It’s against the backdrop of jackboots and modern day brown shirts invading American cities that a new single, “Victorious,” arrives. The Zaq Baker track wasn’t born in a studio brainstorm or a marketing rollout. It came from exhaustion, urgency and the kind of sleepless nights where images start assembling themselves into something louder than words. Each verse is a blunt, unflinching call-out aimed at the cowardice of power when it hides behind badges, masks and numbers. But the song doesn’t live in anger alone.
At its core, “Victorious” is about community… the kind that shows up when things fall apart. The choruses lean into solidarity, mutual aid, shared grief and collective strength, celebrating the way ordinary people become extraordinary when they protect one another. It’s a song forged in crisis, but ultimately it’s about togetherness, resilience and the stubborn refusal to let fear have the last word.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/