“The Make A Band Famous show gave us all these creative challenges; we were driving all over New York playing weird shows, and it pushed me out of my comfort zone in a way that felt creative. Like they gave us a box of toy instruments and we had to play a cover with those, so my bassist had a little Casio keyboard and I had maracas tied to my ankles and we were playing an Alanis Morrisette song at 2 in the morning.” - Chris Ayer
Read More"Because songwriting is such an intimate expression, it was awkward when we were just friends and hadn’t really opened up in that way that’s necessary for writing good songs. Having a romantic involvement allowed us the intimacy to really open up in the songwriting process without fear of judgment…and our songs got much better”
Read More"This festival is an elevated spiritual experience that’s based in a lot of love and relationship. That connects everyone from audience member to volunteer staffer to artist. Everyone there feels that web of compassion; to me that’s the special aspect of Bear Music Festival that I don’t think exists in a lot of environments."
Read More"I know that for a fact music is going to be a part of my life forever, definitely. There’s nothing else that really compares to it, so why would you try to do anything else?”
Read More“It’s a testament to your music if you’re playing in a really loud room and the place just shuts up 30 seconds into a song. And it’s like, ‘Ohhh. I’m doing something right.’”
Read More"It’s one part celebration of guy groups from the '50s and '60s that used to dance behind the lead singer and wear the same outfits, and one part golden era 90s DJ Premier and Guru-type classic hip-hop show. When you combine all this with the sensibilities of The Simpsons and Monty Python, you get the Retar Crew”
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