Greg Barnett

As singer, guitarist, and co-founder of the Menzingers, Greg Barnett made his name with his impassioned fusion of pop-punk energy and the anthemic spirit of heartland rock. Still in his teens when the band was formed, Barnett's music reflects the thoughts of a musician who grew up in public; with early efforts like 2007's A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology and 2012's On the Impossible Path reflecting the preoccupations of a young man making sense of the world, and 2019's Hello Exile looking toward the rewards and responsibility of adulthood. Barnett gave listeners a deeper and more personal perspective on his life and music with his debut solo album, 2022's Don't Go Throwing Roses in My Grave, which saw him exploring his love of folk, blues, and country. Greg Barnett was born on April 14, 1988. He grew up near Scranton, Pennsylvania, and started writing songs when he was young as he and his brother learned to play guitars. In his teens, Barnett formed a band called Kos Mos, a pop-punk band with ska influences who gigged in and around Scranton and self-released an eight-song EP before they broke up. (The group also featured Adam Mcilwee, who went on to play in Tigers Jaw, and Leo Vergnetti, later of Captain, We’re Sinking!) After Kos Mos disbanded, Barnett met up with three members of Bon and the Sagets, a local ska-punk band that had recently called it a day. With Barnett joined by singer and guitarist Tom May, bassist Eric Keen, and drummer Joe Godino, they formed the Menzingers in 2006, and after cutting a demo they caught the attention of the pop-punk underground. Buzz about the band reached the indie label Go-Kart Records, who took on the band and released their first album, A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology, in 2007. They jumped to Red Scare Industries to bring out their second LP, 2010's Chamberlain Waits. As word spread about the group and their audience grew, the well-established punk label Epitaph Records signed them to a recording contract, and the first release for their new sponsors, On the Impossible Path, came out in 2012. As time passed, the Menzingers enjoyed consistent success on the road and with a succession of albums for Epitaph, and 2019's Hello Exile was hailed as one of their most mature and heartfelt albums to date. However, five months after its release, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live music venues in North America, and in lieu of touring, the group released From Exile in November 2020, an acoustic reworking of Hello Exile the bandmembers recorded in their home studios. As the pandemic wore on, Barnett wrote songs as a means of processing his thoughts about the state of the world, his anxieties about the future, and the emotional fallout from the death of his grandfather. Realizing most of his new songs would not be a good fit for the Menzingers, Barnett contacted producer Will Yip (who had worked with the band in the past) and proposed making a solo album. Yip agreed, and set up shop in Barnett's home studio, with Eric Keen and Joe Godino sitting in on the recordings. 2022's Don't Go Throwing Roses in My Grave, credited to Gregor Barnett, found him digging into folk, blues, and country influences while holding on to the passion of his work with the Menzingers.
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