Representative Albums: "Hooray for Tuesday," "Cul-De-Sacs & Dead Ends," "The Future's Always Perfect"
Biography
Yet another branch of the Elephant 6 collective's family tree, the Minders were led by singer/songwriter Martyn Leaper, a British expatriate living in Denver, CO. There he befriended Apples in Stereo frontman Robert Schneider, who agreed to release the Minders' debut EP, Come on and Hear!!, on Elephant 6 in the spring of 1996. Leaper assembled a full-blown band for the follow-up 7", Paper Plane, tapping drummer Rebecca Cole, guitarist Jeff Almond, and bassist Jeff Richardson; bassist Marc Willhite replaced Richardson in time for Rocket 58, issued on 100 Guitar Mania in the autumn of 1997. The Minders' first full-length effort, Hooray for Tuesday, appeared a year later; soon after the band splintered as Leaper and Cole relocated to Portland, OR, where they assembled a new lineup also featuring lead guitarist Adam Goldman, bassist Bryce Edwards, and keyboardist Rachel Blumberg. The Minders' early singles were compiled in 1999 on Cul-de-Sacs & Dead Ends. The Down in Fall EP followed a year later. A third studio effort, Golden Street, emerged in spring 2001. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Martyn Leaper
Rebecca Cole
Jeff Almond
Marc Willhite
Joel Burrows
The Minders is a band closely associated with The Elephant Six Collective. Started by Martyn Leaper in Denver, Colorado in 1996, the band's original members included Leaper on guitars and vocals, Rebecca Cole on drums, Jeff Almond on guitar, and Marc Willhite on bass.
Leaper formed the Minders in Denver with Tammy Ealom, who, along with Robert Schneider and Hilarie Sidney from The Apples in Stereo, recorded Paper Plane EP. Ealom soon left Leaper to start Dressy Bessy, citing artistic differences, and Leaper recorded the "Come On & Hear 7"," allegedly one of the fastest selling Elephant 6 releases in history. At this time, Leaper began attempting to form a more permanent band after releasing "Paper Plane" on 7".
With a permanent lineup set, the band was able to release Rocket 58 as an EP and sign to spinART Records, who released their first album Hooray for Tuesday in 1998. Touring and the release of some other singles ensued, and the band split, with Leaper and Cole moving from Denver to Portland, OR and recruiting future Jicks bassist Joanna Bolme. The minor upheaval resulting in the eventual release of Cul-De-Sacs And Dead Ends, a compilation of singles and b-sides.
Bolme left the Minders shortly after the release of the band's second proper album, Golden Street, in 2001. Almond and Willhite regrouped with the band in time to release their third album in 2002, The Future's Always Perfect.
