The Vera Project has been home to some of the best local musical talent since its opening in 2001.
As usual, the all-ages venue will host a group of local bands Sunday night. However, the show will also be a going-away party of sorts for local indie rock group Minus the Bear.
After performing Sunday, the band will play a string of shows in California before embarking on a six-date tour of Japan to support Pirates. Bassist Cory Murchy said the band is excited about playing in Japan — this will be its first trip to the country — but is apprehensive about how audiences will receive its music.
“We’re all hoping for the best, but none of us know how well our music is going to go over there. We’ve heard good things from other bands that have gone over there, so we hope for positive results,” said Murchy.
Minus the Bear’s live show has come a long way since it formed in 2001. The five-piece entered the studio and recorded its debut EP This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic before performing a live show. Playing shows with fellow local bands such as The Divorce, Dolour and The Pale in support of Highly Refined Pirates has helped Minus the Bear refine its live sets while becoming a staple of the local music community.
Critics have grouped Minus the Bear’s brand of rock into a category of math rock, a sub-category of indie rock whose songs resemble jazz compositions with multiple timing changes. The band’s pop-rock songs definitely fit the qualifications, but the group is not thrilled about critics’ label.
“We don’t consider ourselves math rock. We just count to four and play,” said Murchy.
While a label like math rock doesn’t exactly sound like fun music, Minus the Bear’s witty song titles and catchy riffs eliminate all thoughts of factors, derivatives and long division. The band’s sense of humor shines through on its track listings, showing that although the group may be associated with complicated rock, the members don’t take themselves too seriously.
The band took titles for the Pirates songs “You Kill Bugs Good, Man” and “Damn Bugs Whacked Him, Johnny” from the 1997 Paul Verhoeven cult film Starship Troopers.
“We were watching it in the studio and thought it was stupid enough to take song titles from,” said Murchy.
Most of the non-cinema influenced titles like “Monkey!!!Knife!!!Fight!!!” and “Thanks for the Game of Crisco Twister” read like listings of sitcom one-liners and rejected catch phrases.
“They come from a lot of drunken debauchery and stupid things we say. Someone will say something funny and we’ll think ‘We’re using that!'” said Murchy. “Also, there are a lot of inside jokes,” he added.
