Brian Baker (musician)
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Brian Baker was one of the founding members of the seminal hardcore punk rock band Minor Threat. He first played bass, but in 1982 moved to guitar when Steve Hansgen joined the band, then back to bass after Hansgen's departure. He later formed Dag Nasty in 1985, had stints in: Doggy Style, The Meatmen (with fellow Minor Threat member Lyle Preslar), Government Issue, and Junkyard (a hard rock band). In 1994, he was offered a touring spot with R.E.M. but declined, accepting instead an offer to replace Brett Gurewitz as a guitarist in Bad Religion, alongside guitarist Greg Hetson. He continues to play in Bad Religion.
After Minor Threat broke up, Baker & Preslar were recruited by Glenn Danzig to form the first version of the band Samhain. He tried a more pop direction influenced by U2, with a band called 400, before joining The Meatmen.
Brian also appeared on Canadian Punk band Penelope's second album (Face au silence du monde). Drummer Eric Roberge said about Baker's appearance that “It happened as more of an accident. I was asking Dave if he knew of anybody who had any pot and he phoned up Brian. He didn’t have any pot but he ended up coming down the next day and played guitar on three songs in about two hours." (Montreal Mirror).
[edit] Trivia
As a 12 year-old living in Michigan, Brian had once actually jammed on stage with guitar legend Carlos Santana.
He was a founding member of the band Samhain and toured with the punk rock cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes in 2005.
In early 2000, Brian got a phone call from Axl Rose inviting him to join the reincarnated Guns N' Roses. Brian is a personal friend of both Izzy Stradlin and Gilby Clarke, both former Guns N' Roses guitarists. Brian is a big fan of the band's debut album, Appetite for Destruction. Brian declined the offer, saying that he would stay in Bad Religion no matter how much money he was offered.
[edit] Sources
- American Hardcore: A Tribal History by Steven Blush 336 pages Feral House
- MisfitsCentral.com
- The Bad Religion Page
- Bad Religion Tribute All About Bad Religion
| Bad Religion |
| Greg Graffin | Brett Gurewitz | Jay Bentley | Greg Hetson | Brian Baker | Brooks Wackerman |
| Former members: Jay Ziskrout | Pete Finestone | Bobby Schayer |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Bad Religion | Public Service | How Could Hell Be Any Worse? | Into the Unknown | Back to the Known | Suffer | No Control | Against the Grain | Generator | Recipe for Hate | Stranger Than Fiction | The Gray Race | No Substance | The New America | The Process of Belief | The Empire Strikes First | (Fourteenth Studio Album) Live and compilation albums: '80-'85 | All Ages | Tested | Punk Rock Songs |
