Minus the Bear

MINUS THE BEAR has recently released their second full-length for Suicide Squeeze, Menos el Oso. Taking the reins as producers, the group hopes to steal the focus from their peculiar song titles and redirect it where it belongs—their music. However, that doesn’t mean they have to be serious all the time. Synthesis caught up with vocalist/guitarist Jake Snider and drummer Erin Tate at home in Washington. Before kicking off their fall tour, the boys chatted us up about their latest album, their disdain for U2, true love for Kelly Clarkson and the mysterious creature, Big Foot.

Tell me about the production process on Menos el Oso.
Jake Snider: We kind of had this blending of big time studio with home studio equipment. We did the basics at the nice studio and did all of the overdubs at home. Pro-Tools makes that a million times easier, obviously, because I don’t have a 24-track tape machine at my house.

Lyrically, what was your muse for this album?
JS: Travel. Or escapism—which is not much of a muse because it’s not pretty or sexy. The driving ideas happened somewhat unconsciously, trying to get away from things that are no fun that people have to deal with everyday.

I don’t think a muse has to be pretty or sexy. Oftentimes for me, it’s a bug, on the ground…
JS: Well the classic idea of a muse is that woman you’re pining for and writing love songs about. I think maybe these days it has a more broad definition.

What song would be blasting through bad monitors in hell?
Erin Tate: “Who Let The Dogs Out?” Or “The Macarena.”
JS: Any U2 song. It wouldn’t be fun in hell listening to My Chemical Romance, either. But U2 and those stupid bug glasses. Other guys in the band disagree, most people disagree. I hope you don’t hold it against me.

Well, I really like Kelly Clarkson and some people might hold that against me.
JS: Kelly Clarkson is 10 times the musician U2 are.

Her vocals are incredible, and she’s hot.
JS: Yeah, she’s much hotter.

Where would you like to see your music within the next five years?
ET: It would be nice to keep doing what we’re doing. I really like this group of people and the music that we’re doing.
JS: I would, of course, like to have it more popular. I don’t have any grand plans for the future. With bands you take it record by record. You don’t really know how people are going to receive anything you do. I’d just hope to make a decent living while doing what we love.

What’s this I hear about MTB putting out “Drop It Like It’s Hot” before Snoop Dogg?
JS: We did. Obviously Snoop had his own stuff going on and probably hadn’t heard our song. I mean, the hip-hop community has been uh, dropping stuff like it’s hot for some time now.

Tell me something random and odd.
ET: Oh! They found a sasquatch, or evidence of one, on an island in Washington. The story is that it chased this guy out of the woods and he ran into town and all of the townspeople went back into the woods with torches and knives to try to find it.



Torches and knives? Barbaric.
ET: Yeah, but also, the guy who was chased out of the woods is a friend of mine’s brother. A week later they found him up in a tree, covered in mud, wearing only his underwear. So... you know... I don’t know. 

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