Minibosses is an American progressive rock band originally from Northampton, Massachusetts and now located in Phoenix, Arizona. They are known for their video game music covers, which are instrumental rock variations of the theme music from classic Nintendo video games such as Mega Man, Metroid, and Castlevania.[2] The Phoenix New Times awarded Minibosses their best cover band award in 2006.[3]

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. (July 2016) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2014)

Minibosses
Minibosses performing at Penny Arcade Expo 2005
Background information
Origin	Northampton, Massachusetts
Genres	Progressive rock chiptune Nintendocore instrumental rock geek rock[1]
Years active	1999–present
Members	Robin Vining Aaron Burke Owen Dueck Steve Dueck Jakob Dueck Brendan Dueck
Past members	Ben Baraldi Fred Johnson John Lipfert Rich Smaldone Robert Kelly Turner Matt Wood
Website	minibosses.com

History

From 1997 to 1999, guitarist Aaron Burke and drummer Matt Wood played in Jenova Project, one of the earliest video game cover bands, along with other friends from the same dorm at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In January 2000, Burke and Wood recruited bassist Ben Baraldi to form Minibosses.[4] Initially, the band played both video game covers as well as original songs, and self-released their first album, Minibosses, in September 2000. They were unsatisfied with the quality of this album and have since released new versions of their covers (as well as new covers) on the Minibosses/Penny Winblood split and Brass album. At the same time, they replaced their older songs, which had been freely available to download, with the newer versions found on Brass.[4] From 2000 to present, the band has toured continuously while recording material for new albums.[5]

Members

Current

• Aaron Burke – guitar
• Robin Vining – guitar
• Steve Dueck – drums
• Brendan Dueck – keyboards
• Owen Dueck – drums
• Jakob Dueck – bass

Former

• Robert Kelly Turner – guitar (2010)
• Ben Baraldi – guitar (2007–2010), bass (1999–2007)
• John Lipfert – guitar (2004–2007)
• Fred Johnson – guitar (2002–2004)
• Richard Smaldone – guitar (2001–2002)
• Matt Wood – drums (1999-2014)

Discography

• Minibosses (Self-released on Kraid Records, 2000)
• Minibosses (EP) (Self-released, 2004)
• Live at the Middle East recorded at The Middle East nightclub (Self-released, 2004)
• Minibosses/Penny Winblood (Forge Records, 2005)
• Brass (Self-released, 2005)
• Brass 2: Mouth (Released December 2, 2011)

References

Further reading

• Borges, Mario Mesquita. "Minibosses". Allmusic. Retrieved May 9, 2005.

External links

General

• Minibosses official web site
• Minibosses forum
• ReMixer profile at OverClocked ReMix
• Minibosses discography at MusicBrainz
• Minibosses EP Insert Credit review Sheffield, Brandon (Apr. 12, 2004)
• Minibosses official MySpace

Interviews

• "Nintendo Rocks!" Wired Magazine: Werde, Bill (Dec. 2002)
• "Nintendo rocks!" Salon.com: Becker, Verne (Apr. 21, 2004)
• "Rocking in the Key of Nintendo" NPR-All Things Considered: (Aug. 26, 2004)