Bring Me the Humility | Editorial

Brian Baker with Dag Nasty. (Andy photo)

By Andy


"It's really for the music -- it's fun. It's nice to have fun playing music. I recommend it to everybody." -- Brian Baker in a Dag Nasty interview for our blog in late May.

I can't think of a more appropriate quote to address what transpired on Instagram two days ago between Baker (touring with Bad Religion) and members of Bring Me the Horizon at the Resurrection Fest in Spain.

So, BMTH posted a sign with their band photo at the fest noting: "These people are not to be stopped ever. They may not have a pass. They can escort who they want where they want with or without a pass.”

Baker shared the sign on Instagram (we are not posting it or BMTH's photo because they aren't worthy of being in our blog) with the note: “I’m going to stop these people every time I see them today and tell them how much their band sucks.”

We'll get to the rest in a moment, but consider this:

Firstly, how cool is it to play at a massive event in Spain, or anywhere in the world for that matter? How rad is it to be in a band where people appreciate your music and then want to attend a gig -- big or small -- to see you in action? How great is it to be in a band at all and find a group of like-minded musicians who not only want to play together, but hang out as friends?

It is a privilege to possess any of this. Appreciate what you have. It can be taken away from you at any time. You are fucking lucky to be alive and doing what you love to do.

Life is hard, so BMTH, stop thinking you're above us all. You don't even come close, so zip it and do your job like the rest of us.

So, back to the volley of Instragam comments that had Baker trending yesterday. He's a good, honest man whose comments often drip with sarcasm and his guitaristry is first-rate. BMTH has tons of followers around the world, but their elitist attitude certainly doesn't shed good light on the band. Would their fans approve of the sign and their outlook?

And I'm sure there are many other bands out there pulling this same dross. You are not demigods.

Two members of BMTH retorted to Baker on Instagram:
"Hahah I can’t imagine being as old as you are and still acting like a 14 year old girl. Saw you at least 10 times and you didn’t bat an eye lid. You got bigger things to worry about nowadays anyway, like ya pension, or cold weather. Dickhead."

“Yeah we are not your enemy, winter is your enemy.”

Baker fired back:
"It seems you’ve missed the point entirely. The issue here is entitlement. My post was a comment on your collective delusion that working local crew at a thirty band festival should be required to memorize your faces to spare you the indignity of breaking stride on the way to your backstage oasis or even worse, the humiliation of carrying credentials. Your literal display of arrogance (and the hilariously unrecognized irony within it) was what I was sharing with my followers. I honestly don’t know if your music is bad or good – it’s not for old people! I meant that you suck as humans. Sorry for the confusion."

Well done, Baker. That is all.