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'Minus the Bear' shows its prowess – on record, and on stage
By Chris Nixon
For the San Diego Union-Tribune
March 9, 2006
Erin Tate – drummer for the Seattle band Minus the Bear – sounds like a man trying to deal with a surreal scene unfolding around him. His band is in the middle of a video shoot for “Pachuca Sunrise,” the second single from the band's second full-length album “Menos El Oso.” And the experience is getting a little bizarre.
“All of our dads are here to be a part of the video,” said Tate. “They're all shooting marbles right now like a bunch of kids. It's pretty hilarious. I'm not a huge fan of seeing myself on camera, so it's a little awkward and weird (shooting a video). There are 15 people running around to make sure you look good in your video, and they don't even know your name.”
A lot more people are starting to recognize Tate's name, or at least his band's. On the heels of the beautifully crafted “Menos El Oso,” there's a buzz around Minus the Bear. And rightly so.
By recording most of the album at lead singer Jake Snider's home, Minus the Bear freed itself to experiment with sound and get just the record it was looking for: “We'd spend seven hours on a guitar tone to make sure it was the exact tone that we wanted.”
Tate and bandmates Cory Murchy (bass), Dave Knudson (guitar) and Snider (vocals, guitar) create layers of textured sounds without losing their rock punch. Balancing deft musicianship and sweet pop hooks, “Menos El Oso” ranks among last year's best rock albums. The band's Web site describes Minus the Bear's music as “poppy, driving, techy, indie rock,” summing it up nicely.
“El Torrente” – one of the standout tracks on the new album – stands as a moment of calm in the middle of a stormy record. Over a placid downtempo background, Snider tells the story of a seasoned detective troubled by a homicide crime scene. He's upset because the girl involved is the same age as his own daughter. The detective hopes he can shield his daughter from the evil things he's seen: Please let my girl go without knowing what I know / Don't let her read this day on my face when I come home.
“Jake has a way of telling a story with his lyrics,” said Tate. “He's an English major, so he tends to write lyrics with stories about fictional characters. 'El Torrente' is definitely a fictional story.”
“That song is obviously very different from a lot of the other songs on the record,” said Tate. “It's one of my favorites. It's funny: When the record came out, all we heard from everyone as far as fans was how they hated that song. They really ragged on it. We were just trying to do something different. It's a story about a detective, so people were like: 'What is this, CSI Seattle or something?' A lot of our friends think it's the best song on the record.”
Minus the Bear sold out its last show at the Casbah a few months back. As most local music fans know, sell out the Casbah and you're on your way to more listeners and bigger paydays. Despite the groundswell of interest in the band, Tate doesn't expect a rock star lifestyle.
“We don't even think about reaching a bigger audience: We just play,” he said. “Bigger audiences generate more revenue, which leads to an easier quality of life. So it's the kind of thing you want – in theory. But we're not dying to achieve stardom.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
