Gregor Barnett

The Menzingers' Gregor Barnett announces debut solo album, shares title track

Pre-order Gregor Barnett’s album on clear with black smoke vinyl in our store.

Last year, The Menzingers released From Exile, a folky reworking of 2019’s Hello Exile, and now co-frontman Greg Barnett is exploring his folky side even further with his new solo project. He’s going by Gregor Barnett, and he just announced his debut album, Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave, due February 18 via Epitaph (clear with black smoke vinyl pre-order). The title track is out now, and it’s a warm, rustic, Petty/Springsteen-channelling song, fleshed out by jangly acoustic guitars and bluesy harmonica, and Greg’s voice sounds as welcoming as distinct as ever. “It’s a beautiful way to honor the people we’ve lost,” Greg says of the ritual of laying flowers down for the deceased, “but I think a lot of times we forget to appreciate our relationships with those people while they’re still here. I wanted this song to be a celebration of life and what we have before it’s gone.” Watch the Michael Parks Randa-directed video below.

The album was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a direct impact on the music, as Greg explains:

It was this perfect storm. The band couldn’t tour, I was going through a really difficult time, and I was stuck at home watching my family struggle with illness and death and hardship. The only thing I could do was write my way through it.

Writing’s always been my way of making sense of the world. I was writing because it felt good to write, but once I got three or four songs together, I began to realize that there was a story there and that I should be documenting how I felt as I made my way through this really challenging chapter.

The album was produced by Will Yip, who also drummed on it, and it features Greg’s Menzingers bandmates Eric Keen on bass and Joe Godino on additional percussion. Co-frontman Tom May took the photo for the album cover.

Greg is also taking these songs on tour in 2022, beginning with stops at Asbury Park’s House of Independents on February 24 (tickets) and NYC’s Mercury Lounge on February 25 (tickets). Both shows go on sale Friday (11/12) at 10 AM. All dates are listed below.

Pre-order Greg’s new album on clear with black smoke vinyl in our store. We’ve also got some classic Menzingers vinyl, including Chamberlain Waits and the Hold On, Dodge 7″.

Tracklist
1. Oh Lord, What Do You Know?
2. Driving Through the Night
3. The First Dead Body I Ever Saw
4. No Peace of Mind to Rest
5. Talking to Your Tombstone
6. Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave
7. Hurry Me Down to Hades
8. Anthem For the One I Love
9. At a Greyhound Station, Desperate
10. Guest In Your House

Gregor Barnett — 2022 Tour Dates
2/24 Asbury Park, NJ House of Independents
2/25 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
2/26 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s
2/27 Boston, MA Sonia
3/1 Toronto, ON Sneaky Dee’s
3/2 Cleveland, OH Mahall’s
3/4 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen
3/5 Detroit, MI The Sanctuary
3/8 Nashville, TN The End
3/9 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
3/10 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
3/11 Richmond, VA The Camel
3/12 Washington, DC Songbyrd