Growth in music and life a plus for Minus the Bear

Washington-based indie band Minus the Bear is taking a break from recording its followup to the well-received "Omni." The band will be performing a handful of shows, including a stop in Norfolk at The NorVa on Saturday.

"We are just flying out to the Southern area for three shows, and we'll come back and finish working on the record," said drummer Erin Tate by phone from his Seattle home.

The quintet - which is celebrating a decade in the music business - released the synth-heavy "Omni," its fourth full-length album, in 2010. The album peaked at No. 9 on Billboard's Top Independent Album and at No. 14 on the Top Rock Album charts.

Tate answered a few questions about the band, and about himself.

Can you explain the band's sound?

It's pretty all over the place. Every time we record a new record. We don't really set a particular tone, so it's whatever sounds good to us. Throughout our entire career people have always asked us, 'What's your sound?' It's a tough question to answer. It's rock 'n' roll. But, of course, it's not Elvis Presley rock 'n' roll.

What did "Omni" do for the band?

I think "Omni" was very much a product of us growing up a bit. We've been a band for 10 years now, and the style just kind of changes as you get older. As a 33-year-old guy, if I was writing the stuff that I was writing at 23, it's just obviously going to be different. A great way to describe that record was the five of us growing as a band and in life in general, and the songs reflected that.

Complete this sentence: In the beginning...

We were very drunk. We were very young, and, oh yeah, I didn't have a cellphone.

Patty Jenkins, 757-446-2298, patty.jenkins@pilotonline.com