Minus plus Monroe equals sonic bliss
Nautical Sauce Posse D. J. will join Northwest favorites at Squirrels this Saturday
night
by Jacob TenPas, The Daily Barometer, November 19. 1999
Local band Minus is nothing if not hard to describe. Being a power trio of musicians equally versed in rock, jazz, classical, funk and the avante garde, they can jump stylistically between grinding sludge metal and delicate oddly-metered fingerpicking at the drop of a pointy black witch's hat.
Yes, Minus is not for the musically faint of heart. Their only rule of thumb seems to be, "If it rocks, play it." And given the improvisatory nature of their shows, they'll move where the music takes them. This Saturday night, it will take them places they have rarely been before. With a little help from Nautical Sauce Posse drummer J.D. Monroe on turntables, Minus will venture into uncharted terrtory, the semi-automated world of hip hop.
Not that electronic percussion is virgin territory for Minus, by any means. Bassist Dace Trenkel regularly makes use of a sequencer/sampler unit in addition to his battery of assorted effects pedals and processors. Still, this is only the second meeting between Minus and Monroe, so all past experiences can be thrown out the window.
"We've never rehearsed with him before," Trenkel said, "except for trading tapes back and forth and the Coffeehouse Expression show we did together. Saturdays's performance is still pretty much up in the air.."
Opening for Minus will be Northwest jazz-funk favorites Thousand Pieces, who should be expected to turn in their usual set of crowd pleasing rhythm warfare. Dan Scollard (bass), Lance Morrison (drums), Troy Gruggett (sax) and Minus lead guitarist Mark France have become one of the most consistant acts in town, always seeming to play the right mix of proven material, quircky covers and new tasty morsels.
This is only the second time the two bands have shared the same stage on the same night, so it should prove quite a workout for noise-rock virtuoso France, who is rumored to have a new piece of visceral metal ready to debut during Minus' set. France, who is already lnown for his colorful stage antics and unconventional six-string attack, should appreciate the break that Monroe will offer midway through Minus' show closing performance. Monroe willo be filling the aural space with his illbient influenced turntable and ARP synthesizer sound collages for about 10 minutes while the whole band takes a well-deserved hiatus from florring the crowd.
"He's a very musical DJ," Trenkel said, "So he should fit in perfectly with our whole sound."
That sound will be emanating from the warm, welcoming confines of Squirrel's tavern this Saturday at 9 p.m., and with the wholly new combinations of genres that will likely be mutating from the amplifiers. the smart money is on getting there early enough to avoid craning your neck at the oddly placed stage all nught long.