Grizzly Bear (band)

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Grizzly Bear
Grizzly-Bear.jpg
Grizzly Bear in May 2006
Background information
Origin Brooklyn, New York, United States
Genres Indie rock,[1] folk rock, psychedelic folk,[1] neo-psychedelia, experimental,[1] art rock
Years active 2002–present
Labels Kanine, Warp
Associated acts Department of Eagles, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, CANT
Website grizzly-bear.net
Members Daniel Rossen
Christopher Bear
Ed Droste
Chris Taylor

Grizzly Bear are an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002.[2] The band consists of Edward Droste (vocals, keyboards, omnichord), Daniel Rossen (vocals, guitar, banjo, keyboards), Chris Taylor (bass, backing vocals, various instruments, producer) and Christopher Bear (drums, backing vocals).

The band employs traditional and electronic instruments. Their sound has been categorized as psychedelic pop, folk rock, and experimental, and is dominated by the use of vocal harmonies. The band is one of the few non-electronic artists signed to Warp Records.

Contents

History[edit]

Beginnings and Horn of Plenty (2002-2006)[edit]

Main article: Horn of Plenty (album)

Grizzly Bear began as a moniker for songwriter Ed Droste's music in the early 2000s. Regarding the band's origins as a solo project, Droste noted, "It was just like doing a little home project, and I thought "oh, this is fun, I'm just going to call this stuff Grizzly Bear. [...] Our name was actually just a nickname for an old boyfriend of mine."[3]

In 2004, Droste released Grizzly Bear's debut album, Horn of Plenty. Predominately a solo album the album featured contributions from future drummer Christopher Bear.[4] Rolling Stone magazine wrote of the first album that "The pure atmospheric power of the songs is more than enough to hypnotize."

Droste and Bear were subsequently joined by bass guitarist and producer Chris Taylor, and performed four shows together as a three-piece. Regarding these shows, Droste noted, "We've never played without the four of us, really. The first couple shows we did before we knew Dan [Rossen], we did with three of us and they kind of sucked. From the get-go, when we were trying to put together a live show, that's when we discovered our sound and that's why I think that was the beginning of the band."[5]

Guitarist and vocalist Daniel Rossen, a friend of Bear's from jazz-camp,[4][3] joined the band soon after, with Rossen stating, "For a long time, I only played my songs to close friends; and it just happened that I lived with Chris Taylor during my second year of college, so he heard them. He was my entrance into Grizzly Bear. He joined the band first, then after a while he suggested I come in with these songs. [...] When I joined, I did about two rehearsals with them, worked out one of my songs to put into the set, then a week later we were out on the road for a two-month tour. It was a real trial-by-fire thing. I was close with Chris and Chris [Bear], but I didn’t know Ed [Droste] at all; it was weird getting to know a stranger by spending all day in the same car."[6]

Regarding the decision to turn Grizzly Bear into a full band, Droste noted "I was quite happy to relinquish the idea of being a solo artist. I hate the thought of being under a spotlight with my guitar, mumbling into a microphone. It’s horribly scary to me."[2]

Yellow House (2006-2008)[edit]

Main article: Yellow House (album)

Their first record as a quartet and to feature material written by Rossen, Yellow House, was released on Warp Records in September 2006. It was named for Droste's mother's house where it was recorded[7] and ranked as one of the top albums of 2006 by the New York Times and Pitchfork Media. In 2007, Rossen recorded a cover of JoJo's single "Too Little Too Late" for Droste's twenty-ninth birthday.[8] In 2006 the band did a Take-Away Show session with Vincent Moon. Also in 2007, the band released Friend, an EP which features outtakes, alternate versions of songs, and covers of Grizzly Bear material done by Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS), Band of Horses, and Atlas Sound. In addition, members of the Dirty Projectors and Beirut collaborated with the band on "Alligator" and the EP's hidden track.

