Gregory Walter Graffin III was born on November 6, 1964, in Madison, Wisconsin, to Walter and Marcella Graffin. Prior to his birth, his parents resided in Evanston, Illinois, for a few years before moving to Racine, Wisconsin. When Greg was just seven years old, his parents divorced, and he moved to Milwaukee with his mother and brother Grant. The family resided in Milwaukee for four years before relocating to San Fernando Valley in 1976.
Greg attended Hale Junior High School and later El Camino Real High School, where he met future bandmates Brett Gurewitz, Jay Ziskrout, and Jay Bentley. In 1979, at the age of 15, Greg discovered punk music, which inspired him to form a band with his friends, naming it Bad Religion. The band released an EP in 1981, followed by their debut album "How Could Hell Be Any Worse" in 1982 and "Into the Unknown" in 1983.
Despite achieving some success, Bad Religion disbanded in 1984 due to difficulties in keeping the band together. After the band's breakup, Greg planned to move back to Wisconsin to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but was instead forced to return to Los Angeles. He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology and a Bachelor of Science in geology.
Greg spent 1985 and 1986 performing sporadically before Bad Religion reunited in 1987 with a new lineup featuring Graffin, Gurewitz, Greg Hetson, Jay Bentley, and Peter Finestone. The band released their first album in five years, "Suffer", in 1988, which is now considered a classic punk album. The band went on to release four more albums before signing with Atlantic Records.
In 1994, Bad Religion released their most successful album, "Stranger Than Fiction", which spawned their biggest hits "21st Century (Digital Boy)" and "Infected". However, Brett Gurewitz departed the band in 1994, and Brian Baker replaced him. Two more albums were released before Greg and Brett reconciled in 1999 to co-write the song "Believe It", which appeared on their 2000 album "The New America".
In 2001, Bad Religion brought Brett back into the band full-time, resigned with Epitaph Records, and hired current drummer Brooks Wackerman. As of August 2010, the band is still touring and making music.
