A Chat with The Bare Minimum (07.09.23)
Embracing the chaos of punk music with a passionate flair, The Bare Minimum are as comfortable on a festival stage as they are in a dive bar basement show. We speak with vocalist and guitarist Cam Gray about the Canadian foursome’s new Nicholas Cage-inspired EP UNCAGED, what music means to them, inspiration and much more.
OSR: Cliché, I know, but what how did The Bare Minimum come about?
Gray: We were hanging out at a bar waiting to play an open mic night. We got bored waiting and decided to start a real band instead.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Gray: It’s basically a hobby that has gotten out of control.
OSR: What inspires you to make music?
Gray: Glenn Danzig, Nostalgia, and Nicolas Cage movies.
OSR: You mention that your EP UNCAGED is a “Nicolas Cage-inspired” release. How did Nicolas Cage inspire you?
Gray: Nicolas Cage has a method of acting he calls “Nouveau Shamanism”, where he takes the physical expressiveness of the silent era of film and applies it to modern filmmaking. We kinda wanted to do this with this EP by exaggerating the concepts of his movies and escaping the trappings of literalism.
OSR: If you could, what would you change about UNCAGED?
Gray: I would add a song about the movie Face/Off.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Gray: I want people to hear these songs in their heads every time they watch a Nicolas Cage movie.
OSR: If you had to introduce a listener to The Bare Minimum with one of the songs on your EP, which would it be?
Gray: I would probably choose National Treasure because it’s the closest to the sound on our other albums.
OSR: What do you think makes The Bare Minimum unique?
Gray: The Nicolas Cage influence.
OSR: If you could switch places with any person for a single day, who would that person be and why?
Gray: Nicolas Cage.
OSR: Do you have future plans for The Bare Minimum?
Gray: I’m gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Gray: Please don’t tell Disney that we wrote a song about National Treasure.
Many thanks to Cam Gray for speaking with us! For more from The Bare Minimum, check out their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
