Bears in Hazenmore

Some of Saskatchewan's finest musical minds are teaming up this fall. Singer-songwriter Megan Nash and Regina-based band Bears in Hazenmore will embark on a tour of Canada together, and before they hit the road, they've shared a brand new collaborative single.

The string of shows kicks off on October 22 in Winnipeg and will wind its way through Ontario, hitting as far east as Montreal before wrapping back around and closing things off in Windsor on October 30. Bears in Hazenmore will be playing an opening set of their own original material, in addition to accompanying Nash onstage as her backing band.

To get an idea of what the musicians sound like together, Exclaim! is bringing you the premiere of their joint track "Wait." The song originally appeared on Nash's 2015 album Song Harvest Volume One, but has now been reworked to feature the "eclectic musicianship" of Bears in Hazenmore.

"Inspired by messy mistakes, I wrote 'Wait' in 2014 and included a live-off-the-floor version for my album Song Harvest Volume One," Nash tells Exclaim! "This song begged to have a full band behind it, and it was one of the first tracks that Bears in Hazenmore and I worked out together. When the idea to go into the studio came up, "Wait" was a strong candidate."

Attendees at the upcoming shows can expect plenty more revamped renditions of cuts off of that same record. Following the fall tour, both Nash and Bears in Hazenmore have plans to hit the studio respectively, and record more original material.

For now, though, see all the shows they'll be playing together listed below, then hit play to hear their new version of "Wait."

Tour dates:

10/22 Winnipeg, MB - House Concert
10/24 Sarnia, ON - Refined Fool Brewing Company
10/25 St. Catharines, ON - Mahtay Café
10/26 Hamilton, ON - The Casbah
10/27 Toronto, ON - The Central
10/28 Montreal, QC - Le Cagibi
10/29 Peterborough, ON - The Spill
10/30 Windsor, ON - Phog Lounge - Exclaim

Naming a band can be a difficult chore but sometimes things just fall into place.

For Regina’s Bears In Hazenmore, a conversation between two kids resulted in an easy decision for the band when it came to naming the group.

“We overheard this kid in a small-town diner as he was telling someone this tall tale of how his mother had nearly been eaten by a bear in Hazenmore. He had the town wrong and his mother didn’t get eaten but Dana leaned in and said ‘Bears in Hazenmore, that’s a great band name,’ and so we were off,” Tanner Wilhelm Hale said with a laugh during a recent interview at the Metro Café.

Comprised of Wilhelm Hale (drums), Brady Frank (lead vocals/guitar/keys), Dana Rempel (bass/sax), Darnell Stewart (guitar) and Dalton Lam (trumpet), Bears In Hazenmore got their in Swift Current. They all attended high school in Speedy Creek and met through the vibrant local music scene.

“We are all big fans of music that takes time to get into,” said Rempel.


Formed in 2014, the band released Airwaves, its second EP, in August and are now hitting the road for a six-date tour which includes a stop at O’Hanlon’s on Feb. 16


“The trouble with any band is, although it’s now easier to put links up on Facebook and put music out on Bandcamp, you have to still get in that van and go out and meet people one on one,” said Wilhelm Hale. “You might go out and play to a room of 80 people or four.

“It feels cool that we can get a draw out to see us, even now that we have moved from our hometown to Regina, we get our friends and fans following us.”

“It’s great to have those one on one interactions with the fans. We have that experience happen on the road, and they come up and talk to us and tell us how much they enjoyed the show,” added Rempel.

Classically trained, their music is often described as melodic alternative rock. Currently working on their first full-length record, Bears In Hazenmore have built a strong following over the past two years and have garnered national attention through CBC music contests.

Airwaves was recorded in May 2015 at Regina’s SoulSound Studios.

“I was searching around Regina and Orion (Paradis) has a great reputation — he has worked with several great bands like The Dead South and Library Voices — so I sent him a message and he really helped us put the songs on this new EP together,” said Wilhelm Hale. “It was a great experience.”

