Podcast Summary: New Books Network – Brian Baker, "The Road" (Akashic Books, 2025)

Host: Rebecca Buchanan
Guest: Brian Baker
Topic: "The Road" – A Photographic Collection by Brian Baker
Date Released: October 29, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Rebecca Buchanan interviews Brian Baker—best known as guitarist for pivotal punk and alternative bands like Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, and Bad Religion—about his debut photography collection, The Road (Akashic Books, 2025). The discussion delves into the origins of the book, its collaborative process, the narrative of his visual journey as a touring musician, and the philosophy behind shooting exclusively with a cell phone camera. The chat moves fluidly between Baker’s experiences on tour, his approach to photography, stories behind some of his favorite images, and even his love for baseball and upcoming musical projects.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brian Baker’s Background & the Genesis of The Road

• Baker is a lifelong, semi-professional musician: key associations include Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, and Bad Religion (02:50).
• The Road is composed entirely of cell phone photos, dating back to the debut iPhone (2007) (03:03).
• “I don't think you need a degree from Vanderbilt to figure out these are photographs that I have taken along the way...all photographs taken with a cell phone camera.” – Baker (03:19)

2. Photography as Communication, Not Fine Art

• Baker describes his images as originally utilitarian: spontaneous photos shared in response to texts like “Where are you?” or to show things like sandwiches or guitar stores (04:06).
• “A lot of these images were in response to a text question...it really was more of a communication tool.” – Baker (04:15)

3. The Making of the Book & Importance of Collaboration

• The project crystallized thanks to encouragement from his wife and the direct involvement of Jennifer Sakai—a professional photographer and curator who created a mock-up using Baker’s Instagram images (04:50–06:40).
• Sakai shaped the book into “a conversation and a narrative that goes from page one to the last page” (06:18).
• Longtime friend Johnny Temple at Akashic Books took on publishing after seeing the mockup (06:55).
• “Outside help, you know?” – Baker sums up the collaborative spirit (07:02).

4. On the Absence of Narrative and Captions

• The Road contains only photos and a short introductory blurb; there are no dates, captions, or stories accompanying images (07:15–07:40).
• Baker intentionally leaves out description: “I thought it would influence the way you look at the picture because the pictures themselves, to me, was the most interesting part, not where they came from.” (07:55)
• He draws a parallel to music, where songs’ meanings are left open to interpretation (08:25).

5. The Selection Process & Timeline of the Photos

• Jennifer Sakai initially chose from Baker's extensive archive; the final selection was mutually collaborative, with Baker swapping out around 20% (09:06–09:49).
• The photos span from 2007 (the dawn of the iPhone) to the present, with some recent images purposefully shot with the book in mind (11:02–12:50).
• “Now the photographs...I started to think more like, would this be a great photograph? Rather than this is just a random occurrence.” (11:53)

6. Memory, Meaning, and the Evolution of Baker’s Practice

• He recalls every photo’s context and location, considering each a “snapshot memory” (13:17).
• Shifted from purely casual photography to recognizing when an image needed to be captured, even circling back “so I would go back and get it again.” (14:13)

7. Images as Both Personal & Communal Communication

• Many photos carry secondary meaning for recipients—they were originally taken and sent to friends, family, and other bandmates (15:12–15:56).
• “There's just so many...I should actually go back there and annotate which ones were just simply come see this...Where are you? What would you like to do? Kind of photographs.” (15:34)

8. On Content and Notable Images

• The book avoids typical “rock n’ roll” imagery—no stage selfies or crowd shots; instead, it documents objects, places, and candid backstage moments (16:32–17:04).
• Baker recounts an image of Bad Religion’s bassist Jay Bentley holding Dusty Hill’s (ZZ Top) iconic fur-covered bass at Hellfest in France (18:00):
  • “...he’s holding this cartoonish, ridiculous, immediately identifiable, iconic rock and roll bass…why is Bad Religion playing with ZZ Top? I don’t know. Ask the French.” (18:10)

9. Photography of Art & Absence of Provenance

• The book includes photos of other artworks Baker found captivating, mostly snapped in galleries and museums across the world, often without knowing the artist or title due to his spontaneous framing (19:53–21:26).

