Employing the unemployable.
We are a music collective.
♥ Vince Griffin
♥ Brooks Tipton
♥ Dave Huff
♥ Patrick Ryan
♥ Daniel Thoms Gimlin
♥ Andy Haldeman
always:
♥ Stephen Tucker
♥ Adam Putman
♥ Matthew Putman
♥ Matthew Depper
♥ Chase Pagan
♥ Kyle Smith
♥ Bryce Chambers
Influences
Blip/bleeps. Ambulance sirens. Obsessions with reverbs. Equal obsessions with borrowed acoustic guitars. Pre-made beats sliced into a million pieces. A cure for anything. Someone telling you that you're not the one for them and locking the door. Endless driving. Rude people/nice people. Lower tax-brackets. Sleepwalking. Living on borrowed time. Requesting more time. Being okay with lo-fi. Waking up to yourself again and finding you like that person. Vultures. Nurses with needles. Antibiotics. Antibiotics. Antibiotics. Deaths on all kinds of levels whether emotional or physical. Looking through what is left after a car wreck can leave you feeling a bit stronger than you give yourself credit for.
Sounds Like
Melted plastic that has been breathed in for quite sometime put to a beat with too many acoustic guitars/electric guitars and shakers. Also being way ahead of the pack of wolves breathing down our necks (you know who you are). No need for introductions.
No band on the Plantation roster embraces the Esperanza ethos of “hope”
with more open arms than their newest addition Bear Colony. If the listener
follows the lyrics closely throughout the debut “We Came Here to Die”. It is
apparent that underlying themes of coping and healing connect each of the
songs into a unified composition. The unfortunate inspiration behind this
composition came from primary songwriter Vince Griffin--s troubled experi-
ences of 2005. Misdiagnosed with Crohns Disease, Vince was bedridden for
several months, and began writing the songs in his bedroom as an outlet.
The frightening uncertainty surrounding the condition spurred Vince to
channel his frustrations into creativity, and the songs that comprise the
debut full-length are a chronicle of the fears endured. Leaning on his
musician friends around him, Vince began sharing the early Bear Colony
material over the internet and the collaborative process began. The musical
foundation which he wrote in the bedroom was slowly built upon as multiple
players began adding parts and joining the fold. The core nucleus of the
group became Vince, Brooks Tipton (Unwed Sailor), Adam Putman,
Matthew Putman (ex-Lovedrug, Unwed Sailor, Snailhuntr), Matthew Depper (ex-Lovedrug, Unwed Sailor, Snailhuntr), Chase Pagan (Of Militia Group) and Kyle Smith. What began as a fun tape swap among friends
to escape from the mundane quickly became a true band of seven members,
all bringing their own contribution to the creative collective table. The band has since found a solid touring line-up that includes: Patrick Ryan, Andy Haldeman, Brooks Tipton and Dave Huff. Since the release of "We Came Here to Die" the band has toured the likes of the Midwest and East Coast playing with bands ranging from Lovedrug to Brandston. They
have the very definition of a colony in this new circle of artistic friends:
“ a group of organisms of the same kind living or growing in close associa-
tion.” A Bear Colony is born.
Praise for 2007's "We Came Here To Die":
"Without Griffin's dramatic back story, Bear Colony's We Came Here to
Die is still a compelling and engaging collection of songs created at
the crossroads of emo and electronica, but considering its difficult
birth, the album becomes a statement of the artist's ability to
transcend physical challenges and the overwhelmingly redemptive nature
of music itself."
In the way Bear Colony plays tug of war between restraint and free-for-all, We Came Here to Die recalls an electro-fied Broken Social Scene. It's in the tension between these two points of view -- where the urge to let it all go meets the understanding that it can't -- that Griffin nestles his voice. It's a voice frustrated by fate (knowing about his disease surely colors this fact, but, hey, so would knowing the songwriter suffered a breakup), but Griffin never seems defeated. On the contrary, We Came Here to Die's songs alternately reach out, as with the delicate yet forceful "Suffocation," or they struggle for a kind of understanding and peace ("I'm Not Brave," "The Boy With Broken Arms"). Griffin's fight is a good one; he comes out sounding like someone who's got a lot to lose and everything to gain -- he later learned that he was wrongly diagnosed. His band responds with appropriate urgency and a promise: with their melodies, beats and beeps, they'll get him where he needs to go. That kind of backup doesn't come around often, and Bear Colony operates like they know it.
"Esperanza Plantation's new addition, Bear Colony, is the more vocal cousin to Unwed Sailor. Their debut album,"We Came Here to Die," is fresh and has some of the cutest cover art I've ever seen. As for the sound, think electronic beats, multiple layers and a solid pop sensibility-all the makings of your next favorite indie band."
"This is one of those albums that you could drive to all day around town and feel like you went around the world and passed through all four seasons. Somehow this album has achieved being timeless while being very modern. "We came here to die" is one of the most enchanting albums you could ever own. Start to finish it is complete."
"We Came Here To Die is an electronic gem, featuring plenty of great beats and distortions. Softer electronica music is quickly becoming a popular genre and Bear Colony have clawed their way to the top."
"Bear Colony seamlessly blends together more traditional instruments with new, more experimental ones. The highlight track, fittingly titled “Hospital Rooms Aren’t for Lovers”, spotlights both the creativity of the band and Vince’s surprisingly advanced vocals. I can easily see either of the below tracks on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, but that’s much more of a compliment than an insult (see: Jim Noir and Metric on the latest Grey’s soundtrack). With accessible rhythms and heartfelt lyrics to boot, you haven’t seen the last of Bear Colony."
Thumbs Up! Go buy this shit!
These are some sweet tunes. I could easily see myself with a nice woman, walking between the trees around some kind of forest or something. Good feelings—therefore I like it.
"Bear Colony, like the Main Drag before them, sound like emo for the modern age. On "Sharks," shades of Sunny Day Real Estate mesh with electronic textures reminiscent of the Smashing Pumpkin's Adore. It's both bracing and pretty: an anthem for the unbearably lonely."
--The Rawking Refuses To Stop review by Rob Gordon
Bear Colony Downloads
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YO! we finally found a room to record in! so i guess now it would be worth a try to check out our new song!! ude probably like it if ure in the mood for something different ;)
I would just like to say that every time I wear my bear colony shirt I have at least 4 people(some whom I never met)point out that it is an elephant on my shirt and not a bear... It makes my day
MARC EMERY, PRINCE OF POT, TAKES TIME 4 HEMP! AND IT'S FREE TO DOWNLOAD AT http://www.Time4Hemp.TV AND SO IS OUR TRIBUTE TO THE MARIJUANA MUSIC AWARDS!
OFFICIAL JUDGE OF 2008 GLOBAL MARIJUANA MUSIC AWARDS CASPER LEITCH & JOINT HOST NEAL SMITH SHOWCASE THE MMA¹S HISTORY, PURPOSE & ARTISTS ON TIME 4 HEMP!
FEATURING SONGS FROM THE MARIJUANA MUSIC AWARDS FROM MUSICAL ARTISTS: BILL BERRY - PAUL BULLOCK - GREEN FEVER- DJ SLIM - SEAN REEFER AND THE RESIN VALLEY BOYS - DAVID REED - AND RAY CHARLES
