Minibosses is an independent progressive rock/progressive metal band originally from Northampton, Massachusetts and currently located in Phoenix, Arizona. They are known for their video game music covers, which are
... Minibosses is an independent progressive rock/progressive metal band originally from Northampton, Massachusetts and currently 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. Such covers earned Minibosses the best cover band award in the Phoenix New Times Best of Phoenix 2006.
Minibosses have managed to form a following amongst video game music fans, and they allow fans to download many free songs on their website. Much of their following has come from their constant playing of concerts at local clubs around Arizona and other cities in the southwest. Fans refer to themselves as "Minibossies" and are known to travel great distances to see the band. The band has also formed quite a following on their web forums, which is host to tour announcements, new video game covers from other remixers, and the Dwelling of Duels competition
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. In January 2000, Burke and Wood recruited bassist Ben Baraldi to form Minibosses. 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. From 2000 to present, the band has toured continuously while recording material for new albums. During this time, the video game cover scene has matured, with the rise in popularity of sites such as VGMix and OverClocked ReMix, giving the band the opportunity to play at such events as Penny Arcade Expo 2005 and the Atomix Gamer Choice Award. Minibosses often tour throughout Arizona and California, and occasionally return to the Northeast to perform, most notably at the Middle East where they recorded their live album, Live at the Middle East.
The band has gone through several changes, mostly on second guitar. Previously held by Rich Smaldone briefly and later Fred Johnson, it is now played by former After Any Accident guitarist John Lipfert.
