Which Bad Religion guitarist founded Epitaph Records in 1980?

Brett Gurewitz founded Epitaph Records in 1980 while serving as guitarist for Bad Religion.

He initially created the label as a vehicle for releasing Bad Religion’s own music. Epitaph’s first release was the band’s 1981 self-titled EP, followed by the 1982 album How Could Hell Be Any Worse? The label’s name came from “Epitaph,” a King Crimson song whose lyric “Confusion will be my epitaph” resonated with Gurewitz and Bad Religion co-founder Greg Graffin.

Epitaph later grew far beyond Bad Religion. Its breakthrough in the 1990s came through influential punk releases by acts including The Offspring, Rancid, and NOFX. Gurewitz left Bad Religion in 1994 while concentrating on the label, then rejoined the band in 2001.

A common mix-up is confusing Gurewitz with Graffin, Bad Religion’s singer and principal lyricist. Graffin helped form the band, but Gurewitz was the guitarist who founded the record label.