in the making of this book. And this is a real shame. Greg Hetson had been part of the band for almost 30 years. Even more frustrating, the book doesn’t shed any new light on why Hetson left the band. It almost seems like Hetson was kicked out because he played some bad shows, but that doesn’t seem too likely.
Even though the book is well documented, it is not without it flaws. Author Jim Ruland chose to write the whole book in a repetitive way: band writes songs, records album, puts out album, goes on tour. When your band releases 17 albums, your book becomes boring. Was it really necessary to include every album? Does it need a full page on the making of All Ages, a compilation that readers of the book may own themselves? Ruland also repeats praise for Bad Religion’s intelligent lyrics on every album, as well as the band’s legacy many times, which comes of as fanboyish.
Yet other parts of the band’s history seem to be rushed over: Brooks Wackerman has been the band’s longest lasting drummer but he seemingly enters and leaves the story in a few pages. The same appears true for the more personal side of the band members, including their marriages and addictions. I don’t expect a band biography to reveal all their dirt, but if you are going talk about addiction you might as well tell more. It’s on these parts where Do What You Want seems to be sanitized. The book mentions that Brett Gurewitz made negative comments about The Gray Race record but doesn’t include what those comments were (although you can easily find them via the internet).
Upon finishing the book I felt disappointed. Even though I enjoyed it on many levels, I felt it could have been much better. Comparing it to the recent NOFX biography seems a bit unfair, since that book took a whole other approach, but Hepatitis Bathtub didn’t pull any punches , while Do What Your Want feels like too much of a promo piece for a band that already has a great and enduring legacy.
Quirijn’s primary focus for TGEFM is on album reviews and band interviews. When he’s not writing for the site, he can be found mixing sound at Fiction Studio, mixing up beats for as one part of hip-hop duo Breekpunt, or playing guitar for punk quartet Ink Bomb.