Do What You Want: The Story of Bad Religion

From their beginnings as teenagers experimenting in a San Fernando Valley garage dubbed "The Hell Hole" to headlining major music festivals around the world, discover the whole story of Bad Religion's forty-year career in irreverent style.

Do What You Want's principal storytellers are the four voices that define Bad Religion: Greg Graffin, a Wisconsin kid who sang in the choir and became an L.A. punk rock icon while he was still a teenager; Brett Gurewitz, a high school dropout who founded the independent punk label Epitaph Records and went on to become a record mogul; Jay Bentley, a surfer and skater who gained recognition as much for his bass skills as for his antics on and off the stage; and Brian Baker, a founding member of Minor Threat who joined the band in 1994 and brings a fresh perspective as an intimate outsider.

With a unique blend of melodic hardcore and thought-provoking lyrics, Bad Religion paved the way for the punk rock explosion of the 1990s, opening the door for bands like NOFX, The Offspring, Rancid, Green Day, and Blink-182 to reach wider audiences. They showed the world what punk could be, and they continue to spread their message one song, one show, one tour at a time.

Bad Religion formed in Los Angeles in 1980, and ranks among the most influential American punk rock bands of all time. They have released seventeen albums that have sold more than five million copies, and they continue to sell out venues all over the world.

Jim Ruland has been writing for punk rock zines like Flipside since the early '90s and has written for every issue of Razorcake, America's only nonprofit independent music fanzine. He is the coauthor of MyDamage with Keith Morris, the founding vocalist of Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and OFF!