Minibosses is an American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band originally from

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an a ...

and now located in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

. They are known for their

video game music Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to ...

covers, which are

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instru ...

variations of the theme music from classic Nintendo

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

s such as ''

Mega Man ''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...

'', '' Metroid'', and ''

Castlevania ''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula (Castlevania), Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early system ...

''. The ''

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue ...

'' awarded Minibosses their ''best cover band'' award in 2006.

History

From 1997 to 1999, guitarist Aaron Burke and drummer Matt Wood played in Jenova Project, one of the earliest video game cover bands, along with other friends from the same dorm at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

. In January 2000, Burke and Wood recruited bassist Ben Baraldi to form Minibosses. Initially, the band played both video game covers as well as original songs, and self-released their first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Minibosses'', in September 2000. They were unsatisfied with the quality of this album and have since released new versions of their covers (as well as new covers) on the ''

Minibosses/Penny Winblood Minibosses is an American progressive rock band originally from Northampton, Massachusetts and now located in Phoenix, Arizona. They are known for their video game music covers, which are instrumental rock variations of the theme music from cla ...

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

and ''

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

'' album. At the same time, they replaced their older songs, which had been freely available to download, with the newer versions found on ''Brass''. From 2000 to present, the band has toured continuously while recording material for new albums.

Members

Current

*Aaron Burke –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

*Robin Vining –

*Steve Dueck –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

*Brendan Dueck – keyboards *Owen Dueck –

*Jakob Dueck –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

Former

*Robert Kelly Turner – guitar (2010) *Ben Baraldi – guitar (2007–2010), bass (1999–2007) *John Lipfert – guitar (2004–2007) *Fred Johnson – guitar (2002–2004) *Richard Smaldone – guitar (2001–2002) *Matt Wood – drums (1999-2014)

Discography

*''Minibosses'' (Self-released on Kraid Records, 2000) *''Minibosses (EP)'' (Self-released, 2004) *''Live at the Middle East'' recorded at

The Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European ...

nightclub (Self-released, 2004) *''Minibosses/Penny Winblood'' (Forge Records, 2005) *''Brass'' (Self-released, 2005) *''Brass 2: Mouth'' (Released December 2, 2011)

References

External links

General

Minibosses official web siteMinibosses forumReMixer profile
at

OverClocked ReMix OverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-commercial organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs, both with new technology and software and by va ...

*
Minibosses EP Insert Credit review
Sheffield, Brandon (Apr. 12, 2004)
Minibosses official MySpace

Interviews

Wired Magazine: Werde, Bill (Dec. 2002)

Salon.com: Becker, Verne (Apr. 21, 2004)
"Rocking in the Key of Nintendo"
NPR-All Things Considered: (Aug. 26, 2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Minibosses 1999 establishments in Massachusetts American instrumental musical groups American progressive rock groups Indie rock musical groups from Massachusetts Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups from Massachusetts Musical groups from Phoenix, Arizona Nintendocore musical groups Video game music cover bands