Jay Bentley
Bentley playing with Bad Religion in 2013.
Bentley playing with Bad Religion in 2013.
Background information
Born (1964-06-06) June 6, 1964
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
OriginSanta Clarita, California, U.S.
GenresPunk rock
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)
  • Bass guitar
  • guitar
  • vocals
Years active1979–present
Labels

Jay Dee Bentley (born June 6, 1964) is the bassist and co-founding member of the punk rock group Bad Religion.[1] He has played with the band through its whole existence with a small break between 1983 and 1985. Along with vocalist Greg Graffin, Bentley has appeared on nearly all of Bad Religion's studio albums, with the sole exception being their second album Into the Unknown (1983).

Career

Jay Bentley grew up in Santa Clarita, California, and later moved to Woodland Hills. As with guitarist Brett Gurewitz and lead singer Greg Graffin, he was a student of El Camino Real High School. He played in Bad Religion for three years (1980–1983),[2] and left while the band was in the midst of writing and recording their second album, Into the Unknown.

Bentley was a onetime member of such notable L.A. groups as Wasted Youth, T.S.O.L., The Circle Jerks and Cathedral Of Tears. He rejoined Bad Religion in late 1985 while the How Could Hell Be Any Worse? line-up – adding Circle Jerks' Greg Hetson as the band's second guitarist – was reuniting to record the first three reunion albums, Suffer, No Control and Against the Grain, which are often considered their best releases. Today, Bentley continues touring and recording with Bad Religion. He has appeared on every Bad Religion release, with the exceptions of Into the Unknown (1983) and the Back to the Known (1985) EP. The band's most recent studio album, Age of Unreason, was recorded in 2018 and 2019, with a May 1, 2019 release.[3] Since the early 2010s, Bentley has been the regular touring member of Me First And The Gimme Gimmes filling in on bass and backup vocals for Fat Mike.

Personal life

Bentley has two sons: Miles (born 1991), who played bass in Dave Hause and The Mermaid, and Hunter (born 1993).[4] He also has a daughter named Peribeau and a son named Dragon and lives with his wife Natalia Fabia in Costa Mesa, California.[5]

In the past, Bentley has had struggles with alcoholism. He first quit drinking in 1990 but relapsed in 1998. Since 2005, he is completely alcohol abstinent.[6]

Equipment

Bentley's main basses have been Fender models for most of his career in Bad Religion, primarily a black and/or white Precision models; in recent years, however, he has been an endorser of Epiphone and has his own Jack Casady signature.[7][8] Bentley often plays bass with a pick.

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Biography: Bad Religion". AMG. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  2. ↑ "Bad Religion – 30 Years". BadReligion.com. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  3. ↑ "BAD RELIGION to Release 'Age of Unreason' Album in May". 26 February 2019.
  4. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/HunterBentleyMusic
  5. ↑ Fadroski, Kelli Skye (July 19, 2014). "Bad Religion has good fun in Costa Mesa". The Orange County Register. p. Life 2.
  6. ↑ "Jay bentley on Instagram: "I was told to write my sobriety date in my big book, and I did just that. I found my way into aa in sept 1990, but fell out in late 1998. I had a pretty good time for a minute, but spent the next few years struggling on and off, and by 2004 I was lost. I've been told that when you're finally desperate enough, you may have a moment of clarity, I was fortunate to be that desperate. This is what it has been like for me. All of our paths have some differences, but if we are honest with ourselves we end up in the same place. Thank you. All of you who were there for me then and who are there now, carrying the message and giving back what was freely given to us. Today I am 11"".
  7. ↑ "An-Interview-With-Jay-Bentley-Of-Bad-Religion". Archived from the original on 2017-12-02.
  8. ↑ "Mixdown | Media | the Bad Religion Page - Since 1995".
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