You guys started Minus the Bear long before streaming sites dominated the way people consumed music. Tell us about what else was different back then!

We sold more CDs! CDs made up the majority of our sales when we started out. It took a few years, but most sales have gone to digital. Vinyl sales keep going up though and hopefully that trend will continue.

You have toured pretty extensively, where's the best place you've been in all the world? What should we go see if we go there too?

Spain is my favorite place so far. Drive the coast, stop at the little restaurants you see along the way, swim. It's beautiful.

You guys have been a band a long time, which isn't an easy task! What holds you guys together?

Friendship and a shared goal of making a living off this band. That and we work pretty well together musically.

Being in a band and being a touring musician is often glamorized by films and TV. What's the most difficult thing about songwriting and being a musician that people don't realize is a hardship?

For me there's a lot of fear in songwriting. When I write lyrics my anxiety that I'm a fraud can create writer's block. No fun. On tour, I don't think people realize how boring it can be. Hours of nothing in the middle of nowhere sometimes.

Where did you spend your childhood? Tell us what growing up in your hometown was like; What made it unique?

I grew up in Woodinville, WA. Currently Woodinville is a big wine town with over 100 wineries, and several distilleries and breweries. When I was a kid it was pretty much a cultural desert that lent itself to playing music in the garage with buddies and skateboarding.

You call Seattle home. What is something to do there that's off the beaten path?

Snoqualmie Falls just North East of Seattle. Big beautiful falls that we see on Twin Peaks.

What is something that most people don't know about you?

Right now I have a mustache.

Apart from music, what are you passionate about?

I love record players and hi fi. I'm a hi fi nerd. Record players are like guitars...they all sound different. Also guitars. I like to mess with those too.

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Jake Snider is a musician who has been a member of bands like Sharks Keep Moving and Onalaska. He is currently in the band Minus the Bear on vocals and guitar. You can follow the band on Twitter and Instagram: @minusthebear. He is currently wearing the Orient Disk.