On March 1, 2008, Grizzly Bear performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.[9]

Veckatimest (2008-2010)[edit]

Main article: Veckatimest

In summer of 2008, Grizzly Bear opened for Radiohead on the second leg of their North American tour.[10] In Toronto, on their last date of the tour together, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood spoke of his love for Grizzly Bear, on stage, calling them his favorite band.[11] Of the experience, Taylor has commented: “It was shocking, and kind of unbelievable. It still is unbelievable. Opening for Radiohead was a huge honor for us, as a band and as individuals. We’ve all had long-term relationships with Radiohead’s music, so we didn’t want to take that opportunity for granted, and do anything less than the best we could."[12] Christopher has also commented that it "was like a dream."[13]

The group then convened at a house on Cape Cod to solidify their third full-length album, Veckatimest, which released in May 2009 and was named "after a tiny, uninhabited island on Cape Cod that the band visited and was inspired by, particularly liking its Native American name."[14] Upon release the album reached No. 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and met with widespread critical acclaim. Chris Bear has noted that compared to Yellow House, the band's 2009 release Veckatimest is more of an accessible pop record. He said: "I think that it’s kinda clearer, clearer equals more accessible I feel like clearer equals more accessible in general as a rule."[15] Veckatimest made many Top Album lists for 2009 (#1 Wall Street Journal, No. 6 Pitchfork, No. 6 New York Times, No. 8 Time)[16]

In 2009, Grizzly Bear also contributed "Service Bell" (with Feist) and "Deep Blue Sea" to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Shields (2011-present)[edit]

Grizzly Bear in 2012 at the Brixton Academy
Main article: Shields (album)

In March 2012, Daniel Rossen released a solo EP, Silent Hour/Golden Mile, consisting of tracks he had written for the band's forthcoming album, but were not used.[17]

On June 5, 2012, the song "Sleeping Ute" from their then-untitled upcoming studio album was posted on the band's website, along with the album's track listing and tour dates.[18] On July 9, 2012, the band revealed the album's title to be Shields.[19]

On September 4th, 2012, the album leaked on the internet. Then on September 10th, the album was available for an early listen via the NPR website.[20]

Band members[edit]

  • Ed Droste - lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, omnichord (2002-present)
  • Daniel Rossen - lead vocals, guitars, keyboards (2005-present)
  • Chris Taylor - bass guitar, backing vocals, wind instruments, producer (2005-present)
  • Christopher Bear - drums, percussion, backing vocals (2004-present)

Touring members

  • Aaron Arntz - keyboards (2012-present)[21]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

EPs[edit]

Others[edit]

Singles[edit]

Collaboration, tours, and notable appearances[edit]

In November 2007, the band released their EP Friend on Warp Records. The EP features collaborations with the Dirty Projectors and Beirut, as well as covers of Grizzly Bear songs by Cansei de Ser Sexy, Atlas Sound and Band of Horses.

Grizzly Bear has toured with TV on the Radio (U.S., October 2006), Feist (U.S., June 2007) and The xx (U.S., June 2013). In April 2008 Paul Simon asked Grizzly Bear to play with him for five nights during his month long residency at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, showcasing songs from his career.[13] Grizzly Bear worked with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Paul Duncan of Warm Ghost.[22] The band opened for Radiohead on the second leg of their North American tour of summer 2008.[23]

Some notable concerts and music festivals in which Grizzly Bear has performed include the Coachella Music Festival (Indio, California, April 29, 2007); the Sasquatch Music Festival (George, Washington, May 26, 2007); the Roskilde Festival (Roskilde, Denmark, July 7, 2007); and the Pitchfork Music Festival (Chicago, July 14, 2007). On November 3, 2007 the band played as a part of the Wordless Music Series at the New York Society for Ethical Culture center. The show was later ranked by Stereogum.com as their Favorite Live Show of 2007. On March 1, 2008 Grizzly Bear played at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The first half of the show featured the orchestra playing selections chosen by Grizzly Bear while Grizzly Bear followed with a full set of their own songs. They also played at the 2008 Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, Illinois and the 2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival, along with appearing at the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival.

