Pay Attention to the Music
by Nicholas James Von Pless, http://news.bbc.co.uk, November 29, 2005
Once upon a time, ex-members of bands such as Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving, formed a new band (well, a few bands, really, but we’re only talking about one of them this week). Let’s not forget, either, that this band also included Blood Brother and Isis producer Matt Bayles.
The band was dubbed “Minus the Bear,” and they debuted with an amazing little EP, entitled This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic, and filled with incredible energy, impressive guitar tapping, and songs about drinking, smoking and ladies. They were a great party band, but not a band you’d hear at the frat house kegger. They had ridiculously catchy songs, but weren’t on MTV. They were extremely technical, but they weren’t a prog or math band. They were just kind of a perfect band; not corrupted, and not conformed to anything anybody was used to.
With two more EP’s and a full length, they continued to deliver catchy tunes with hilarious song titles, and even accrued international fandom. However, over the last two years, they honed their craft and stepped into a new chapter. 
On August 23, they released Menos El Oso, an 11-song smooth-sailing record that breaks away from past releases. Instead of a steady diet of guitar taps, guitarist Dave Knudson has changed over to a constant amount of sampling, which brings a more than interesting (I dare say groovy) character to the music. The lyrics are more thematic, the song titles are shorter, and the production is, simply, tight. Some songs, like “El Torrente” or “This Ain’t A Surfin’ Movie,” are almost alien to any accustomed listener, but Minus The Bear still remains.
Also remarkable about the new record is the intricate, yet not overproduced production. Bayles produced an album that is so real that you can even hear the strings being plucked (if you’re wearing some nice headphones), and finds just the perfect combination of levels to come just short of overproduction.
Recently, I was able to engage in a Q & A with Minus the Bear’s guitarist, Dave Knudson. They are about to hit the road in support of the new record, alongside Thunderbirds Are Now!, Heather Duby (who does guest vocals on Menos El Oso), These Arms are Snakes and Criteria.
1. Your old bands would suggest that you’d all be playing a totally different style of music. How did MTB come to agree on a style that would mix not only styles, but decades (i.e. 80s keyboard riffs, 90s dance beats, 00s sampling)?
We all listen to different kinds of music so MTB is really a mash up of our favorite elements. I tend to bring the rock and more recently the bizarre sampling, while Erin (Tate, drums) brings the big fat hip-hop beats, Matt the synth-y atmosphere, Cory (Murchy, bass) brings the rasta flair, and Jake (Snyder, vocals, guitar), well he’s a laid back wordsmith who polishes the turds with a narrative.
2. Minus The Bear has been known as an extremely technical band, but with party sensibility – songs about girls, drinking, smoking, and having sex. However, on Menos el Oso, we see more thematic songs with some serious issues. What brought on this change? Is it permanent?
We got tired of being tagged, “the band with the absurdly funny song titles.” It was all people latched on to and the music was overshadowed. It turned some people off and came up in every single review/article/show preview…And really how much does a band’s song titles want to make you go see them live?
3. Along with different lyrics, there is also a change in the guitar parts. From This Is What I Know… to Highly Refined Pirates, you engaged in an abundant amount of tapping. They Make Beer Commercials Like This had some tapping, but started mixing in some sampling. On the newest album, the tapping is almost absent from the recording, and now all we hear is sampling. Is Minus the Bear re-inventing itself all together?
I’d like to think that we’re constantly re-inventing and updating our sound. As musicians, we would get tired writing the same songs and the same record release after release. It’s a cliché to say it, but it certainly is true. Over the last few years I’ve been really influenced by artists like the Books, Four Tet, and Prefuse 73. Their use of sampled instruments cut up and re-arranged into songs inspired me to sample my own riffs, loop ‘em faster, slower, backwards, whatever, and collage them into “riffs” for the songs. It was an interesting process and was really rewarding. I think subconsciously I was looking for another way to play my instrument and progress the sound of the band without relying on tapping.
4. The new album has some amazing songs, such as “The Fix”, “Drilling”, “The Game Needed Me”, and…well, I like the whole album. What was the songwriting process on this record, and how long did it take?
Well the record was written over the course of about 18 months, but there were long tours and stretches of time in there where we weren’t working on it. The usual songwriting process starts with Erin and myself jamming on riffs that I’ve either been working on, or just going down to the space and seeing what happens. The spur of the moment vibe worked a lot on this record. We’d just go down to the space, hang out, and start playing. Sometimes it was shit, and other times it was great. Normally after the skeleton of the song is worked out the other guys help refine the arrangement and add their own flair to the mix.
5. MTB has worked out a seemingly good mix between recording and touring. What do you hope to accomplish with this fall’s tour, and what are some your future plans in 2006?
We’re hoping to expand our fan base on the upcoming tour. It seems like a lot more people are aware of the band now than even a year ago, so we just want to go out and put on a good show for people. Next year will be a lot more touring; Japan, Europe, and more U.S. dates of course. We’ll be writing constantly when not on the road. It’s what we love to do so why stop, right?
6. What are some of the advantages you experience as a result of using a band member (Matt Bayles) as the man behind the boards?
Matt’s got a handle on what sounds good, how to make our recording budgets work best for us, and how to creatively use the recording environment to our benefit. It’s also nice to have an engineer and producer work for you for free! He’s great at throwing in arrangement ideas and making the songs gel more as “pop” tunes.
7. What are some other projects, if any, is anyone working on? Aren’t one of you a Seattle DJ?
Erin DJs with Steve from These Arms Are Snakes as WP2K. He also plays with Heather Duby from time to time. Cory, Jake, and Erin also play in Onalaska every couple years.
www.minusthebear.com
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