Fun Fun Fun Fest Interview: Minus the Bear

You've dealt with a lineup change. Has that effected your style much? How would you say that you have grown as a band over the past few albums?

Well, seeing as how I'm the new guy, my perspective is limited. However, I was doing live sound and assisting on the records before I joined as keyboardist, so I was around and saw a lot of what was going on before that.

I think that the band's style has changed, not only because there's a new musician in the mix, but also because the writing is more collaborative than it has been in the past. It's unbelievably democratic. We're all there in the room for every step except the lyric writing process, which is Jake's deal.

You recently released a single, "Guns & Ammo," for download on Spin.com. How does releasing songs for download help promote the band? Is this something you've done before?

Assuming you're talking about free downloads.... The band has been doing this for a while, whether it be Spin.com or other music blogs or the record label's website.

I think it's necessary in today's world. Websites are looking for content, music fans are looking for things to put on their iPods, and we're looking to get our music into people's ears. Even if they don't buy the album, they may come to a show. It all works out.

You also made it into Jimmy Kimmel's show last summer. How was that experience?

It was interesting. We got to play the outdoor stage to a pretty big crowd. It felt like a mini-show because we played 5 or 6 songs, and that made the flying cameras and introduction from Jimmy Kimmel seem almost natural.

As you've been gaining momentum and continuing to grow your fanbase over the past few years, what would you say are some of the things you've been most proud of? And, do you have any exciting goals for the future?

For me, making Planet of Ice is the thing I'm most proud of, as it was the first record I played on. We recorded it after a year of writing between tours for the previous record, and it was my formal initiation into the band. Beyond that, we've played some killer festivals, toured Europe, Australia and Japan (places I wasn't sure I'd ever get to visit) and opened some shows for the Foo Fighters. As for the future, we'd like to tour more overseas and continue to make music that is exciting to us.

You've played Austin before. Anything on your must-do list for when you make it through the city?

Usually, every visit to Austin involves some sort of BBQ. Yum!

[Minus the Bear MySpace]
[Fun Fun Fun Fest MySpace]