Chad I Ginsburg

Chad I Ginsburg (born April 24, 1972), also credited as CiG, is an American musician. He is the guitarist, producer and, since the departure of Deron Miller, vocalist of West Chester-based rock band CKY, which he co-founded in 1998. Prior to CKY, Ginsburg performed in the rock band Rudy & Blitz, and in July 2015, released his debut solo album Rock n Roll Alibis.

Early life Ginsburg was born on April 24, 1972. He began playing guitar at the age of nine years, having previously played the drums. He won his first guitar from a radio station, and later bought an Ibanez guitar based on Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen's model, which he says was eventually broken by a friend and sold. Ruffhouse co-owner Joe Nicolo somewhat backed up Ginsburg's claims, alleging that while Ruffhouse intended to release the record, it was held up by executives at parent label Columbia, who instead wanted to release it through independent label Contract Recordings.

1998–2011: Mainstream recognition with CKY Ginsburg first met Deron Miller and Jess Margera when the duo began working on the first CKY album (under the band name Oil) at a local studio at which Ginsburg was working as an engineer at the time. Completing the band's lineup in 1998, he performed guitar and bass on Volume 1, and was also credited for the album's production, recording, engineering, and mixing. He subsequently led production on every CKY album.

During the filming of the music video for the song "Escape from Hellview", Ginsburg took part in a stunt which reportedly almost killed him. In the song, there is a lyric which reads "I'm on the loose with my neck in the noose/But hey, I enjoy the intense", which the band decided to match with a visual of Ginsburg hanging from a tree in a noose; however, the knot was not tied securely enough, and Ginsburg claims he "hung there for close to a minute" and "passed out ten seconds in".

After a show in St. Louis, Missouri in 2007, Ginsburg reportedly had an altercation with Miller in the tour bus, after which he claimed Miller had left the band. Miller responded with claims to the contrary, while Ginsburg proposed that he would continue CKY with drummer Jess Margera. He later produced the follow-up album Doom, Gloom, Heartache & Whiskey, released in 2008.

2011–2016: CKY tensions and solo album

In 2011, Ginsburg was reportedly the source of what Metal Insider writer Zach Shaw described as a "high point of tension", as Ginsburg disagreed with the idea of each band member recording separate solo albums, instead favoring the traditional option of producing another CKY album together. In response, Miller claimed that Ginsburg had officially left the band, and that he would be following suit, leaving the continued future of the group in doubt. This lineup (with Matt Deis in place of Janaitis) later reunited in 2015, following another split with Miller.

Bam Margera later enlisted Ginsburg for his musical project Fuckface Unstoppable, although in January 2013 it was announced that Ginsburg had officially left the band, claiming that he couldn't "witness or enable the downward spiral of [his] long time friends anymore". Further information regarding the departure later emerged, including a blog kept by the tour manager detailing "drug and alcohol fueled antics" which convinced Ginsburg to leave the group.

In June 2015, after many months teasing the news, Ginsburg announced that he would be releasing his debut solo album, Rock n Roll Alibis, on July 7, 2015. The album was written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by himself and released by his own label, Generation Overdone Records. He later went on tour to promote the album, enlisting the services of bassist Ronnie Elvis James and drummer Dennis Morehouse to complete the touring lineup of CiG. Ginsburg has since revealed that the next album will feature a full band lineup.

2016–present: Fronting the reformed CKY In May 2016, it was confirmed that Ginsburg would be continuing CKY with Margera and Deis, with Ginsburg also replacing original frontman Miller on lead vocals. The new three-piece lineup performed for the first time at the Random Hero Festival (in honor of deceased CKY crew member Ryan Dunn) in Cleveland, Ohio, in June, and later recorded a new studio album in July at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, California, in July. Ginsburg and Jess are currently working on a new CKY album, titled New Reason to Dream.

Equipment Speaking in an interview with Guitar.com in 2002, Ginsburg noted that his equipment consisted of Ibanez guitars, a Mesa Boogie head, a Prophecy preamp, a Cry Baby rack and "random floor stomp pedals".

Discography

Solo albums Rock n Roll Alibis (2015) CKY

Volume 1 (1999) Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild (2002) An Answer Can Be Found (2005) Carver City (2009) The Phoenix (2017) Too Precious to Kill (2018) New Reason to Dream (TBA)

Rudy & Blitz "Thanks Anyway" (1995) Reverb on the Click (2000) Philmont Ave. Demo Collection 1993–1995 (2011) Viking Skull Chapter Two (2007) – "The Hidden Flame" Fuckface Unstoppable "All My Friends Are Dead" (2013)