Minus Story is an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band based in

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. The core members of the band met growing up in

Boonville, Missouri Boonville is a city and the county seat of Cooper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,964 at the 2020 census. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the American Civil War, Civil War, on July 17, 1861. Union forces defeat ...

and are known for their off-kilter, sunny melodies and quirky instrumentation that forms the "wall of crap" sound. They are signed to the

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. History In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public resear ...

Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, part of the Secretly Group. The Secretly Group includes record labels Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publis ...

label.

Background

Minus Story roots begin in Boonville, Missouri with the meeting of guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist Jordan Geiger and bassist Brian Phillips in

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

and a shared passion for

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

s. Later drummer Nick Christus was added in thanks to his

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

. Lastly guitarist Andy Byers was picked up from Geiger's Little League baseball team. After the four friends grew older and moved to nearby music scene Lawrence, Kansas they met guitarist Mark Sanders who joined the close-knit group. The band also uses drummer Tyler French in conjunction with Christus and keyboardist/guitarist Lucas Oswald. Minus Story has played with bands such as

Deerhoof Deerhoof is an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. It consists of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noise punk band ...

Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...

, Ladyhawk, Ghosty,

Ad Astra Per Aspera is a Latin language, Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has origins with Virgil, who wrote in his ''Aeneid'': "''sic itur ad astra''" ('thus one journeys to the stars') and "''opta ardua pennis astra sequi''" ('desire to pursue t ...

and

The Appleseed Cast The Appleseed Cast is an American rock band from Lawrence, Kansas. The band was founded in the early days of emo by singer-guitarist Christopher Crisci and drummer Louie Ruiz. The Appleseed Cast has steadily evolved over the release of eight fu ...

. The band's unique "wall of crap" technique was created at a time when the band lacked the knowledge and equipment for a traditional sound. Instead they would layer unusual sounds on top of each other creating something more distinct.

Hiatus

After touring in support of "My Ion Truss" (recorded at

Electrical Audio Electrical Audio is a recording facility founded in Chicago, Illinois by musician and recording engineer Steve Albini in 1997. Hundreds of independent music projects have been recorded there. Unlike most producers, Albini refused to take any roya ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

with

John Congleton John Congleton is a grammy winning American record producer, engineer, mixer, writer and musician. In addition to his production work, Congleton has fronted the alternative rock band The Paper Chase, and writes music for a newer project entitl ...

), the band entered a period of inactivity. During this time Geiger formed The Hospital Ships while other members pursued their own musical (and non-musical) interests. The band played an April 6, 2012 show as part of the Middle of the Map Fest in Kansas City, MO featuring the lineup of Jordan Geiger (vocals/guitar/keyboards), Nick Christus (drums), Andy Byers (guitar/keyboards/vocals), Brian Phillips (bass) and Taylor Holenbeck (guitar/vocals).

Discography

Reviews

Six-EyesTiny Mix TapesPop Matters

References

External links

Official websiteMySpaceMinus Story live on WOXY.com, July 5, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minus Story Indie rock musical groups from Kansas Musicians from Lawrence, Kansas Jagjaguwar artists