Minus the Bear and Keep

Comprised of Jake Snider (vocals/guitar), Dave Knudson (guitar), Matt Bayles (keys), Cory Murchy (bass) and Erin Tate (drums), Minus the Bear released their debut EP “This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic” under Suicide Squeeze Records in 2001. The EP demonstrated their early mathcore and experimental rock elements whilst displaying their witty song titles with tracks like “Hey, Wanna Throw Up? Get Me Naked”, “Lemurs, Man, Lemurs” and “Just Kickin’ It Like a Wild Donkey”.

Despite appearing as a novelty band, Minus the Bear proved themselves to be incredibly smart musicians as they continuously shaped their songcraft incorporating elements of pop, indie and post-hardcore inspired by artists such as Incubus and Deftones. After several EP releases, the departure of Bayles coupled with Alex Rose’s arrival and hopping between labels like Arena Rock and Polyvinyl, the band signed with Dangerbird Records in 2010.

The first release later that year under the new label “Omni” produced by Grammy Award winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (White Stripes, Counting Crows, Manchester Orchestra) had more of a live feel led by the continuous play instead of recording the separate track components. As their craft developed, the band have found themselves less concerned with regimenting song lengths as they did in early stages of their career and instead going with their flow.

With an incredible amount of tenacity, passion and talent, Minus the Bear have built strong relationship with their diverse and adoring fan base. Relentlessly touring worldwide having shared the stage with the likes of Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World and Soundgarden and a string of sold out shows under their belt, Minus the Bear are all round entertainers with the incredible ability to produce catchy melodies. Bound by friendship and the common goal of producing music that they are passionate about, Minus the Bear continue to take the world by storm.