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| Minus The Bear - 09.30.05 | Can you please introduce yourselves and tell us what you do/play in the band Minus The Bear?
My name is Matt Bayles and I make electronic noises in Minus the Bear
I have always wondered what the name Minus The Bear meant? Can you shine any light on that for us?
Basically it is an inside joke. But it not something really worth discussing.
The new record Menos El Oso just came out a little bit ago. How does it feel to finally have the album out?
It feels great. we turned the record in in late march, so it was a while before it hit the stores.
What were some of your favorite songs off the album and why?
Drilling because of the energy, the false endings and the climactic ending.
Who did you have produce this album?
We did it ourselves.
What kind of music was the band listening to when recording this album?
Four tet, The books, Prefuse 73, caribou, etc.
Did you find the writing process of this album any different from any of the other albums/EP’s that you had done in the past?
This main parts of the songs were written by erin, our drummer, and dave, our guitar player. They would hash out the basic riffs and arrangements and then the rest of the members would come in and add our parts and help in fine tuning the arrangements.
Minus The Bear definently has a sound that is unlike any other band, what were some influences when first starting the band?
When we were first starting I don’t think there were any specific influences or goals. It was really a combination of dave’s guitar playing and erin’s hip hop/dance influenced drumming. I felt like it could benefit from atmospheric stuff and so I threw some stuff on and it seemed to work.
On that note, I also want to ask you guys what the writing process is like when you are writing songs?
Mostly dave brings in riffs and then erin and he work on them. Sometimes we are all at practice and we are all involved from the beginning, but it usually is erin and dave at the beginning of the songwriting process. However we were changing songs all the way up to the mixing process on this record.
So as most of the fans of Minus The Bear know, the band formed after the break up of Botch. How did you go about starting Minus the Bear afterwards or was it always a type of band you wanted to try to start?
Minus the Bear and Botch were both going simultaneously for about 1 year. It was not expected to evolve into what it has become. We just wrote a few songs and got them released and then went out on a tour. That went well so we went out on another tour. Then we wrote more songs and the first full length was out. It was not the initial goal for us to be as full time as we have become.
Hows it been tour with the your former Botch band members?
Well the snakes are great friends of ours and we always have a ton of fun hanging out with them. Alcohol flows freely and we are always having a great time.
What has your headlining tour been like so far?
Awesome. 90% of the shows have been sold out and kids are really responding to the old and new material. I think it is even going better that we would have thought.
Do you have any crazy tour or show stories from this tour or any in the past?
Hmmm, nothing too insane that I can recall. Although we had some fans from DC take a cab to our hotel 25 miles away and knock on doors looking for us. What sucked is the next morning we got kicked out of the hotel because of what they did. Now we have done plenty of things to get kicked out of hotels, but we definitely did not deserve this one.
I got to catch the show in Kansas city a few week back and was blown away by how tight you guys are on stage and was wondering what kind of equipment set up does everyone in the band have?
Well dave and jake use fender twin amplifiers. Dave has a bunch of pedals, four line 6 delay pedals, and a whammy pedal among other things. I have a few pedals plus I use Reason with my laptop and a korg kaoss pad. Cory uses a gk800 with a 6X10 cab and erin has a vintage slingerland drumkit.
On the new record, you seem to mention Europe a lot, it seems to be laced through out the entire record, not to mention the title itself. What the significance here.
We went to Europe twice last year and each time we got to Spain it was amazing. So I would say that lyrically for jake, our Spanish experiences influenced the lyrics.
When listening to any song you have to sit and wonder if these songs are autobiographical because they are so detailed and amazing written. So, are these songs from nights out with friends and out drinking at the bar?
Not specifically. I think they are combinations of experiences and events, and some fictional elements as well.
What were some of your musical influences growing up and what really made you want to be in a band and write music?
Well for me I have always had music in my life, but being a musician came later for me than the others. I love the process of coming up with interesting ways to texture our songs. I have so many sounds at my disposal that it is somewhat daunting to know when I have found the right sound. But that challenge is part of the fun as well.
If you guys were stranded on a island and could only take 4 albums to listen to, which ones would you bring?
Whoa, that is hard. One would probably be Bohren and Der Club of Gore “Sunset Mission”, The Beatles “Abbey Road”, The Doves “Lost Souls” and Led Zeppelin “Physical Graffiti”
What are some of your favorite bands that are out there right now, and are there any that you think we should all be listening to?
i don’t have any specific suggestions, my only advice is kids should explore as much as possible because there is so much creative stuff out there. Much more than is covered by rolling stone and spin.
What is your favorite alcoholic beverage?
Vodka Tonic
Well, that’s about all the questions that I have for you guys, is there anything else you would like to say to all the fans and readers out there in absolutepunk.net land?
Nope, thanks for your time. |
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Displaying posts 1 - 8 of 8. |
12:00 PM on 09/30/05 | Vodka Tonic?!
Oh alright. | | |
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12:51 PM on 09/30/05 | Haha, that was so dull.
Quote: Who did you have produce this album?
We did it ourselves. |
That's so awesome.
And we got owned at the end. | | |
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01:28 PM on 09/30/05 | great album and very underrated band they deserve so much more | | |
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05:21 PM on 09/30/05 | Well, that’s about all the questions that I have for you guys, is there anything else you would like to say to all the fans and readers out there in absolutepunk.net land?
Nope, thanks for your time.
DICK
haha | | |
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12:44 AM on 10/01/05 | over and out (of control) | | |
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12:53 AM on 10/01/05 | um...its Doves ......and Minus the Bear own all........thats it | | |
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12:56 AM on 10/01/05 | over and out (of control) Originally Posted by grnweenieag um...its Doves ......and Minus the Bear own all........thats it |
you rule | | |
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