What effect do you believe writing your music at a cabin in Bear Lake has on the final musical product?
I think writing at Bear Lake has really solidified the communal nature of this band. Their is no one in charge up there; everyone can just throw ideas out freely and equally, and this mindset has stuck with us every time we have written since. It is freeing to be up there away from all the noise and commotion of our daily lives, and it gives us a sense of peace and relaxation that allows us to focus solely on what we love: Music. It was a double-edged sword though because we ended up with the name “Bear Lake.” Don’t get me wrong, we love the name and the meaning behind it, but since we took it, tons of bands have popped up with either Bear or Lake in the title. It has made it difficult to separate ourselves from the Indie Animal Pack, but we liked the meaning it had to us too much to change it.
Where do you see the band in five years?
In five years, I see our band with at least 5-6 more albums under our belt. We will still be touring (Internationally at that time), and we will have been picked up by a major label. We will have been in many more film and television placements, and our name will be one that people know and have heard of from coast to coast. By then, I also see us each branching off a bit and doing some songwriting and collaboration with other acts we have met along the way. That is what we love about songwriting: every time you write with a new person, you encounter new ideas and possibilities that were not previously accessible. We will continue to engage in that with as many new people as possible. Bear Lake will always be our number one priority, but all of us enjoy hearing our songs performed by many different people and in many different mediums, so I am sure we will have delved even more into that by then. Oh yeah, and we will each own a small Lear jet (something modest) and a couple tiny islands in the caribbean. You know, just for when we need to get away from all the fame and glory:)
HAHA! If you could play with any band in the world, who would it be and why?
I would have to say The Flaming Lips. It would be great to have all of us on one stage together: confetti cannons blazing, huge furry animals jumping around, and 100,000 people screaming in the audience, as all of us bust out the most incredible cover of Sade’s Smooth Operator that anyone has ever heard…EVER…It would be epic. Wayne Coyne, if you are reading this…consider it, and give us a call. It could be fun.
In what way is Bear Lake different than other bands?
Our songwriting is something that sets us apart. With so many songwriters in one band, we always have an influx of songs at our fingertips, and we never run out of material (quite the opposite really; we always have way more material than we can realistically deal with at one time). Because of this, every album that we put out explores different places and feelings, and each album takes the listeners through diverse and varied musical landscapes. Also, I think so many bands out there today are extremely guitar-centric. We like the guitar, and Rice does a great job on it, but it is just one instrument, and there are many others we like to experiment with. The music is what’s important, and the guitar is just one way to express ideas. That ideas goes for songs as well; many bands get so caught up in shredding solos and crazy-complex changes, that they forget what’s important: The Hook. You can be the craziest, most talented player in the world, but if you can’t convey your music to people in a way they can understand and remember, you’re lost. We always try to have a more balanced approach to our melody structures. Because we all play lots of different instruments, it allows us to explore more tonal possibilities rather than just guitar riff, guitar solo, guitar outro like many other bands.
Do you have an artistic vision?
The band’s artistic vision has always been to experiment with the possibilities of songwriting, and to create the greatest possible hooks and melodies that we can fathom. We live for that “AH-HA” moment that comes in music; when a song takes a random turn that you never would have planned for or expected; it ends up sounding like something you have never heard, and it makes everyone in the room jump up, bounce their heads, and laugh, knowing that you have just created something great.
How was it shared with Al Sutton and Eric Hoegemeyer?
Eric and Al understood and respected what we were trying to do immediately. When we are in the studio, sometimes it is like mental telepathy. Most times we don’t even have to explain an idea in words; Eric will just automatically pick up on it and add to it in a way that astounds all of us. It’s really amazing to experience; getting in with Rustbelt was probably the best thing that ever happened for our band.
Have current economic conditions have any effect on the band?
I think it has helped in ways, and hurt in others. It allowed us to get our used band van for an insanely great price, but it has also forced us to spend tremendous amounts of money keeping it gassed up. I think the lack of available jobs out there has made people look at us as being a little less crazy when we tell them we are devoting our lives solely to the pursuit of music; even though if there were millions of jobs out there we still would be doing what we are doing now. All in all though I believe that we are welcoming this economic armageddon, and hoping that it will bring America back to some sense of balance; where people will have the opportunity to pursue what they love because they can no longer get that miserable 9-5 job that they would have otherwise wasted away their lives with. It is exciting, but I think it has also given a more cynical edge to our music. Seeing these Republicans in power that don’t care for anything or anyone outside of their own checkbooks, and would rather see people starving on the street than to give any money to government support programs is so sad in so many ways, and it would be hard for any American citizen to not let that affect their art.
Well said! What do you guys do for fun? Favorite hangout spots?
As much as we all love being together writing songs, outside of “band duties” we all kind of have our own passions. Rice is aspiring to be the next Lance Armstrong; Keith is always figuring out a way to book a west coast snowboard trip; Stets is training to be the world’s fastest man at beating the latest Mario Bros games; EP also enjoys a ride on a bike, however will often stop and draw a replica of his surroundings; Brian finds enjoyment in always being the smallest guy on the basketball court.
The Bear Lake cabin is for sure the favorite hangout spot. We got it all up there. Nothing better than relaxing on the lake, golfing at Grandview, slalom skiing, jet-skiing, barbecuing, writing and singing songs to ridiculously large bonfires.
What are you currently listening to? What local bands do you like?
National bands we are currently listening to are Foster the People, Radical Face, Bon Iver, Ra Ra Riot, Broken Bells, Portugal The Man, Phoenix, Arcade Fire and tons of others. We are obsessed with new music, so we could go on for days about great bands to check out (and we will if you ever want a list).
As for local bands, there are some great things happening musically in the Detroit area, and it has left us with tons of great bands we love including Brae, Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr, Jessica Hernandez, The American Secrets, Doop and the Inside Outlaws, The Juliets and many others.
Thanks Bear Lake for your great answers! See you at MI Fest.
