Punk Rock Trivia: Bad Religion was almost named “Smegma”

Every once in a while the punk rock geniuses here at Dying Scene unleash a tasty little nugget of punk rock trivia in an effort to blow our readers’ minds. Also, we like to make ourselves feel smart. Today’s fun factoid is about the horrible band names that Bad Religion was almost known by.

Believe it or not, when Greg and his buddies Brett Gurewitz, Jay Bentley and Jay Ziskrout formed the band back in 1979, they actually considered calling themselves Smegma, which is the medical word for the secretions that you find under the foreskin of a penis. Another name, Head Cheese, was also considered.  Both those names seem much more suited to an adolescent, dick-joke-centric band like Blink 182, and seem an odd fit for the politically focused band we know and love today.  For whatever reason, the band eventually came to their seneses and decided the name Bad Religion was much more suited to their general message.  According to Greg, “In a lot of respects very small interest groups can be thought of as bad religions too, because they definitely prescribe ways of thinking.” He has even called greenpeace a “bad religion” despite being himself a member of the organization.