THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110141
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICKEY WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
THE STATE of punk, 1994:
Green Day's ``Dookie'' goes double platinum, Offspring's ``Smash'' platinum and Bad Religion - who have stood at the forefront of the American wing of the music for more than a decade - is on Atlantic Records.
The group, whose Epitaph label released the Offspring album, moved to venerable Atlantic last year with a reissue of ``Recipe for Hate,'' which has sold around 400,000 copies.
Now, after six weeks overseas, Bad Religion is ready to tour the U.S. behind its latest, ``Stranger Than Fiction.'' Tonight's show at 8 at the Boathouse in Norfolk is the group's first on home turf since the release of ``Stranger'' in September.
Like the members of Offspring, who played the same venue recently, Bad Religion singer Greg Graffin doesn't believe wider fame has harmed their essential mission: to communicate.
``There's kind of two kinds of popularity,'' Graffin says by cellular phone from New York. ``There's the level you built yourself, a slow, incremental growth that comes from doing what you want and letting people come around to it. That's the kind we have; we haven't reached the kind of super popularity that Green Day has, and I'm not even sure that we want to.
``The relative number of young people is the same,'' he notes of Bad Religion's audience. ``There have always been young misfits that are drawn toward the music. But certainly the overall number has increased.''
Graffin says Bad Religion has improved on every front.
``All across the board, if you take 10 criteria, from creative elements to marketing, we've gotten better. Our songs have gotten better, our promotion has gotten better, our production.''
Songwriting, though, is more of a challenge after seven albums.
``I would have to say that my mind is always active, always thinking, trying to distill complex stimuli from the world around me into two- to three-minute songs.
``Don't forget we've got a catalog of over 100 songs. We don't want to repeat anything. What used to take me a day to write now takes me a week. But the result, of course, is a more elegant, well-crafted song.''
One of the ``Stranger'' songs, ``The Handshake,'' is a sly nod at corporate realities, Graffin says.
``It was kind of tongue-in-cheek, because this is our first (original) major-label album. I just wanted to make that title an obvious thing.''
Another, ``Slumber,'' deals with more eternal concerns.
``The song is about the equality we share, of death and existence. It says we can rejoice in that we leave this place in the same way. So even people who are on their last leg can find some solace.
``Ironically, it was recorded the week (Nirvana's Kurt) Cobain shot himself, although it was written three months before.'' MEMO: CONCERT FACTS
Who: Bad Religion with Super Suckers and Samiam
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: The Boathouse, Norfolk
How much: $13.50 advance; to order, call 671-8100
Information: 622-6395 by CNB