Minus Story is an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

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 state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. 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 Civil War, on July 17, 1861. Union forces defeated the Missouri Stat ...

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, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...

Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...

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 Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

and a shared passion for

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

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

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

. 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 are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noi ...

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 Ghosty is a Lawrence, Kansas-based indie rock band formed in 1999. They are best known for their positive reviews by NPR, Currently the Ghosty lineup consists of Andrew Connor (guitar, vocals), Mike Nolte (bass, guitar, vocals), David Wetzel ( ...

Ad Astra Per Aspera ''Ad astra'' is a 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 the h ...

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 studio, 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 refuses ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

with

John Congleton John Congleton is an American Grammy Award-winning 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 e ...

), the band entered a period of inactivity. During this time Geiger formed

The Hospital Ships ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

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 Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ( ...

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