Brian Baker (musician)

Brian Baker
Baker performing with Bad Religion live in Englishtown, New Jersey at the 2007 Warped Tour.
Background information
Born	(1965-02-25) February 25, 1965
Genres	Hardcore punk, punk rock
Occupation(s)	Guitarist, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Dischord, Epitaph, Atlantic, Geffen
Associated acts	Minor Threat, Samhain, Dag Nasty, The Meatmen, Bad Religion, Government Issue, Junkyard
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Fender Precision Bass

Brian Baker (born February 25, 1965) is an American punk rock musician. He is best known as one of the founding members of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, and as a guitarist in Bad Religion since 1994. In Minor Threat, he originally played bass guitar before switching to guitar in 1982 when Steve Hansgen joined the band, and then moved back to bass after Hansgen's departure. He also founded Dag Nasty in 1985, was part of the original line-up of Samhain, and has had stints in Doggy Style, The Meatmen (with fellow Minor Threat member Lyle Preslar), Government Issue, and Junkyard (a hard rock band).

In 1994 Baker was offered a spot as a touring musician with R.E.M. but declined, opting instead to accept a position in Bad Religion as Brett Gurewitz's replacement.^[1] He has also experimented with a more pop direction influenced by U2, with a band called 400. Baker briefly toured with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes in 2005 and appeared on Canadian punk band Penelope's second album (Face au silence du monde).

Discography

Bad Religion

• The Gray Race (1996)
• Tested (1997)
• No Substance (1998)
• The New America (2000)
• The Process of Belief (2002)
• The Empire Strikes First (2004)
• New Maps of Hell (2007)
• The Dissent of Man (2010)
• True North (2013)

Doggy Style

• The Last Laugh (1986)

Dag Nasty

• Can I Say (1986)
• Wig Out at Denko's (1987)
• Field Day (1988)
• Four on the Floor (1992)
• Minority of One (2002)
• Cold Heart 7" (2016)

The Meatmen

• War of the Superbikes (1984)

Government Issue

• Make An Effort EP (1982)

Minor Threat

• Minor Threat EP (1981)
• In My Eyes EP (1981)
• Out of Step (1983)
• Salad Days EP (1985)

Junkyard

• Junkyard (1989)
• Sixes, Sevens & Nines (1991)
• Shut Up – We're Trying To Practice! (2000)
• Tried and True (2003)

Further reading

• Azerrad, Michael (2001). Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-78753-1. 
• Blush, Steven (2001). Petros, George, ed. American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House. ISBN 978-0-922915-71-2. 
• Cogan, Brian (2008). The Encyclopedia of Punk. Sterling. ISBN 978-1-4027-5960-4. 

References