L to R: Chris Taylor, Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen, Christopher Bear at the Austin City Limits Music Festival

In 2009, they played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on February 28 with Owen Pallett, backed by an orchestra arranged by Nico Muhly and conducted by Michael Christie. They played new songs from Veckatimest as well as songs from Yellow House. Ed Droste has stated that many songs (such as "Central and Remote", "Reprise" and "Campfire") will not be played again unless backed by an orchestra. In March 2009, they played two showcases at South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas at the Central Presbyterian Church (Austin, Texas) and the Cedar Street Courtyard. In July 2009, they played at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Illinois.[24] The band returned to Austin to perform at the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival on October 3. The October 16 release of the Twilight Saga: New Moon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack included Slow Life (track 13) by the band and featured guest vocals by Victoria Legrand of Beach House.

In the summer of 2009, Beyoncé and Jay-Z attended the band's show at East River State Park in New York City.[25] Jay-Z praised the band as "incredible," claiming that "what the indie rock movement is doing right now is very inspiring", hoping that it would "push hip-hop to go even further."[26]

The band performed at the Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo, Norway, on November 25, 2009, and subsequently arranged to play at the Falls Festival in Australia's Marion Bay and Lorne locations. Following the four-day Australian festival (from December 29 - January 1, 2010), the band performed on January 7, 2010, at the Sunset Sounds Festival in Brisbane, Queensland, and then on January 9, 2010, at the three-day Southbound Festival in Busselton, Western Australia.

They also played at the three-day Splendour in the Grass music festival in Woodford, Queensland on the 30th June 2010 with the likes of The Strokes, Pixies and Ben Harper & Relentless7.

In the summer of 2010, they played at the Nateva Music & Camping Festival. They played on the Main Stage on Saturday July 3. They also appeared at Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit on October 23 and 24 in Mountain View, California.

Grizzly Bear have recently been confirmed to headline and curate ATP's I'll Be Your Mirror festival at Alexandra Palace in London on May 5th 2013.

Television appearances[edit]

