Now in supergroup Fake Names, punk legend and Jersey guy Brian Baker to play Asbury Park
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
If anyone’s earned the right to rest on his laurels, it’s Brian Baker. But the Neptune guitarist seems to be busier than ever these days, and he’s certainly happy about it.
Baker, a Washington, D.C. native who co-founded early-’80s hardcore pioneers Minor Threat, has been part of political punk stalwarts Bad Religion for more than a quarter century.
He’s also one quarter of Beach Rats, the New Jersey hardcore supergroup alongside Bryan Kienlen and Pete Steinkopf of the Bouncing Souls, Ari Katz of Lifetime and Daniel "Dubs" Windas.
That’s not close to Baker’s whole resume – but let's talk about Fake Names. The post-punk supergroup features a collective of childhood friends: Michael Hampton of S.O.A. and Embrace, Dennis Lyxzén from The [International] Noise Conspiracy, Johnny Temple of Girls Against Boys and Soulside, and Brendan Canty from Fugazi and Rites of Spring.
Baker, who’s lived in Neptune for six years or so, said “there’s an element of time travel to this experience.”
“There’s four of us, we went to the same schools, or hung out at the same shows when we were 15, 16 and on," Baker said. "Now we’re certainly much older, but being able to just hang out with your friends from that era is priceless.”
More: Point Pleasant tattoo shop BlxckRose Ink shows TikTok, Instagram fame isn't just skin deep
More: TidalWave, Frantic City music festivals in Atlantic City return in summer 2023
Fake Names released a self-titled LP in 2020 and a self-titled EP in 2021. Now, with the post-lockdown music scene settling into a new normal, the group is turning heads with its second full-length, “Expendables,” released in March via Epitaph.
The cross-country tour in support of “Expendables” kicks off Thursday, April 13, at the House of Independents in Asbury Park. It’s a fitting starting point as the album was recorded a block or so away at Lake House recording studio.
Given the band’s hard-edged street cred, perhaps the most striking thing about “Expendables” is how unabashedly catchy it is. “Go” alternately bops and soars, “Can’t Take It” is slinky and sharp. “Damage Done,” a super-charged hybrid of garage rock and power pop, is a remarkably welcome shock to the system.
In other words, this is the sound of four old friends having fun.
More: Jersey Shore filmmaker Kevin Smith among those who love Brick woodcut artist's 'babies'
“We write songs that we want to listen to and remind us of stuff that we liked when we were little,” Baker said. “You can hear The Damned on this record and you can hear The Ruts. There’s some Blondie-style stuff going on. I think it’s just the nature of that kind of music and the pop sensibility of it — it translates into what we do now.”
Go: Fake Names, 7 p.m. Thursday, April 13, House of Independents, 572 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park, $18; houseofindependents.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Brian Baker, supergroup Fake Names coming to Asbury Park
