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Jul 17, 2018 Minus the Bear By Christopher Roberts

Minus the Bear have had enough. The Seattle band have announced they are breaking up. But before you break out the Kleenex, they’ve got some parting gifts. The band has announced one final EP, the fittingly titled Fair Enough, shared its title track, and announced a whole lot of farewell tour dates for October, November, and December. Diehard fans: book your airline tickets now, it looks like their final show will be in Seattle on December 14 at Showbox. All the info on everything is below, including a statement from the band, “Fair Enough,” and the tour dates.

Fair Enough is due out October 19 via Suicide Squeeze. The Farewell Tour VIP presale (VIP tickets will include a meet and greet, as well as exclusive VIP items) starts tomorrow, Wednesday, July 18 at 10 a.m. ET via vip.MinustheBear.com.

Minus the Bear performed their first show in 2001 and released their debut album, Highly Refined Pirates, in 2002. Their last album was 2017’s VOIDS. “Fair Enough” was originally written for that album.

The cover art for the Fair Enough EP was put together by bassist Cory Murchy and references the band’s first EP, as Murchy explains in a press release: “The picture on our first EP-This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic-was a blurry photo of the band walking through the forest. The cover to Fair Enough is a nod to that almost 20 years on. The figures are much more defined, coming into their own colors, a little less unified but still working within each other’s orbit. The wonder of the woods has been replaced with a milled piece of working lumber as the canvas. I think it reflects the music in a lot of the same ways-distilled by time and purpose.”

The band-whose members also include Jake Snider, Dave Knudson, and Alex Rose-issued this statement about their break-up:

“Friends,

After almost two decades of writing and touring the world together, we have decided to close this chapter of our lives as Minus the Bear.

What started as a silly inside joke inside the dingy confines of Seattle’s original Cha Cha Lounge back in 2001 quickly snowballed into years of adventures, creativity, and friendship. We could have never predicted the wild journey about to begin. We’ve accomplished so much over the past 17 years, and we are grateful for the experience.

Undoubtedly we owe all of these adventures to you, our fans. Without all of you, the memories of traveling the world, exploring different cultures, and witnessing the delight of your beautiful faces singing along wouldn’t have been possible. Your support weathered us through storms that easily could have scuttled the band. Throughout the years, it’s you who kept us going. We cannot thank you enough.

This Autumn we head out on our final tour in support of our upcoming 4-song EP Fair Enough courtesy of Suicide Squeeze Records.

These final shows are a celebration for the community of fans who gave us so much through years of dedication. We’ll be digging deep in the MTB catalogue and we are honored for the opportunity to play our hearts out for you one last time.

Love,

Alex, Cory, Dave & Jake”

You can also read a new interview with band about why they are breaking up over at Stereogum.

Plus read our own 2017 interview with the band.

Minus the Bear The Farewell Tour:

October:

09 - Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley *
10 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle *
11 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade *
12 - St. Louis, MO @ Ready Room
13 - Kansas City, MO @ The Truman *
14 - Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room *
15 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre *
17 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues *
18 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall *
19 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre *
20 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall *
21 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre *
23 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre *
24 - Silver Springs, MD @ The Fillmore *
25 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
26 - Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony *
27 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory *
28 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza *

November:

27 - Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor ^
29 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues ^
30 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre ^

December:

01 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s ^
03 - Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey Theatre ^
04 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre ^
05 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex - Grand ^
07 - Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee ^
08 - Pomona, CA @ The Glass House ^
09 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre ^
11 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom ^
12 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades ^
13 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre ^
14 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox ^

* = w/ Caspian
^ = w/ Tera Melos

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