By Brian Tucker

Cory Murchy returned home from Easy Street Records in Seattle a few hours before our conversation. He picked up Neil Diamond, Led Zeppelin, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Supremes, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Interesting picks for the bassist of Minus the Bear, a decade old prog-rock band whose sound is fairly removed from those purchases. Minus the Bear performs at The Soapbox this weekend.

MTB recently released new album Omni on Dangerbird Records. It steps slightly away from their progressive rock sound, recalling the composition savvy of Rush and melodic sensibilities of lesser known bands like Boston’s Mean Creek.

The band will be in the midst of a mini-tour when they hit town, something that sprang up organically while playing festivals on opposite weeks of each other.

“We thought about doing them as fly-outs but decided to make a little tour out of it, Murchy said. “There were a bunch of places we haven’t played before and haven’t in a long time.”

This thinking seems to emulate the band’s current state of mind. After years on the Suicide Squeeze label they recorded Omni without one and upon completion sought another label, eventually landing with California’s Dangerbird Records.

“We decided as a band to explore other avenues and Dangerbird seemed like a good fit to try something different. No love lost with David Dickinson and Suicide Squeeze. No bad feelings, just purely to try something different.”

Omni was recorded with a more organic approach. The band played together in a room and took tracks from those sessions that would shape the album.

“I think (it) was beneficial and taught us a lot. Bands have been doing it forever but it was something we haven’t done as extensively. I think we plan on trying to do that again.”

They also sought a new producer and settled on Joe Chiccarelli who won a Grammy for his work with The Raconteurs. The new album spreads the band’s wings, injecting disparate influences for the new material. Drummer Erin Tate brought 70s funk to tracks “My Time” and “The Thief.” Murchy is into Jamaican music and the song “Excuses” hints at this, partly resembling a slow 70s dance song.

“I’m heavy into reggae and old Jamaican music, maybe to a point to where some of the other guys aren’t as much into it. I always try to come from that area. We all bring something and its cool how it all ends up in the end,” Murchy said. “We all really wanted to establish and make something with a groove. I always try to come from that area. We all bring something and its cool how it ends up.”

The band also wanted to have the record done before shopping it around to labels and feeling out offers. 

“At the end of the day Dangerbird seemed like a good fit. We just wanted to make the kind of record we wanted to make it. If somebody wanted it, then they wanted it, and if they didn’t they didn’t.”

It’s a fitting attitude for a band from Seattle given its history. Minus the Bear formed a decade after the Seattle explosion with bands like Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains attracting major label attention.

“I think it’s hopefully raised the bar a little compared to some other cities. There’s always been a music scene in Seattle, always healthy and pretty cool. It just goes in waves. I think people are pretty serious about playing. You can’t suck too bad and expect to play shows around here because there’s so many bands and a demand for playing,” Murchy said. “And there’s plenty of time to play music too because it rains a lot.”

Minus the Bear play at the Soapbox on Saturday with The Constellations and Skysaw (Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin)

More with Cory Murchy

Omni was done without being signed to a label. How did that affect who you approached?

Murchy: I don’t think we ever paid too much attention as far as being dictated or being told what to do or what to think or what to play by a label and we’ve never really felt necessary to try and fit it into something that we weren’t. It’s interesting, it’s cool because you can write and record a song if you want and release it the next day. It does offer cool, different stuff to do. But at the end of the day its nice to sell actual records and buy a record and listen to it and do things the old fashioned way too.

I bought both. Grew up buying tapes. It kind of depended on what the tech was at the time. I def got into records. It wasn’t the same buying a record as it was a CD. There was something diff about it. there was the whole package, sitting down and flipping the sides. I actually just got back from buying records a couple of hour ago. It’s awesome to sit down with the record.

Do commonalities of the band help make it last?

Murchy: We all started friends at the beginning and we learned to figure out our differences and put them aside because in the bigger picture they don’t add up to much. We all love the hell out of each other. I think we understand that a lot of bands aren’t as fortunate to continue touring like we have and put out records. We want to do as good a job as we can because it’s a fun job. We like it and are stoked to be doing.

(Band members) all ended up in Seattle and we met each other through various bands we were in and associated with. Kind of became drinking buddies in the bar and started talking playing music and one thing led to another. Our 2001 EP came out and we were only together a handful of months before that.

And Matt Bayles leaving?

Murchy: It was definitely like losing a family member but he’s still in the family. We still work together and plan on working together in the future. We were lucky in that we knew Alex (Rose). I’ve known Alex since high school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He started out as our sound guy, he knew the songs. We travelled together and he was like a long lost cousin that came into the fold that we’ve become very close with.

It’s all worked out, there was never any hard feelings. Everyone knew that Matt was going to continue with his production and engineering career and recording career and we all want him to do that. It was exciting for us to see him take the leap and do it too, not that it was a leap he’s been doing it.

You made a music video in an old house stuck in the 70s?

Murchy: I think it was just a funny coincidence that it was a swinger’s house. We didn’t necessarily seek it out. It’s just what the location ended up being. It was a trip because there were these grandparents who were swingers and had pictures all over the place. It was really funny. It was a great old house, kind of like the house that time forgot. It was all 60s, 70s, swinger padded out which is kind of a funny thought. Just outside Seattle somewhere. It just kind of happened that way.