This week’s guest is Chris Barker, who you probably know better as “Chris No. 2.” The longtime Anti Flag bassist has been an integral member of the iconic and important Pittsburgh punk band since late 1998. Over that span, he’s played on some influential albums, performed all over the planet, and helped spread activist ethos to generations of listeners throughout the world. With a new album on the way (Lies They Tell Our Children—out January 6!), The General Strike recently being reissued on Side One Dummy, and a bunch of shows on the horizon, Chris No. 2 has a lot of modern happenings to discuss.
A few days before he headed to The Fest, he spoke with My First Band host Tyler Maas about those two albums, the band’s upcoming ANTIfest show in Chicago, and their tour in Quebec before delving into his personal musical past. Over the course of the conversation, No. 2 talked about finding a drum set in the garbage and starting a “band” called Land in grade school, how seeing Green Day forever changed his musical outlook, his decision to dive headlong into playing both music and ice hockey as a teenager, his tenure in O.B.S., getting an opportunity to join Anti Flag, and some of his most significant artistic experiences from the past quarter century on and off stage.
My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering, Lakefront Brewery, and Music Go Round Greenfield. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth (“The Junction Street Eight Tigers”) and Anti Flag featuring Stacey Dee of Bad Cop/Bad Cop (“NVREVER”).