 Minus the Bear
Classic Rock for the Future
By Bob Ham
Photos by Melissa O’Hearn
Inside a nondescript building located near a busy on-ramp to Interstate 5 sits Red Room Recording, the studio where the members of Seattle’s Minus the Bear have surrounded themselves with a bevy of musical instruments and gear, as well as reminders of the outside world (a case of beer, a Nintendo Wii and a stack of DVDs). As they enter their sixth straight week of recording, the young band members are all looking a little worse for wear.
Besides drummer Erin Tate, who is rushing around giddily looking for a ride cymbal (“I’m gonna record a cymbal crash and then reverse it!”), the four other members of the group are showing the weariness of having put in countless 10-hour days in the hopes of finishing their upcoming album, Planet of Ice (to be released in late summer), by the mastering deadline.
Behind their tired eyes, there are visible glimmers of excitement. Coming off the most productive period of their six-year existence, the men of Minus the Bear have put countless sold-out shows throughout the world behind them, sold thousands of copies of their most successful album to date (2005’s Menos El Oso) and finally reached the most prized stage of life for working musicians: being able to give up their day jobs.
“None of us were working during the writing process [of Ice],” says bassist Cory Murchy. “This was our job; to write this record. It was great to not have to worry about making it to work after practice or trying to get to practice after work.” The result of all of their writing efforts is a magisterial and conceptual album, filled with the kind of intricate and joyful art rock that the band has developed into a science. Each track features layer upon layer of stark and gorgeous atmospherics (courtesy of keyboardist Alex Rose and the album’s engineer, Matt Bayles, who is also the band’s former keyboard player) and the calm, reasoned vocals of Jake Snider. Snider and Dave Knudson also showcase a confidence in their guitar playing that they had only hinted at before. Using their bank of effects pedals (one setup in the studio had at least 12 of them lined up on the floor), the two add a noticeable shimmer and chill that helps aurally evoke images of a freezing world.
Despite the band’s outward exhaustion, the atmosphere of the recording session is still very relaxed. Besides the creature comforts they have with them, working with Bayles, a friend, former band member and someone who has helped craft Minus the Bear’s sound from the outset, is having a positive effect on the proceedings. “It’s been so great to have this studio to work in,” says Knudson. “On the last record, we were doing all the stuff at Jake’s house and doing a lot of home recording. It was fine but it definitely wasn’t the studio environment and I’m sure his wife was probably getting annoyed with us, too.” Bayles’ guiding hand has also been helpful for Rose, the newest member of the group. The keyboardist claims that he’s “coming from a different place than [Bayles] in that we’ll already have these songs done and won’t have heard the vocals yet. And my tendency is to put a huge melody on something that sometimes has to make way for vocals. So, it’s been great working with Matt because of his experience with putting those parts on the band’s music.”
The noticeable shift on Planet of Ice is towards a more epic, progressive-rock feel, which the band cops to immediately. Ask them for specific influences of this sound, though, and both Murchy and Knudson look almost nervous at the idea of pigeonholing the record with a list of band names or album titles to reference, instead pointing out the two books on the Ice Age and glaciers that they’ve kept nearby for inspiration. When pressed, they note that a big starting point in their journey was the seminal Yes album, Close To the Edge. “We had all been listening to a lot of late ‘60s and early ‘70s progressive rock,” says Murchy. “But that record was something that really got all of us going and everything kind of branched off from there.” The group also references other ‘70s groups like King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Can.
According to Knudson, adding a new set of influences to the band’s heady musical mixture is par for the course when looking back on their previous work. “When we recorded Highly Refined Pirates, we were listening to Daft Punk and a lot of electronic and dance music,” he says. “On the last record [Menos El Oso], it was more cut-up, glitchy stuff like Four Tet and Prefuse 73.” The electronic vibe of Minus the Bear’s last full-length was furthered by the band’s decision to send out the songs to be remixed by a number of producers and artists, including Philadelphia-based rapper K-OS and fellow Northwesterners IQU and The Blood Brothers. “It was interesting to hear people’s interpretations of our stuff,” says Murchy. “Since we were part of the recording process, it was much different than just listening to [another band’s] album as a remix. Knowing all the parts that we played, I was able to pick out things and go, ‘Oh, wow, you used that?’“
Although they had commissioned remixes for singles in the past, the full-length treatment was, according to Knudson, something “we’ve always wanted to do. [Menos] seemed like an obvious candidate schedule-wise and because of the way the record was received.” Knudson also notes that the sound of some of the remixes might have influenced the way the band performs the songs on stage. “We’ve talked about it,“ he acknowledges. “For some of the songs, it would be impossible, but it’s an interesting challenge.”
