History
The band formed in 1997 in the Twin Cities area (Minneapolis/ St. Paul) of Minnesota. An early influence was D.C. band Swiz, who also inspired the font used on early releases. Reminiscent of bands like Fugazi and Drive Like Jehu in work ethic and spirit, they pushed away from the hardcore scene that rooted their sound to experiment with adding sonic presence, electronic beats and sampling, as well as multi-layered vocals.
Fugazi is an American punk rock band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1987. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty.
Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. Formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy and drummer Mark Trombino, both from Night Soil Man, after their two bands disbanded in 1990. Drive Like Jehu's music was characterized by passionate singing, unusual song structure, indirect melodic themes, intricate guitar playing, and calculated use of tension, resulting in a distinctive sound amongst other post-hardcore acts and impacted the evolution of hardcore punk into emo.
The band's name was taken from an incident at a party. Founding drummer Erin Tate was informed by his brother Knol (guitarist) that a girl named "Sadie tried to kill [him]." Tate responded that "someone should kill Sadie." The band's name is often broken into two words ("Kill Sadie") though it is just as common for the phrase to be combined into a single word.
They were eventually driven apart not only by moving from Minneapolis to Seattle, but mainly by directions they wanted to take the band, as is evident in the member's later projects.
Minneapolis is the county seat of Hennepin County and the larger of the Twin Cities, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. As of 2017, Minneapolis is the largest city in the state of Minnesota and 45th-largest in the United States, with an estimated population of 422,331. The Twin Cities metropolitan area consists of Minneapolis, its neighbor Saint Paul, and suburbs which altogether contain about 3.6 million people, and is the third-largest economic center in the Midwest.
Seattle is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With an estimated 730,000 residents as of 2018, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. According to U.S. Census data released in 2018, the Seattle metropolitan area’s population stands at 3.87 million, and ranks as the 15th largest in the United States. In July 2013, it was the fastest-growing major city in the United States and remained in the Top 5 in May 2015 with an annual growth rate of 2.1%. In July 2016, Seattle was again the fastest-growing major U.S. city, with a 3.1% annual growth rate. Seattle is the northernmost large city in the United States.
Highly Refined Pirates is Minus the Bear's debut full-length album, released on November 12, 2002, by Suicide Squeeze Records.
F-Minus was a hardcore punk band formed in 1995 in Huntington Beach, California, started by Jen Johnson and Brad Logan. F-Minus was known for their dueling male and female vocals in songs that were sometimes as short as 12 seconds. Before breaking up in 2004, their last album was recorded by Steve Albini. Throughout their career, they covered such bands as Antidote, Black Randy and the Metro Squad, 7 Seconds, Negative Approach, and Agnostic Front. Brad Logan currently runs his own record label Blacknoise, and is also member of the New York band Leftöver Crack. Jen Johnson currently is the designer and owner of clothing label E.C. Star, and also is a member of the California band Ammunition Affair.
These Arms Are Snakes was an American post-hardcore band that formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. Before disbanding in 2009, they released three studio albums: Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home (2004), Easter (2006) and Tail Swallower and Dove (2008). Former members of These Arms Are Snakes currently play in Russian Circles, Narrows, Minus the Bear, Crypts, and Hooves.
They Make Beer Commercials Like This is the third EP released by the band Minus the Bear on the Arena Rock Recording Co. After being remastered, it was re-released on June 3, 2008 through Suicide Squeeze Records with an added track, "Houston, We Have Uh-Oh". This song was originally released on the compilation, In Honor: A Compilation To Beat Cancer.
Menos el Oso is the second album from Minus the Bear and was released on August 23, 2005 by Suicide Squeeze Records. The album title is a Spanish translation of "Minus the Bear."
Knol Tate is a singer/songwriter, poet, and artist hailing from Minnesota's Twin Cities. A former member of bands including Kill Sadie, The Hidden Chord, Ela, Satelitte Voices. Tate now performs under the moniker of Askeleton as well as performing in Minneapolis group Deleter as the vocalist and guitarist.
This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic is the debut release from Minus the Bear.
Bands Like It When You Yell "Yar!" at Them is a promotional CD for Minus the Bear's album Highly Refined Pirates. Tracks 1 and 2 appear as is on the album, while track 5 is the demo version of a song off of Highly Refined Pirates. Tracks 3 and 4 were ultimately not put on the album, but released as bonus tracks on the UK edition.
Planet of Ice is the third full-length album from Minus the Bear, released in the UK on Augsut 20, 2007 and in the US on August 21 by Suicide Squeeze Records. It was produced and recorded by the band's former keyboard player, Matt Bayles, in February and March 2007. It is the first Minus the Bear album to feature keyboardist Alex Rose, who replaced Matt Bayles after he left the band to concentrate on his career as a producer. It is also their last album on Suicide Squeeze Records until 2017's Voids.
Interpretaciones del Oso is a remix album by Minus the Bear, released on February 20, 2007 through Suicide Squeeze Records. Various artists reinterpreted and remixed songs from their second full-length Menos el Oso. "Interpretaciones del Oso" means "Interpretations of the Bear" in Spanish.
Acoustics is an acoustic EP from Minus the Bear. It was released on October 7, 2008, through Tigre Blanco Records. It contains an unreleased track, "Guns & Ammo," and acoustic versions of six tracks previously released in electric versions on Highly Refined Pirates, Menos el Oso, and Planet of Ice.
Omni is the fourth full-length album from Minus the Bear, released on May 4, 2010. It is their first album to be released on Dangerbird Records and was produced by Grammy Award-winner, Joe Chiccarelli .
On April 27, 2009, the band began recording without the support of a record label. On September 3, 2009, they announced on their Twitter that they were officially done recording.
Infinity Overhead is the fifth full-length album from Minus the Bear, released on August 28, 2012. It is their second album to be released on Dangerbird Records and was produced by the band's former keyboardist, Matt Bayles. The album was also released in the UK by Big Scary Monsters Recording Company in September.
Acoustics II is the first acoustic full-length album from Minus the Bear. It marks the second acoustic work by the band, following 2008's Acoustics EP, encompassing songs from all their previous albums. Acoustics II includes two new compositions and eight other re-imagined versions of band and fan favorites. It was released on September 4, 2013 through the band's own Tigre Blanco Records, following a successful PledgeMusic campaign.
Lost Loves is an album from Minus the Bear. The album contains rare and unreleased songs from the band's history. It was released on October 7, 2014 through Dangerbird Records.
Voids is the sixth and final full-length album from Minus the Bear, released on March 3, 2017. It is their fourth full-length album to be released on Suicide Squeeze Records and was produced by Sam Bell. It is their only album recorded with drummer Kiefer Matthias, who had joined the band in 2015 to replace Erin Tate.
