D-I-V-O-R-C-E: Greg Ginn’s Gets Ugly

Gregg Ginn at his Taylor property in 2009 (by Austin Powell)

Black Flag nucleus Greg Ginn is being portrayed as an unfit parent in affidavits filed by his ex-wife Marina Ginn.

“I am filing the Emergency Motion to modify the Parent Child Relationship because I believe my childrens’ health and welfare is currently being jeopardized,” read documents filed by Marina Ginn to the District Clerk in Williamson County Court 10. The affidavits, emailed to the Chronicle, were authenticated by the district clerk’s office.

Ginn, a pivotal figure in Eighties underground music, remains the heart of Black Flag, as the hardcore legends’ primary songwriter and sole constant member. He founded and still operates the influential SST Records, which released seminal albums by Bad Brains, Hüsker Dü, the Minutemen, and various other punk heroes. Rolling Stone anointed Ginn the 99th greatest guitarist of all time.

The longtime Californian has been stationed in the microscopic town of Taylor, just east of Round Rock, since 2007. He operates SST and his studio out of a large commercial building that was once a Model T assembly shop.

Marina and Greg Ginn’s children are ages 7 and 10. The filing states they’re home schooled and were formerly cared for by a nanny. Marina Ginn's statement reads:

“[Names redacted] live with my ex-husband in an industrial building that also serves as a place where he conducts business and his band rehearses. They have complained that his behavior has recently grown increasingly erratic, that he is recently denying them food and threatening them, that he is increasingly abusing alcohol and drugs in front of them, and that they have witnessed confrontations and physical violence at the building where they live.”

Marina’s complaints against her husband throughout the four-page statement range from innocuous – that the noted vegan feeds the children “unpalatable food” like “bowls of vegetable soup with very strong spices” – to allegations of “increasingly bizarre” behavior: disciplining them by throwing cups of water in their faces, calling them fat, telling them to “Shut the fuck up.” She charges her spouse has made their girls uncomfortable by saying “You’re hot” and whistling at them.

The document also alleges alcohol and marijuana use.

“The children told me they have seen him drink and do drugs, including marijuana, on a daily basis,” states the affidavit.

Instances of alleged violence at Ginn’s property are also cited:

“They stated that recently, within the last two weeks, they were locked in a room in the building and heard a physically violent fight take place, and later heard people talking about the altercation, which apparently took place because former business associates of my husband arrived at the building and started beating people up. I fear that the situation at his property is rapidly becoming dangerous and that something could get out of hand and my daughters get caught in the crossfire and end up physically harmed as a result.”

Contacted Monday afternoon, one of Ginn’s longtime attorneys, Los Angeles-based Evan Cohen, reviewed the affidavits and agreed to reach out to the 60-year-old guitarist, though he speculated no comment would be made because it’s a personal matter. Notoriously private, Ginn hasn’t responded to a follow-up request for interview through Cohen.

Ginn’s no stranger to litigation. Last year, in the midst of a Black Flag reunion, he filed suit against his former bandmates who were alternatively touring as Flag and against both Keith Morris and Henry Rollins for allegedly trying to copyright the band’s iconic four bars logo. The resulting agreement allowed Flag to continue touring on Black Flag material, but only Ginn and SST could use the logo for promotion.

Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood has acknowledged in interviews that SST sued him for libel in questioning the label’s business practices to other bands while the two were in a dispute over master recordings. The label has purportedly been in legal entanglements over the years with former SST acts Negativland and Sonic Youth.

This latest instance of Greg Ginn’s name in court papers arrives in an arena where emotions run high and facts can be cloudy. A tearful Marina Ginn confirmed Monday evening that a motion to modify the couple’s custody agreement had been filed by her with the children’s safety in mind.

“I’ve been hearing that witnesses are being threatened,” she said. “And I would like to ask anyone with information that might help our case to come forward.”