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Ah, Minus the Bear, that pinnacle of indie rock prowess. For nearly a decade now, this cornerstone independent act has put out record after record of meticulously-composed, self-described “classic rock” to great effect. These days, it seems like anyone with even the slightest interest in contemporary music knows who Minus the Bear is. Of course, with a sound as unique, yet appealing as theirs, it’s difficult not to pick up on this Seattle-based quintet In short, Minus the Bear have had the sort of success that most independent musicians can dream of.

However, over the course of the past year, the winds of change have started to blow in Minus the Bear’s direction. With indie rock on the verge of complete classificatory breakdown, and four similarly composed records behind them, this collective of 30-year-old musicians have recently found themselves questioning their artistic paths.

Two weeks ago, we spoke at length with bassist Cory Murchy just prior to Minus the Bear’s show with Phantogram in Clifton Park, New York. While the band’s set was particularly fantastic, Cory appeared to be somewhat less than enthusiastic about it at certain points during our interview. Although we wouldn’t go far enough to say that Cory was experiencing a case of full-blown burnout, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Minus the Bear will be making even more changes, musically and otherwise, in the coming years. Read on for the full text of the interview with Minus the Bear, as well as a photo gallery of their show in Clifton Park.

Inyourspeakers: By this point, most everyone knows that all of you guys come from different bands, in Minus the Bear. Dave’s from Botch, Aaron worked with Kill Sadie, Jake Hudson was in Sharks Keep Moving. In reading some of the interviews you guys sit before, you guys definitely recognize that. How did Minus the Bear’s sound come together, as a result of this?

MTB: I think it was just all of us coming together and kind of having played in those kinds of bands before, and kind of seeking a different outlet, musically speaking. There was never a conversation, as far as what the sound was going to be like. It just kind of happened the way it did.

IYS: Did any of you go to school for music?

MTB: No, I think we all had a passion for playing music, and I think that with this, we have all decided to put our all into it. So, it’s turned into it, which is what we’ve always wanted.

IYS: How does everyone in your band go about contributing their ideas?

MTB: Well, everyone kind of brings something different to the table. Dave and Aaron are always coming up with the riffs, and we’ll pack them in and sprinkle our own creative flavors on top.

IYS: Your older albums are very precise, and critical in their nature. But it seems like the ambient component of your music has kind of faded in recent years. Is this the result of Matt’s departure, or were you guys trying to head in a different direction?

MTB: I think that parts of it have to do with Matt’s departure. Also, I think we just tend to play and write music that we think we’re going to receive a positive live response to.

IYS: Matt’s departure allegedly resulted a pretty big transition, essentially changing the dynamic of Minus the Bear. In what ways has this shift become most obvious to you?

MTB: Alex and Matt are two very different people. For instance, Alex has been very instrumental in working up lyrics. He’s got a different ear than Matt, by far, as well.

It’s cool though; they both ended up working well for the band when they were a part of Minus the Bear. We’ve been lucky that we haven’t had many transitions with people because things would likely be totally different otherwise.

IYS: That makes sense. What was the production process like surrounding 2008’s Acoustics? What was it like gravitating from what you guys normally play to something more folksy and unplugged?

MTB: We just buckled down and did what we usually do, sans the gadgets and stuff. Thankfully, at the end of they day, our work translated into good songs, with or without the beeps and the boops in between.

IYS: So, you guys were just like, “Hey, let’s do something completely out of the ordinary and put out an acoustic record”?

MTB: Yeah. It was something that we had been asked to do several times before, to just come into a radio station, a different setting and play acoustic. Even with those opportunities, we’d never really learned how to play acoustic stuff [as a band], so when we finally go around to experimenting, we decided to put the record out.

IYS: So, I guess the next question I should ask for this is, are you guys going to do another acoustic record?

MTB: Yeah, possibly. Right now, we’re more concentrated getting the new album out, since we recorded it last year.

IYS: I was a little surprised when I was doing my research for this interview to find that that you guys recorded the new record lat year, but still hadn’t relesed it. Did you just not have a label to go to after finishing up?

MTB: Well, we wanted to record a record, because we had the music to do, and decided to find a label later, because that wasn’t really what was driving the recording process.

