Brian Baker (musician)

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,[1] and as a guitarist in Bad Religion since 1994.[2] 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,[3] 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),[4] Government Issue,[5] and Junkyard (a hard rock band).[6]

Brian Baker
Baker performing with Bad Religion live in Los Angeles, California in 2019
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, Beach Rats, Fake Names

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.[7] He also experimented with a more pop direction influenced by U2, with a band called 400.[8] 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).[9] He has been a frequent guest guitarist on many songs and albums by artists as varied as Blood Bats, Tesco Vee, Ric Ocasek, Teenage Time Killers, Mind Over Four, Dangerous Toys, Pollen Art, Unwritten Law, Travis Cut, Lickity Split, Hot Water Music, Down By Law, Bash & Pop, Middle Aged Brigade, Careless, and many others.

In 2020, The band Fake Names, composed of Baker, Swedish vocalist Dennis Lyxzén (Refused, International noise conspiracy, INVSN), guitarist Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace, One Last Wish) and bassist Johnny Temple (Girls Against Boys, Soulside), released its first album (self-titled).