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The Minders are one of the more popular Elephant Six bands. Started by Martyn Leaper in Denver, CO in 1996, the band's current members include Leaper on guitars and vocals, Rebecca Cole on keyboards, Jeff Almond on guitar, Marc Willhite on bass, and Joel Burrows on drums.

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.

Contents 1 Discography 1.1 Albums 1.2 Singles and EPs 2 External links

The Minders have released their albums on spinART, but have also released a number of EPs and singles on a variety of record labels.

• Hooray for Tuesday (CD/LP) - spinART - 1998
• Cul-de-sacs and Dead Ends (CD/LP) - spinART - 1999
• Golden Street (CD/LP) - spinART - 2001
• The Future's Always Perfect (CD) - Future Farmer - 2003
• The Stolen Boy (CD) - self-released tour-only CD - 2004
• It's a Bright Guilty World (CD) - Future Farmer - 2006

• "Come On & Hear" (7") - Elephant 6 - 1996
• "Paper Plane" (7") - Elephant 6 - 1996
• "Rocket 58" (7") - 100 Guitar Mania - 1997
• "Black Balloon" (7") Little Army - 1998
• "Right As Rain" (7") Earworm - 1999
• Down in Fall (CD) - spinART - 2000
• Split w/ Tobin Sprout (7") - Sprite Recordings - 2002
• "Live at KPSU" (7") - Dirigeable Records - 2002
• "Tearaway" (7") - Omnibus Records - 2003
• Split w/ The Zebras (7") - Low Transit Industries - 2003

• The Minders at All Music Guide

The Elephant 6 Recording Company
Bands in the Collective
The Apples in Stereo | Beulah | Black Swan Network | Chocolate USA | Circulatory System | Dixie Blood Mustache | Dressy Bessy | Elf Power | The Essex Green | Frosted Ambassador | The Gerbils | The High Water Marks | Major Organ and the Adding Machine | Marbles | The Minders | The Music Tapes | Neutral Milk Hotel | The Olivia Tremor Control | Orchestre Fantastique | Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't | Secret Square | The Sunshine Fix | ulysses | Von Hemmling
Other Notable Bands and Side Projects
The American Revolution | Bablicon | Fablefactory | Great Lakes | A Hawk and a Hacksaw | Icy Demons | The Instruments | The Ladybug Transistor | The Late B.P. Helium | M Coast | Marta Tennae | Midget and Hairs | My First Keyboard | of Montreal | Synthetic Flying Machine | Thimble Circus | Visitations
Related articles
Bill Doss | Jeff Mangum | Robert Schneider | Will Cullen Hart | Hilarie Sidney | Laura Carter | Jeremy Barnes | Jill Carnes | David Barnes | Julian Koster | Derek Almstead | Scott Spillane | John Fernandes