There are a lot of bands out in the world and that makes it hard to stand out in a crowd. Yet, bear. is blazing their own trail. Based out of Golden, Colorado, the band carries through with memorable grooves and hopeful lyrics reminiscent of a low-key Alex Clare. With the soaring voice of Will Livingston, memorable riffs from guitarist Bruce Butler, and driving beats from Elias Euler on drums, bear. reignites the need for passionate music with their thought-provoking lyrics and calming melodic undertones. The members stay connected with the community, whether that is with local youth or their local church, while still working on producing music. The Howler got an opportunity to talk to them via email.

Howler: How did the members of bear. come together and start making music?

Will: I had a handful of songs that needed to be arranged for a full band and wanted to pursue that sound more than just a singer/songwriter could do by myself. I had been playing music with Elias for a few years and it seemed natural that he would join me, and I ended up meeting Bruce through a local church. After a few shows together under my solo name, we decided to pursue our goals as a group.

Howler: What did each of the members do before joining the band?

Bruce: I had just moved to CO from Buffalo, New York, and was working with the mentally handicapped of Denver and was playing for local churches.

Elias: Pursuing a degree up at CU Boulder.

Will: Working at a local high school in transition services, a division of special education.

Howler: How would you describe bear.’s music to someone who doesn’t know you guys?

Bruce: U2 meets Nickelback

Will: In all seriousness, though, we tend to sound like alternative rock being a bit on the softer side.

Howler: What made you want to make music?

Elias: I’ve just always done it, all throughout high school and before it.

Bruce: It’s just something that I’ve always done, and I played instruments of one kind or another since fourth grade.

Will: Similar to the other two, it’s just been something I’ve done for a while, but only recently started writing my own material.

Howler: With a few singles released on Soundcloud, does the band have any plans to release a full album in the coming months?

Not in the next couple months, we’re still focusing on upcoming singles for the foreseeable future.

Howler: Would your single “Changes” and the lyrics “I’m not the same” point to any of your own life events?

Will: Just about all of the lyrical content is related to my own life events and “I’m not the same,” is a reference to how I’ve since grown and (hopefully) become a better/different person than the last few years.

Howler: What inspires you to write music?

Will: As a lot of people find, I tend to find inspiration in the harder times of life, but have drawn creativity out of other media like art and film.

Howler: How does bear. get the creative juices flowing when writing new material?

Elias: Elias.

Bruce: We usually bring a song to the table and start working on it.

Howler: With all the bands out there, what does bear do uniquely to separate themselves from crowd?

Will: Well, we have a lowercase “b” and a period at the end…

Bruce: One thing I’ve noticed is that not a lot of bands work well with layers in their music, but that’s something we specialize in. We don’t try and stand out individually, we try and have every instrument compliment the other.

Howler: Do you have a certain topic you try to speak about in your music?

Will: That goes back to our lyrical inspiration, I tend to stick to my interactions with people from the past.

Howler: What do you want your audience to take away from your music?

Elias: The drummer.

Bruce: I just really want people to enjoy it, honestly.

Elias: Yeah I just want people to have a good time.

Howler: How does bear. keep their concert experience memorable?

Elias: A lot of energy.

Bruce: We try to bring new things every time; whether it be a new song, merch, or stage presence.

Howler: What were some of bear.’s influences?

Copeland, Barcelona, Medic, Lydia, My Epic, Reign of Kindo, and maybe even John Mayer. It seems like a joke, but John Mayer’s electric riffs and songwriting reflect on us.

Howler: Do you have any bands you really enjoy playing with?

Chemistry Club, Bad Suns, Foxfield Four, One Flew West

Howler: If you could change something about modern day music, what would that be?

Elias: More Elias. It’s all about catchiness.

Bruce: I feel like musicianship takes a back seat to catchiness. Some of the best musicians out right now, playing beautiful music, will never be played on the radio.

Will: I don’t really mind the current state of the industry, but sometimes I get tired of hearing just catchy melodies in pop music all of the time on the radio. Sometimes I’d like to hear a band that doesn’t rely on just one melody to get radio play.

You can find bear. on their Facebook, Twitter, and hear their music on Soundcloud.