Legendary hardcore band MINOR THREAT will never play shows again, says bassist Brian Baker .
MINOR THREAT released two EPs and the studio album "Out Of Step" before breaking up in the mid-'80s. Singer Ian MacKaye formed FUGAZI in 1987 and in recent years started a new band with his wife and bandmate in THE EVENS , Amy Farina , and FUGAZI bassist Joe Lally . Baker joined fellow punk legends BAD RELIGION in 1994. Guitarist Lyle Preslar was a member of THE MEATMEN in the 1980s and played briefly with SAMHAIN before eventually becoming a lawyer.
Asked in a new interview with Spain's GoetiaMedia.com if there is any possibility of MINOR THREAT becoming active again, Baker said (hear audio below): "We will never play shows again. It was a product of its time. It's so much better to leave it alone than ruin it by being a bunch of old guys playing songs that we wrote when we were teenagers.
"I don't wanna go backwards; I like to continue creating," he explained A"nd, to me, just doing a re-enactment of MINOR THREAT would not be satisfying and, I think, would be more harmful than helpful.
"Everyone likes the idea of seeing MINOR THREAT play, but I think if they actually saw it, they wouldn't like it anymore."
Back in November 2018, the four members of MINOR THREAT recreated the cover photograph of their final record, 1985's "Salad Days" EP. A new picture of the quartet sitting on the front porch of Dischord house in south Arlington, Virginia was posted on Baker 's Instagram page and was shared by Dischord on Facebook .
Naturally, fans on Facebook began buzzing about what the photo could mean, with many hoping the band will perform again. But Baker put an end to the speculation, telling WTOP in an e-mail: "This is a non-story. Jeff insists that we always take a porch shot for posterity when the four of us are at Dischord . This is just the first one we've had taken since I've had an Instagram account."
Baker 's explanation was corroborated by a caption that accompanied the picture on the Dischord Facebook page. " MINOR THREAT tries to get together every few years to catch up with each other," the caption read.
Baker is currently promoting the recently released self-titled debut album from FAKE NAMES , the punk rock supergroup also featuring Michael Hampton (S.O.A., EMBRACE, ONE LAST WISH), Dennis Lyxzén (REFUSED, INTERNATIONAL NOISE CONSPIRACY, INVSN) and Johnny Temple (GIRLS AGAINST BOYS, SOULSIDE).