10. Favorite and Personal Photographs

• Baker describes some standout images:
  • The “A-Team” piece is a photo of prison art from his own collection: “It's way outsider, incarcerated art that my wife collected...Are you coming home? Because it was like, it used to be in our living room…” (22:24)
  • The only image of his wife, Victoria, on a motorcycle: “That's my lovely wife, Victoria Reese...” (23:58)
• The collection leans subtly toward images of musical gear, especially rare guitars and amps (24:47).

11. The Role of Humor & Tone

• Baker’s wry sense of humor and self-deprecation pervades the episode (“If there's anything lazier than texting, it's not even texting. It's just sending a picture.” – 15:56).

12. Personal Tidbits: Baseball Fandom

• Baker is a die-hard Mets fan: “I'm a serious Mets fan, and, you know, as any Mets fan will tell you, it's been an interesting year...” (25:55)

13. Upcoming Events & Touring

• Book tour dates: Ridgewood, NJ (Nov 3), New York City (Nov 5), DC (Nov 9), Baltimore (Nov 10), Asbury Park, NJ (Nov 15) (29:09).
  • Each event is a conversation-format and includes Q&A and book signings (30:50).
• Bad Religion will tour Canada with The Offspring in winter 2026. Baker notes the irony of doing it in the coldest months: “Well, if we're going to be smart, let's do this in the dead of winter.” (31:24)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Defining the Photography Book:
  • “It's that I never thought about making a book or even the idea that one could be made…My wife would say to me occasionally…You take a good picture. Have you ever thought about…doing something with it? And I'm like, no, this isn't real. These are camera photos.” — Brian Baker (05:37)
• On Collaboration:
  • “But more importantly, in this book, she [Jennifer Sakai] created a conversation and a narrative that goes from page one to the last page. And that's what really struck me…” – (06:18)
• On Not Over-Explaining Art:
  • “I just didn't want to give that information. I thought it would influence the way you look at the picture because the pictures themselves...was the most interesting part, not where they came from.” — Brian Baker (07:55)
• On Letting Others Curate:
  • “Forcing my sort of neophyte misunderstanding of her vision was not the way to go with this. I really wanted to let her make this thing work.” — Brian Baker (09:49)
• On Unplanned Artistry:
  • “I don't want to make this sound like it's just, you know, just a guy bumbling through town, pointing his phone at anything…I would no longer walk by a photograph that needed to be taken.” — Brian Baker (13:17)
• On Humor in Life & Creativity:
  • “If there's anything lazier than texting, it's not even texting. It's just sending a picture. I can't even be bothered to text with predictive text. I can't do that. I'll just take a picture of a hamburger. Hungry. Me hungry now.” (15:56)
• On Book Tour & Fans:
  • “If you want to come and heckle or you have any questions that you want to throw at me in person, please come. These things have a Q and A element to them. And…if you want the book signed, I'm happy to do that at no extra charge. Or really, I'll pretty much sign anything. I mean, the idea that the signature has any value is still so shocking to me.” (30:45)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Brian’s musical background and iPhone photography origins: 02:50–03:49
• Cell phone shots as communication: 04:06–04:41
• How the project became a book (collaboration with Jennifer Sakai): 04:50–07:02
• Decision to exclude narratives/captions: 07:15–08:25
• Creative curation and photo selection process: 09:06–09:49
• Photos spanning nearly 15 years: 11:02–12:50
• Memories attached to photos & shift from casual to conscious capturing: 13:17–14:32
• Photos as collective memory and communication: 15:12–15:56
• Notable photos and art images: 16:32–21:26
• "A-Team" and other prison art images: 22:24–23:41
• About musical gear photos and the spirit of the book: 24:47–25:53
• Baseball fandom: 25:55–27:13
• Book events and music tour plans: 29:09–33:00

Tone and Language

• Friendly, candid, and humorous throughout.
• Baker’s self-effacing wit and the easy back-and-forth with Buchanan mimic the casual ethos of his photo collection—warm, accessible, and open-ended.

Final Thoughts

The Road offers a glimpse into a musician’s life not from the side of stardom, but as a fellow traveler, observer, and visual storyteller. Through spontaneous, everyday images—guitars, slices of life, moments on the road, beloved oddities—Brian Baker invites viewers to find their own meaning without preconceptions. As with his music, Baker believes the best meaning is the one a person brings for themselves.

For more details about tour dates, book purchases, or Brian’s ongoing projects, check Akashic Books or follow Brian Baker’s public channels.