15. The Minus Scale
“The Trouble With Normal”
Ryan Levasseur–vocals, guitar • AJ Tobey–guitar • Mark Tobey–bass •
Padraig Murphy–keyboards • Pat Griffin–drums
www.theminusscale.com

The Minus Scale, like so many bands in the current musical ecosystem, is hoping not to be pigeonholed. They have crunching guitars and fast drums, but they aren’t necessarily punk. They aren’t pop, but damn do they have catchy, instantly familiar melodies and tight harmonies. They aren’t neo pop-punk, but they rock dueling guitar solos.

They prefer to be known as “post-irony” according to AJ Tobey (guitar, vocals). It’s a fitting genre for a band that plays sincere, straightforward music. “Basically, we are a group of guys who miss great, simple rock songs,” Tobey says.

The Minus Scale came out of the gate with guns blazing on “The Trouble With Normal,” an album with all the youthful energy of Sum 41 and pop sensibility of Fountains of Wayne. They’ve been building their sound on the road and now have four full-fledged tours under their belt, the most recent of which lasted just under a month. But they’ve also gone through some changes of late, recently adding Padraig Murphy (keys, vocals) and Pat Griffin (drums) to the lineup of Ryan Levasseur (vocals, guitar) and Mark Tobey (bass). “With the addition of the two new members, we are tighter, better, and having more fun than ever before,” Tobey says. They plan to release more demos in the near future with the stage set for a full-length album in 2006.