  • April 22, 2007 – Grizzly Bear performed "Lullabye" on Last Call with Carson Daly.
  • May 2007 – Characters on Gilmore Girls mentioned Grizzly Bear on a season finale episode.[27]
  • August 2007 - Part of the choir for Feist's performance of "1234" on Late Show with David Letterman.
  • October 2007 – The song "On a Neck, On a Spit" was featured on an episode of Reaper.
  • February 2008 – Grizzly Bear's song "Knife" was featured in the season premiere of the UK programme Skins.
  • March 6, 2008 – Grizzly Bear performed "Knife" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
  • April 21, 2008 – Grizzly Bear performed "While You Wait for the Others" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
  • July 23, 2008 - Grizzly Bear performed "Two Weeks" on Late Show with David Letterman.
  • May 5, 2009 - Grizzly Bear performed "Two Weeks" and "While You Wait for the Others" on Later... with Jools Holland.
  • June 26, 2009 - Grizzly Bear performed "Cheerleader" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
  • July 16, 2009 - Grizzly Bear performed "Ready, Able" on Late Show with David Letterman.
  • October 12, 2009 - Grizzly Bear performed "Two Weeks" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
  • A short section from "On a Neck On a Spit" is played nightly on [Adult Swim] as an interlude between shows.
  • December 7, 2009 - The song "Two Weeks" was featured on an episode of How I Met Your Mother.
  • January 28, 2010 - The song "Foreground" was featured on an episode of Skins.
  • January 28, 2010 - "Two Weeks" was featured in a French commercial for Peugeot 5008.
  • February 7, 2010 - "Two Weeks" was featured in a Volkswagen commercial that debuted during halftime of Super Bowl XLIV.
  • April 26, 2010 - "Two Weeks" was featured on an episode of Gossip Girl called "Dr. Estrangeloved".
  • August 14, 2012 - Grizzly Bear performed on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" and was interviewed by Stephen Colbert.
  • September 14, 2012 - Grizzly Bear performed "Sleeping Ute" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
  • December 12, 2012 - Grizzly Bear performed "Yet Again" on Late Show with David Letterman.
  • May 24, 2013 - Grizzly Bear performed "Yet Again" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Film appearances[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "FoxyTunes Planet has moved to Yahoo! Music". Foxytunes.com. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  2. ^ a b Ramaswamy, Chitra. "Interview: Grizzly Bear on their new album Shields". scotsman.com. Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  3. ^ a b at 12:11 AM (2006-09-08). "An interview with Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear". Brooklynvegan.com. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  4. ^ a b "Grizzly Bear: Soap Opera". SPIN.com. 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  5. ^ Greenwalk, David. "Interview / Grizzly Bear". cokemachineglow.com. Retrieved 22 September 2012. 
  6. ^ "Grizzly Bear Interview - An Interview with Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear". Altmusic.about.com. 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  7. ^ LA Weekly Interview
  8. ^ Pitchfork Forkcast: New Music: Daniel Rossen [of Grizzly Bear]: "Too Little Too Late" (JoJo cover) [MP3/Stream][dead link]
  9. ^ Posted by (2008-01-28). "Grizzly Bear and LA Philharmonic Set March Performance : ALARM Magazine - Music & Art Beyond Comparison". Alarmpress.com. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  10. ^ Gormely, Ian."Grizzly Bear Under Pressure", Exclaim!, June 2009.
  11. ^ [http://thequietus.com /articles/00334-radiohead-speak-of-love-for-grizzly-bear "News | Jonny Greenwood: Grizzly Bear Are My Favourite Band"]. The Quietus. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  12. ^ "Grizzly Bear Interview". Clashmusic.com. 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  13. ^ a b "Grizzly Bear - Cover Story". Musicfeeds.com.au. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  14. ^ "Blog". Grizzly Bear. Retrieved 2012-09-18. 
  15. ^ Peter Bloxham. "TLOBF Interview :: Grizzly Bear". The Line Of Best Fit. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  16. ^ "Veckatimest on 2009’s Top Year-End Lists « Grizzly Bear". Grizzly-bear.net. 2009-12-21. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  17. ^ Hyden, Steven. "Opening Track: Daniel Rossen, Silent Hour/Golden Mile | The A.V. Club". theavclub.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012. 
  18. ^ "Grizzly Bear's new song 'Sleeping Ute'". Grizzly Bear. 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  19. ^ "Grizzly Bear's upcoming 2012 album called Shields". Grizzly Bear. Retrieved 2012-07-09.  Text "date+2012-07-09 " ignored (help)
  20. ^ "First Listen: Grizzly Bear, 'Shields'". NPR. Retrieved 2012-09-10.  Text "date+2012-07-09 " ignored (help)
  21. ^ Pareles, Jon. "Grizzly Bear Takes a New Approach on its album, Shields". NYtimes.com. Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  22. ^ Erick Sermon (March 2011). "Warm Ghost – Uncut Diamond EP -- Partisan Records: 2011". Music Nerdery. Retrieved 2011-05-08. 
  23. ^ Pitchfork.com: Grizzly Bear to open for Radiohead[dead link]
  24. ^ "Pitchfork Music Festival 2010". Pitchforkmusicfestival.com. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  25. ^ Vozick, Simon (2009-08-31). "Jay-Z, Beyonce attend Grizzly Bear concert | The Music Mix | EW.com". Music-mix.ew.com. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  26. ^ "Jay-Z Hopes Bands Like Grizzly Bear Will 'Push Hip-Hop' - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  27. ^ "Grizzly Bear's ''Gilmore Girls'' Moment". Stereogum. 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 

External links[edit]

Grizzly Bear
Studio albums
EPs
Remix albums
Singles
Related articles
Bands
Releases
Other
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