Jimmy Eat World

Childhood friends Jim Adkins and Zach Lind partnered with guitarist Tom Linton and bassist Mitch Porter to form the band in 1993. Under local label Wooden Blue Records Jimmy Eat World released a few singles, an EP and a self-titled album during 1993-94. The band got lucky in 1995 with a contract under Capitol Records that allowed them to release the album “Static Prevails.” For this venture, friend Rick Burch replaced Mitch Porter and drummer Mark Trombino joined the group.

In 1999, Jimmy Eat World released “Clarity” which was recorded in studios in California. The single “Lucky Denver Mint” was featured on the soundtrack of rom-com “Never Been Kissed” which elevated the band to mainstream audiences. However, the album that prompted Jimmy Eat World to worldwide fame is “Bleed American” which was put out in 2001 by DreamWorks. The single “The Middle” exploded on the airwaves and took the #5 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following tremendous success with “Bleed American” Jimmy Eat World recruited producer Gil Norton (whose previous experience includes working with bands like the Pixies and Foo Fighters) to work on “Futures.” Their fourth album came out October 2004 and the single “Pain” became a hit. By this time Jimmy Eat World had toured independently to promote “Bleed American” and also in collaboration with Taking Back Sunday. In 2005 they joined forces with Green Day on a worldwide tour.

In total Jimmy Eat World has released eight studio albums both independently and under major label Interscope Records (formerly DreamWorks). The band’s name comes from a cartoon drawn by Linton’s younger brother Ed, who was making fun of their brother Jim. The drawing depicts a slab of the Earth resting on Jim’s jaw, and the rest is history. Jimmy Eat World considers punk bands Mr. T Experience, Radon and Tempe’s Horace Pinker as influences in their music.

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.