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In a particularly contentious election season, punk music might be more important than ever to raise awareness of issues and participation in the political process. Bad Religion has been pushing the punk machine forward for nearly 40 years, and guitarist Brian Baker said the band's tour with Against Me! and Dave Hause has been unofficially dubbed the "agitate the populace to participate" tour. (It hits In The Venue in Salt Lake City on Thursday.)
Baker spoke with The Tribune to discuss the importance of punk music in an election year and what it means to continually learn new lessons after four decades as a band.
This tour almost happened in 2013 when AM! was forced to drop out because of drummer issues; how has it been this time around?
It's been great actually. I'm really excited to see that we can go out here on this sort of "agitating the populace to participate" tour. Lots of people are showing up and taking the election seriously. It dovetails so nicely with Bad Religion's message, though I think Bad Religion may be considered to be a little more of a geopolitical entity than partisan United States politics, but nevertheless, a lot of the messages about just humanism definitely work both ways.
When you have a catalog of 300-plus songs, is it difficult to decide on a setlist?
One thing that I love about it is how many people get that our setlist is all topical. It's not chosen like, "Well everyone sure loves that 'Suffer' record, so we're going to play 10 'Suffer' songs." This whole list is hand-picked to speak to the current situation. It's nice to see people picking up on that it's not just another rock show.
How much of the political state is reflected in what you're playing?
One hundred percent, but we also play "Infected" because everyone loves it. That was part of this whole thing. We went through everything and we're playing some songs we've never played before because they're so perfectly suited for this kind of thing.
Is there a song for you right now that's absolutely essential for people to hear with this political climate?
"You Are the Government." Without question. For me, it speaks to the power of the individual, that we kind of forget that this is a representative government. The current idea that there's some sort of mysterious conspiracy source outside the country, some global banking entity that is attempting to usurp a pretender. The brass tacks of it is that if you participate in the process, you make a difference, too.
Listening to songs like "21st Century Digital Boy," it sounds like it could be written today and be even more topical than when it was released in 1990. Do these songs evolve for you personally to fit current circumstance?
Absolutely. That song is neat because it's been evolving for so long. When we made the transition from Valium to Vicodin, we knew that it was going to continue to address different societal changes.
As the band has withstood the test of time, do you feel any obligation or pressure to be standard bearers for punk or to pass on lessons to younger bands?
It was never the intention to be an example to anybody, but I think part of our relevance and why it continues to work the way it does is because of constantly questioning and reassessing global methodology. Bad Religion's songwriting has always been wider scale. … I think that if anything, Bad Religion encourages people to learn new things and in some cases, as the old joke goes, to learn new words.
You talked about encouraging people to learn new things, but do you feel the need to continually learn?
I think that is just part of the natural progress. We've been very, very fortunate to have a lot of great bands come on the road with us. Our touring is more of a communal caravan, it's not just a hierarchal separate thing. It speaks to having Against Me! out on this tour who are not only fantastic, but there are lessons and there is information in Against Me!'s music and public stances that I think everybody should get. And I am learning things myself in the process. … If you ever stop learning, then you're dead.
Touring alongside Against Me!, what kind of perspectives have you drawn from them? Obviously Laura Jane Grace has taken on an important role for transgender rights advocacy.
I had met Laura before we started this trip and I had never really had a chance to talk to her about anything other than how bad catering was at a festival in Sweden or whatever. Of course I'm learning a lot about her and her story. Bad Religion as a group and as individuals are 100 percent supportive of everything she's doing to shine the light on transgender issues and the transgender community. It's a valuable learning experience because it's certainly not one I've ever had before. I've never had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with somebody who has gone through this and is continually living it today. It's great.
How important is punk music in an election year?
I think that the general nature of punk, one of the cornerstones rather, is the questioning of authority and also the idea of change. Change is a big thing in punk rock, something better change. There's also a personal responsibility in punk, I think. There's a certain tribal element. Punk is not about nihilism. It's about participation and being active in your beliefs. It's very hand in glove. It's a match made in heaven, but for atheists.
Twitter: @BrennanJSmith —
Bad Religion
Bad Religion and Against Me! brings the Vox Populi Tour. Dave Hause opens.
When • Thursday, Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m.
Where • In The Venue, 219 S. 600 West, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $29.50-$35; Ticketfly