Besides the opportunity to send it through the remix wringer, Menos El Oso garnered the band its best reviews, biggest sales, and all manner of opportunities, including the main support slot for The Appleseed Cast tour and playing a set at the always-talked-about Coachella Music and Arts Festival in 2006 — even though to get there, the band had to interrupt its East Coast tour for a day. “It took four plane rides,” recalls Rose, “from Philadelphia to Palm Springs. All to play at 3 or 4 in the afternoon in the 100+ degree heat.” On top of that, the band got up early the next day to make it to their date in Allentown, Pennsylvania the next night.
This is a far cry from the early days of the band, which Murchy describes as “harder than I thought they would be. It’s hard work getting a following. We had a bunch of really bad tours.” Not that the members of Minus the Bear hadn’t already paid their dues up to that point. Each member of the band had already put his time into bands both large (Knudson played in the popular hardcore band Botch) and small (other members have spent time in Kill Sadie, State Route 522, and Sharks Keep Moving). Being part of the close-knit Seattle music scene, the five original members of the band crossed paths often until deciding to join forces in 2001. Since that time, the group has grown in both stature and popularity. “It’s kind of the way it has been since day one,” says Murchy. “We’ve continued to grow and gain success. This is the first proper band that I have been in, so to watch the progression is pretty amazing.”
Though rising popularity has caused the band to phase out the rather goofy song titles (“Hey, Wanna Throw Up? Get Me Naked” and “Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!” are just two examples) and the in-joke laden lyrics (mostly about girls and drinking, according to Snider) that marked their early EPs and albums, they’ve retained both their sense of humor and ties to the local music scene. During the recording process, the band has spent a fair chunk of their free time touring their hometown’s bars and clubs and watching their friends play music.
 In fact, the band has become such an integral part of the Seattle music scene that not only has a local high school started up a fan club for Minus the Bear (a “mind-boggling” concept, says Murchy), but also Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard personally invited the group to participate in the Seattle edition of the DVD series Burn to Shine. Created by former Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, the series documents a particular city’s music scene, with bands handpicked by a “curator.” The musicians all gather together in a house that is either going to be burned down or demolished and play music inside, the only audience being the cameras. “It was an awesome event,” says Knudson. “Definitely one of the coolest things we’ve been a part of as a band. It couldn’t have come at a better time because we had just been spending all this time rehearsing and writing so we were able to play a whole new song.”
The members of Minus the Bear have also spent their rare off-hours collaborating with their fellow Seattle musicians. Rose and Tate play with singer/songwriter Heather Duby (who sings on several tracks from Menos El Oso) whereas Murchy and Snider have a side project called Onalaska. Knudson, on the other hand, tends to focus all of his energy on Minus the Bear material. “Whenever I’m writing stuff,” he says, “I’m writing stuff for the band. I generally feel like I would be less productive for this band if I had something else going on.”
If Minus the Bear’s steadily rising success continues after the release of Planet of Ice, the group could have some interesting decisions to make, as the album will fulfill the band’s contract with Suicide Squeeze, the Seattle label that has housed Minus the Bear since its inception. Whether the band decides to jump ship for another label or even a major is nothing they are thinking about at the moment. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” says Murchy. “It doesn’t mean we won’t work with [Suicide Squeeze] again.”
As of yet, according to Knudson, there has only been “pseudo-serious” interest from larger indie labels and majors, but he does admit, “No one’s been beating down our door. If they did, we’ll be incredibly picky and make sure it’s to our exact specifications. A major label seems like it kills a band and I don’t want that to happen.”
The band will also be the first to admit that its goals for the future are very short term, speaking mainly of getting the album done and prepping for the tour. There is the possibility of a live DVD that Knudson would like to see come to fruition. Mostly what the band is interested in, according to Rose, is “creating something that doesn’t fade away in a few years. Beyond any music business goals, that’s about it. We just want to create something that people still like in 20 or 30 years. We’re trying to create classic rock for the future.”
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