Well, perhaps, perhaps, and probably not.  The genre is tough to nail down, but quirky Cleveland trio THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS are certainly among its practicioners.  Danny O'Brien, Justus Brake, and Eric Wahl perform their own original repertoire of catchy pop melodies and witty lyrics that tap the mind and boggle the toes.

 Frontman Danny is the band's primary songwriter and a versatile multi-instrumentalist.  Justus plays a mean classically-trained bass guitar and provides most of the onstage laughs.  Eric is a superhumanly-coordinated drummer who also uses his audio engineering skills to give the band's recordings their sweet sweet sound.  Collectively, TMR are a force to be rocked-on with.

 The band's sound has been described as a cross between "Schoolhouse Rock" and The Doors, but the boys themselves list their primary musical influences as They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies, Moxy Früvous, Dave Matthews Band, and the Beatles.  Additionally, The Minimum Requirements' songs incorporate a wide range of stylistic flavors from funk and reggae to Irish folk and bluegrass.

 The Minimum Requirements got together in the spring of 1999, and since then they have independently recorded two CD albums, This End Up and Missing Pieces, and have performed on live radio in their hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.  The band's recordings are sharp and entertaining, but performing live is their first love.  (Well, actually, their first love is nachos.  But after that, performing live.)

 Nine months of the year, the guys find themselves frightfully mired in the darkness of academia.  Danny is a student at The Ohio State University, where he studies religions and politics; Justus is majoring in mathematics and music at Case Western Reserve University; and Eric is a recording arts and technology student at Cuyahoga Community College.