Minus the Bear Confess Their Love for Katy Perry, Consider Doing Metallica Cover

You think you have a band like Minus the Bear all figured and then, on the eve of their 10-year anniversary, the Seattle rockers share a startling revelation.

"We've been playing 'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry in the tour van. It's been blasting," bassist Cory Murchy tells Spinner. "I wouldn't consider it a joke song, either, 'cause we all genuinely like it. It's an actual really good song."

But is it good enough for Minus the Bear to cover? That's the real question as the band bats around ideas about what track they might like to revamp, because after a decade together, they've never officially reworked another group's material.

"We talk about this all the time, but we've never actually played a full cover as a band together," says Murchy. "We always make jokes of songs that would be really fun to cover but we also don't want to be the band that have the cover song that fans just want to hear. 'Cause bands definitely fall into that trap of like, 'Oh, they're the band that does that ..."

"Or, they're like, 'Wow, this is so much better than all your other songs,'" adds singer and synth-man Alex Rose. "Plus, if you record it and put it on a release and it blows up then you're screwed [because of licensing]."

Minus the Bear might still be weighing the pros and cons of formally tackling a cover song but it seems they have no problem channeling James Hetfield and Co. behind closed doors.

"We've been doing 'Enter Sandman' at soundcheck," laughs Rose.

"We've been doing some Metallica," Muchy confirms, "but only 'The Black Album' -- nothing earlier."

The band may be shy about sharing their cover of the heavy metal classic, but their fans have no qualms about showing off their own handiwork when it comes to Minus the Bear staples. "It's interesting because there's this whole world of your material, and there are people out there who care enough to learn it and rework it," says Rose.

"We've seen some YouTube [videos] of like a vocal chorus of college kids singing certain songs and it was crazy," adds Murchy. "And the dude who won our 'My Time' remix contest did a really good job, and I think it surprised us all. By far, his was the most bitchin' of the remixes.

"It opens up a whole new side to the band as well, so it's actually a really nice learning experience, 'cause we're finally able to step back and see our songs from a different angle."

Watch Minus the Bear's Video for 'Throwin' Shapes'

And after a decade playing together, one would assume that getting a new perspective is key to keeping things moving forward.

"Without being adventurous this would get really boring," says Rose.

We've been married for 10 years," jokes Murchy. "What's the 10-year anniversary -- is it silver or tin or ...? We're lucky to have been able to do this for 10 years and to want to continue for another 10 or 20."

So how will the boys celebrate this mega milestone?

"We're re-releasing '[This Is What I Know About Being] Gigantic,' our first EP, on vinyl for the first time, and we're releasing 'Highly Refined Pirates' on vinyl. So just remastering everything, and it will be nice to revisit those. We're also heading into the studio to record [a new album]. It'll just be a cauldron of everything we're listening to. You know, the last 10 years, taking all of that and putting it in the pot."