The Spears prep guest-filled LP (stream "Born Bad" ft. Black Flag's Greg Ginn)

Punk vet Chris Barrows is probably best known for fronting the influential Tampa band The Pink Lincolns, who have been at it since the ’80s, but he also leads a handful of other projects, including The Spears (with Down By Law‘s Sam Williams and others) and the Chris Barrows Band. On June 29, Rad Girlfriend Records will reissue The Pink Lincolns’ 1994 LP Suck and Bloat, release a new Chris Barrows Band EP, and release The Spears’ new LP, Ghosts.

Ghosts features a handful of notable guests, including Greg Ginn (Black Flag), Rikk Agnew (Adolescents, Christian Death), Ben Weasel (Screeching Weasel), Joe Queer (The Queers), Duane Rollick, and “He Who Cannot Be Named.” We’re premiering the song “Born Bad” which features a guitar solo from Greg Ginn, and sounds straight out of the early ’80s SoCal melodic hardcore scene. Here’s what Sam Williams told us about Ginn’s involvement:

I think for this song I was going for an ‘X’ vibe. It just seemed like something a little different to try with the Spears. I had been in touch with Greg Ginn on Facebook, and used to have lots of musical conversations with him about various musicians such as Rory Gallagher, who we are both fans of. He was really cool and approachable, and I met him in person, briefly, when Down By Law played with him in LA. Anyway, he had no problem recording a solo for this song. At the same time he also recorded an intro for me for a doom metal project I did. But that has not yet been released. The Born Bad solo ended up being a dual lead with both Ginn and I, as I added some later in the section.

Listen: