Fly Below The Radar (2003) | Road Movies (2001) | All Music Guide 

Mini-Bio:  Simon Petty | Tim Walker | Sid Jordan | Malcolm Cross 

Mini-Bio: Big Ears Biog (2007)

In 2001 you answered the question, what is your greatest Minibar moment to date. How would you answer that question now?
The same way probably. Not too much has been going on recently - but playing the Staples Center was up there for crazy moments. Si and I played one song for the first time EVER. it was like a bad dream, being naked in front of 15000 people. once we got past that song though it was cooool.

Do you have a favorite track on "Fly Below the Radar"?
New Mexico, it doesn't sound like anyone else.

What's in your CD player right now?
Stoney - he's on myspace.

What movie has the best soundtrack?
Easy Rider

What lyric do you wish you had written?
"You come in on your own and you leave on your own"- Richard Ashcroft - "On Your Own"

Did you have any pets growing up?
Yes, Penthouse's Miss July 2004. I'm joking of course - 3 golden retrievers; willy, rupert and then another willy.

What is your favorite kind of birthday cake?
Chocolate - as long as the chocolate was not made in this country. I wouldn't feed my dog (if I had one) american chocolate.

What embarrassing childhood story would your sibling(s) tell us about you?
I'm not going to encourage this line of enquiry...........

What did you learn about the music business from your time with Universal?
Never work with A & R people that are more interested in the color of your hair than the music you are making.

If forced, would you rather watch Yo! MTV Raps or Headbanger's ball?
I have no idea, I haven't had a TV in this country so am pretty out of the loop. - when I'm in a hotel room I'm pretty happy if that "Dirty Jobs" ???? show is on.

What's your guilty pleasure?
Chocolate

Which reality TV show could you win? Which reality series could your bandmates win?
Oh, I don't know - I have seen the Amazing Race - it looked a lot like touring; performing degrading acts whilst trying to get around the world with no money.

When you moved to the U.S., what was the biggest surprise about American culture?
That you Yanks haven't realised that if you bag your own groceries at the check out every one gets out of the store quicker ! instead, you just stand there as if it's below you to put that bottle of pomegranate juice in the bag. Jeeeeeesus !!!!!!

If you weren't a musician, what do you think you would you be doing? What jobs would you suggest for your bandmates?
I wouldn't mind being a leaf blower operator as long as you never needed to pick the leaves up. Simon, I think could be Prime Minister - he's very diplomatic, has the right background and I don't think there's a British housewife who could resist. Mal, could open an all day breakfast restaurant, that would serve an 8 course breakfast. And whilst my imagination is pretty much boundless, I can understand the finer points of fractoral math and even Foucaults theory on Panoptism seemed elementary to me at the age of 12, the notion of Sid having a day job is, and will always be, beyond me.

It's xxxx year (you decide) and you're a festival promoter. What bands would you book for an amazing summer show?
This year please - pink floyd, radiohead, my morning jacket, wilco, the jayhawks, teenage fanclub, marjorie fair, neil diamond, sophie ellis-bextor.

What shocking fact will be revealed when Minibar is featured on "Behind the Music"?
That we don't really write our own music and are just a fabricated eye-candy band put together by the "high waisted" Simon Cowell.

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Mini-Bio: Benny's Big Ears Biog (2001)

Where and when were you born?
Cheddar Gorge at least a decade after Simon

Do you have any brothers and sisters?
Two younger brothers: Dirty Earsy and Dirty Benny

Who were your favorite bands growing up?
The Cult, The Mission, Spear of Destiny, All About Eve, Fields of the Nephilim, Sisters of Mercy, and Abba

What was your first experience as a concert-goer?
Bucks Fizz - The Reunion Tour but without Jay Aston - the difference between the Old Fizz and the new one was particularly obvious.

What was your favorite experience as a concert-goer?
Glastonbury '99 - didn't see any bands, got wet, got lost, burst into tears then came home.

Previous to Minibar, what jobs had you held?
Worked in a magic shop - through association I landed a job as a magician's assistant on a cruise ship. I got wet, burst into tears and came home.

How and when did you join Minibar?
Through a personal ad in a gentleman's contact magazine.

What has been your greatest Minibar moment to date?
Coming to America (watching the Eddie Murphy film in bed with Robert Starks, with lots of popcorn (buttery)).

What guitarist has influenced you the most?
Billy Duffy

What is your songwriting process?
I don't know.

Is there an artist that you'd like to collaborate with?
Sophie Ellis Bextor

Do you have a favorite track on Road Movies?
Not really. Track 2 or 4. Can't quite remember. The Bryan Adams one.

What is your favorite song to perform live?
Depends on my mood. "So Long Soho" if the feeling is right, but "Choked Up" can be quite jaunty.

What is in your CD player right now?
Gram Parsons

If you could go back to any moment in musical history, when would you choose and why?
Band Aid to stop Bob Geldof swearing in front of so many people.

What do you like to read?
Ingredients and packet information. Particularly shampoo bottles since '97.

Which fictional character do you most identify with?
Martin Chuzzlewit

What adjective would you use to describe the other Minibar members?
Sid: Almost Sober; Simon: Almost 40; Mal: Almost Famous

What do you miss most about England?
Dirty Earsy's mucky shack, Razzle Magazine, Proper moustaches

Is there a household item that you can't live without?
Leg wax - it harks back to my cycling days when it was necessary. I grew so used to the smoothness that I have carried it on. I'm as smooth as an eel, except for in the usual places.

Describe a game of "Rock & Roll Jeopardy" against your bandmates.
Well, we'd all join Scooby on the couch. Malcolm would be polite and probably still wearing his coat. Simon would be eager and possibly in a hat. Scooby would be happy to take break from his diet of Kafka and Bushmills, and I'd be thinking about peanut M&Ms.

Scooby knows a lot about music, and life itself - he really is a scooby of all trades - but his rambling answers would prevent him from winning. Malcolm wouldn't be there for the end of the game so he wouldn't take the spoils. So that leaves Simon and myself. If the questions were about bands with bi-sexual singers, then I would win. ("Astbury I Love You"). If they were about suicidal 80's Northern artists then Simon would win. If they were about brands of coffee then power walking Minibar manager Robert Starks could sneak a surprise victory. But it is unlikely he could last the whole game without disappearing off to Starkbucks. Which is fine as long as he picks me up some M&Ms on the way - peanut ones. In a big bag.