IYS: So, before Acoustics, Minus the Bear did a remixes album. Where did that idea come out of?

MTB: We had always wanted to have our songs remixes, and we felt that Menos el Oso lent itself best to being manipulated in a different format. We didn’t really have much of a say in what the artist gave back to us, we kind of just gave tracks out and said, “Go for it”.

IYS: Which mix is your favorite?

MTB: I love the POS mix. There’s a J. Clark mix that I really like too.

IYS: So, you’ve done a remix album, folk record, plenty of the math rock-esque stuff you guys are known for; what’s next? A black metal piece, per chance?

MTB: Maybe a children’s album. We’re all getting old enough, friends are starting to have kids. I’m sure there’s some money in it.

IYS: Well, you guys like to do different styles of music, different production processes. What’s the creative process like for you guys? Where does it come from?

MTB: Well, I think a lot of times, it comes from Dave watching football on the television while playing acoustic guitar. I feel that there’s a lot channeled into his guitar playing when he does that.

IYS: What about you?

MTF: For me, I try to fill in where it makes sense, because there’s a lot of stuff going on a lot of the time. Creativity can come from anywhere; it can come from something as seemingly mundane as walking down the street, so I’m kind of hard-pressed to say that there’s one driving force.

IYS: How does perfectionism play into Minus The Bear?

MTB: Everyone in the band is pretty focused on making something they’re happy with at the end of the day, at the end of the year, and for the rest of their life. A lot of care is put into our music, which phrases go where, and which parts are played at what times. It’s hard sometimes because of how easy it is to overdo things if you get too cerebral with it, if that makes sense. That’s always a real tight rope.

IYS: From what I’ve seen and heard, you guys regularly spend hours upon hours on just single tracks. Can you give me an average idea of how much time goes into the refining process?

MTB: I think, especially with this album, it was refined all the way up until yesterday. We’ve been refining and tweaking things…making sure that everything is in the right place, all the way down to time lengths between songs. For our records, there’s a reason why everything is where it is. Music made with care.

IYS: Onto the new record. The two new tracks from the seven inch Minus the Bear just put out sound larger, and if it’s possible, tighter than anything the band has done before. What are your thoughts on it?

MTB: Well, it’s the first record that we used a producer that wasn’t part of a band or anything. It was definitely beneficial in just being able to have another set of ears listening from a different perspective. The sound is also more of a product of us playing live together for so much over the years. We’ve been together for nine years now, playing and living together.

IYS: So, do you guys all live together?

MTB: No, no, we don’t live together. We are on the road six months out of the year, though. Up until a couple of tours ago, we toured in a [passenger] van. It can be trying, and we’ve all had our moments, but at the end of the day, it’s what we do, and we appreciate that people appreciate what we do. It’s a great honor.

IYS: How did you, as a band, interact with the producer that you used? What was his role in putting things together?

MTB: Well, his role involved compiling everything we had to offer, and putting our sounds together in the right places. This is the first record that we used of live (studio) tracks, so that was exciting too.

IYS: Can you tell us a little bit more about the upcoming album? Was there a theme with this one?

MTB: Overall, it’s a very city-themed record; we took a lot of influence from living in the city. City living isn’t for everybody, but throughout our tours, we’ve spent vast amounts of time in and around them; our music on this new record really reflects it.

IYS: Why didn’t Minus the Bear choose to go with Suicide Squeeze again?

MTB: They’ve done all of our other stuff and they are a great label, but our contract is up, and we just want to check out other possibilities.

IYS: Feel free to think about this one for a little bit: I’ve always found your music to be perfect for those seemingly endless road trips, something to throw on for the journey. In your opinion, what sort of situation does Minus The Bear make music for?

MTB: I think that listening to us in the car, while on some sort of trip, is a perfect. I know we’ve all had those albums and bands that we’ve latched onto, that we can appreciate for helping us get through those long hours on the road. It’s a pretty cool thing when people are able to take that away, since there are a lot of trips written into our albums –both lyrically and musically.

I would have to think that some of our experiences on the road, you know, change the way we play and think about things, because that’s what’s passing by us. As I said earlier, we do spend hours upon hours on the road for at least six months of every year. I can understand why Minus the Bear’s music would lend itself to the road.

Photography by Derek Duoba