Black Flag, SST founder Greg Ginn jams at Railyard
Greg Ginn plays bass with his band, the Taylor Texas Corrugators.
Amongst the Chacos and the Chucks, Greg Ginn, best-known for his guitar work with Black Flag and for founding SST Records, performed to an audience piqued with curiosity and unsure what would unfold Saturday night.
Admittedly, I has no idea what to expect, except not to expect Ginn’s former hardcore sound. Without announcement or embellishes, Ginn on bass, a drummer, and a mandolin player rolled into nearly an hour of bluesy jams before addressing the audience.
“You probably need an explanation,” Ginn said into the microphone. He announced the band was named the Taylor Texas Corrugators and introduced its members, and said, “All right. That should cover it,” and continued the rambling jam.
After a short break the group rejoined, this time with Ginn on guitar and under a different monicker: Jambang. Darker with hardcore undertones, the songs began simple, building layers of sound into a trembling anxiousness, added to with a drum machine. Ginn’s head rolled back and forth, his legs in a Clash-like London Calling stance, talent jetting from his resilient fingers.
Described as a deliberately cliché on their website, perhaps to mislead the drones of punk followers hoping to capture glory days or a cover of “Rise Above,” Ginn and his band were anything but unoriginal. Able to interject freestyle jazz and blues melodies with a harsh undercurrent of hardcore Ginn pioneered, the Taylor Texas Corrugators were an offbeat group that defied categories, just like the old days.