Interview with The Minibosses
Ben, Woody, Fred, and Aaron are The Minibosses.
Thanks a bunch. Really appreciate it that you took the time to do this interview. Most of my fellas here in Sweden who listens to game music know about you guys. How's it in the states and generally abroad? Do you receive a lot of response?
– We get a pretty good response. A lot more of a response than we thought we would. We're generally well received, I think... there are people who like us because they like video games, people who like us because of nostalgia or some niche's sake, and people who like us because they appreciate the songs and how we're trying to play them live.
What's so appealing about those catchy ol' melodies? The simplicity? The ingenuity of turning so little into so much? You tell me!
– The simplicity is definitely part of it. These composers weren't working with very much, four channels of music really, and on top of that they had to make songs that wouldn't become absolutely sickening after extended playing time. That's pretty difficult. Even your most favourite riff - you can become sick of it after a short time. The key is in the mixture of repetition and melody.
How old are the people attending your gigs? And how many people usually come?
– We get all ages - one show we had a few 4 year olds with their parents. Usually I would say between the ages of 15 and 30. As for how many people, it depends on where we play - we've played to as little as 8 people, and as many as 250 people.
Have you played all across the states? Abroad?
– We toured across the states when we moved from Massachusetts to Arizona. Although, we only played three or four shows along the way. We have never played outside the country, but we would love to do that... Being able to travel with a band is one of the greatest luxuries available on earth, I think.
Do you find it hard to rearrange the old classic tunes to fit the rock band instrumental setup?
– Mm, sometimes. It depends. We're working with so much stuff and we have only had time to really work on our real favourites so far. Some have been easy, some not so easy. I would have to say overall that it has been pretty easy so far, but we definitely have been tackling a lot more recently than we were when we started.
The melodies, the beats, nostalgia, or just for the heck of it?
– For me (Aaron), the melodies. They're stuck in my head. I might as well do something with them rather than hum them all day.
Ever play games once in awhile? Or can't stand the new generation of video games. T'was all better some 10-15 years ago, aight?
– I don't have a PS2 but I want one for FFX. I don't have a GameCube or an Xbox but I wouldn't mind a GameCube. The latest ”#¤& that I have is an N64 and a PlayStation, both are still hooked up. I like to play GoldenEye 007 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night every once in a while because those games have ridiculous replay value.
What about that Super Mario Bros. The Movie? What's up with that?
– Never actually saw it. I think it was a bad idea from the beginning, though. A Super Mario Bros. movie? Yeah, ok. They would have had more luck with a Legend of Zelda movie that was real dark, and half porno.
Do you get a lot of requests about game music in general, or is it mainly from the NES era? Any specific game?
– We get a lot of Final Fantasy requests, and I think that might be because Final Fantasy fans are the people who are most likely to write. I love Final Fantasy music myself. I think it's great. I'd love to do some more of it, but we already have a crazy list of stuff to do. For NES games, let's see... People are always requesting Super Mario Bros. (no), Legend of Zelda (maybe), Tetris (mmm... maybe but prolly not) and Maniac Mansion (I would love to).
European or American beer?
– Canadian.
Will we (or the fellas in US) ever see a ”The Minibosses CD” available in the music shops?
– Maybe in some independent shops. I don't know about the chains. This is copyrighted material after all. I think it might cause a big stink.
Anything of importance I forgot to ask? Any interesting new stuff going on? Secrets, where art thou?
– We don't really like to keep secrets because secrets are dumb. We are working on recording some new stuff right now, like a Castlevania III medley and a Mega Man II medley. Definitely sounds a lot better than anything we've yet to record, so I'm pretty happy about that.
Interview Conducted by Andreas Collvin [2002-08-24]
