Minus Six…guitar not included.
Minus Six Plus Z-Bar Equals Jamming
By Carrie Sebree

River City Times
Thursday, January 12th, 2006

A guitarless band may seem strange at first, but the piano, bass, drums, and sax group, Minus Six, have proven they can derive an impressive rock sound despite not having a guitar, thus leading to the band’s name “Minus Six”.

You can catch their show Saturday night at Z-Bar on Downtown’s Main Street.

The band was formed in May 2003 by Kevin Carton (piano and lead vocals), Kameron Rummans (bass and vocals), Matt Sivertsen (saxophones), and added Rob Baner (drums) in October.

Over the past 3 years the group has been writing and rehearsing original compositions and performing at local venues in Illinois and Iowa.

Minus Six released their debut CD in June of 2004 entitled “Overdue”. They recently recorded their 2nd CD, “Some Things Change”, on Music Row, in Nashville, TN., in April 2005 which was released in August of 2005. All four band members are Illinois Quad City natives - Kevin, Matt, and Rob are all from Moline. Kameron is from Rock Island.

Minus Six is a rock / pop orientated group that draws influences from many styles. Their concerts are filled with a nice mix of great originals as well as using their unique style and contagious energy to play hits from the present and the past. A Minus Six concert is an experience for young and old alike.

Matt took time out this week to chat with the River City Times:

How many shows do you do a year? About 40.

Who are your musical influences? Ben Folds, Gavin DeGraw, Maroon 5, Dave Matthews Band, O.A.R., Billy Joel, and Jason Mraz.

What is your live show like? It’s very energetic, danceable, and has melodies you can sing. We put on a show!

What separates this band from all the other bands you have played with? Great chemistry. We all share the same drive to play at a high level of musicianship and have a lot of fun playing.

What is your best experience as a band? Recording our CD in Nashville.

What is your worst experience as a band? Running out of gas coming back from a gig in Champaign between Peoria and Galesburg.

What is the hardest thing about being in a band for this genre? The hardest thing for us is trying to classify us in a genre.

Your favorite places to play? Outdoor shows anywhere.

CD’s are available on www.minussix.com as well as www.cdbaby.com. Music can also be downloaded on www.itunes.com as well as several other digital mainstream sites.

© 2006, River City Times