Say Farewell to Minutes Too Far

After nine years as a band, Minutes Too Far has called it quits. The band was a notoriously hard working and self-promoting band. Behind a strong local following, the band toured across the country and, in 2006, signed with Band Recordings who released the album, Let It Roll.

I spoke with guitarist Blake Fischer about the end of the band, the final show and what he’s learned from the whole experience.

SHOW INFO:
• Where: The Conservatory, 8911 N. Western, in OKC
• Openers: Anchors for Arsenal & Somerset West

Minutes Too Far has been around for just shy of a decade. What made this the right time to call it quits?

It’s really just time. We’d tried just about everything to “make it” as a band, and really, we can’t complain because we got to do a lot of really cool things at levels that other bands don’t ever get the chance to reach. We were faced with a decision about a year ago about what to do with a band whose name had been around the business for several years, with a label release that didn’t go very far. We decided maybe it was time that we tried something new and fresh. People never believe that, though. So, the more exciting story is that Kris is addicted to crack. Kidding, of course.

What can fans expect from the final show and will merchandise be available for purchase?

The final show is going to be a blast, for us at least. We’re playing a lot of songs; Old ones, new ones, the really old fast ones…it’s going to be very eclectic. We also sort of famously had a ton of member changes through the years (mostly on bass), and we’re having a few of them come back and play a couple of songs with us. For those in the scene that know Loper, local promoter extraordinaire, he used to be in our band, and is playing a couple of songs after a 6 year hiatus from playing bass. If that’s not cool, I don’t know what is.

There will be merch available at the show. In fact, Kris’ mom has shirts from throughout the life of the band we’re going to be selling. The only online thing is our album on iTunes, but we suggest you buy it at the show because we’re going to be selling them on the cheap.

I know a lot of people have this notion that getting signed is a finish line-type event in a band’s early career. How did you guys get signed and what did you learn about the whole process?

First of all, getting signed is unbelievably hard. Between my solo stuff and MTF, we’ve literally talked to nearly every major and indie record label. That’s not to say we’re great, but more to say how hard it really is to actually get to that “finish line”. We ended up signing with a start up label who had great ideas, but no follow through in the end.

I’d say getting signed is more like a hurdle than a finish line, though. For us, it ended up being a hurdle that tripped us up, which sadly happens to a lot of bands. Sometimes it can be more of a curse. We certainly don’t regret any decisions we made, but I’ve always said a bad label deal is worse than no deal at all.

What advice would you give to young bands striving for a record deal?

My personal advice to bands is to make the best record you can without a label…that really gets their attention. For all the touring we did, it was always our record getting in someone’s hands that got people interested. It’s hard, but just spend the money on making a great sounding record right out of the gates. Recording is so accessible these days. You can make a great sounding record for less than I spent on my first car. It proves to labels/other industry people that you’re serious about your music. Not to mention, contrary to what I used to believe, they can’t look past a bad demo. We literally sent a demo to a label once, and he didn’t like the song at all. It ended up on our record, and the guy loved it and couldn’t even remember that we’d sent him the demo version before. It literally makes no sense to me.

You guys had originally scheduled the final show in late 2008, but it was postponed because of a health scare. Can you tell us what happened and how you’re doing now?

Literally the first night we practiced for the final show in early December, I got a call from my urologist explaining to me that an ultrasound had shown that I had some sort of growth in my nether regions. By the next day, it was found to be testicular cancer and I had to have surgery 3 days later. That left me in no shape to be jumping around on stage. I ended up having to do some radiation as well throughout February, and that kind of tired me out enough that I didn’t want to risk having to cancel a second last show. The good news is, I’m completely done with it all and cancer free now. But it was a bit sobering, for sure. Public service announcement for all you fellas out there…check your boys! It’s a really easy thing to beat if you catch it early.

How do you feel about the current state of Oklahoma music? Are there any acts out now that you’re excited about?

I think local music is suffering to some degree all over the country. It’s a tough spot…it costs more for bands to tour, but kids don’t want to spend more money at the door. Most of the venues we’d played for years across the country have closed their doors. I think there’s a lot of talent here, though. It’s so much easier to start a band, now than it was when Kris and Danny started our band. The internet, Myspace, iTunes, GPS, iPhones, affordable recording…none of that existed in the capacity it does now. Some argue it makes too many bands, which is true, but that means there are probably also more good bands in that mix. The music business is struggling, but music is not. People shouldn’t confuse the two.

What does the musical future look like for you guys, together and individually?

We’ve been playing together for long enough to have a weird brainwave connectivity, so there’s just no way we’ll give that up completely. We love each other. There will always be Tweezer, our Weezer tribute band, and Kris and I have been slowly (so slowly) working on a side project. Danny’s playing guitar with some people, and I’m working on a solo record right now. It’s really exciting for us to have no rules or boundaries in music. We don’t have side projects any more. We just have projects. We’ll keep our Myspace page up and running and we’ll always put whatever music we’re working on in the top friends section, if anyone wants to take a listen. We just can’t quit music. We’ll probably be handing you flyers when we’re 40.