The EP was inspired by childhood memories of picking up distant radio stations at night in the car radio. Rempel also brought his experiences with a different type of radio to the project.

“I am a HAM operator, and we managed to work some of that into the EP, as well as morse code that, to me, adds a bit to the excitement of discovery that goes with being able to sit there and turn a radio dial and someone else out there broadcasting their voice over the airwaves,” said Rempel.

“I think the underlying theme of the EP is that when you think you are alone, you can reach out and meet these people.” added Wilhelm Hale in agreement.

Bears In Hazenmore

• Feb. 16

• O’Hanlon’s - Leader Post

Regina-based indie rock unit Bears in Hazenmore are about to unleash their sophomore EP Airwaves, but before it arrives, Exclaim! is giving you an exclusive first listen to a new track.

The release follows the band's self-titled 2014 debut EP and hears them maturing and growing together as musicians. "This group of songs comes from a different space compared to our first EP," said vocalist Brady Frank in a press release. "The songs are more developed and shaped by five unique songwriters."

The five-piece tightened up the new songs over the course of a year before laying them down in the studio — a luxury they didn't have the first time around. That process can be heard on "For Her Love Pt. I," which hears the band tinkering with newfound electronic influences.

"'For Her Love Pt. I' is a result of us experimenting with new sounds and ideas as a group," said Frank. "Over the last year it has changed numerous times until we found a sound we were really happy with. It has a more electronic feel than our other songs and initially featured 808s, [though we] eventually moved to kit playing."

You can hear the final results by giving it a listen in the player at the bottom of the post. Airwaves officially lands on August 11, and you can see the group's upcoming live shows in support of the new EP listed below.

Tour dates:

08/01 Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park, SK – Park Amphitheatre
08/06 Swift Current, SK - The Lyric Theatre
08/07 Saskatoon, SK – Amigos
08/09 Calgary, AB – Broken City
08/12 Kelowna, BC – Fernando's
08/13 Vancouver, BC – Seven Dining Lounge
08/14 Duncan, BC – Duncan Showroom
08/15 Victoria, BC – Copper Owl
08/16 Vancouver, BC - Cafe Deux Soleils
08/18 Revelstoke, BC – Last Drop
08/19 Canmore, AB - Good Earth Café
08/20 Red Deer, AB – Bo's Bar
08/21 Edmonton, AB – Bohemia
08/22 Calgary, AB – Blind Beggar's Pub
08/28 Regina, SK – The Exchange - Exclaim

Artist: Bears in Hazenmore
Song: "These Northern Mountains"

Epic. That's the first word that comes to mind when listening to this amazing builder of a song by this indie-folk-soundscape band from Swift Current. Love the Canadiana imagery in this song, too. Check 'em out if you like Bon Iver, City in Colour or Great Lake Swimmers. - CBC Music

REGINA — Although relatively new to Regina’s music scene, Bears in Hazenmore are already making an impact.

Formed in March 2014, the quintet released their sophomore EP Airwaves on Aug. 11, exactly a year after their self-titled debut offering. Having released two discs in less than 18 months of being a band, the group feels they’ve already grown an incredible amount in such a short period of time.

“I think the big thing that is different about the second album is that this one is more group-arranged and written,” explains Dana Rempel (bass/saxophone). “When we recorded our first EP it was basically all songs that Brady (Frank) had written and that we had played at a few gigs and got together to record so we had something to market ourselves with.

“For this EP, we’ve had the chance to play most of the songs, if not all, over the last year or more before recording them. Most of these songs existed when we recorded the first EP or sometime shortly after, so we’ve had more time with these songs and we’ve arranged them more as a group. This was more of an effort where five songwriters and musicians contributed on a greater scale.”

Performing Friday at The Exchange ­— opening for Nick Faye and The Deputies, along with Eagle Lake Owls and Future Forests ­— for their first hometown show since releasing Airwaves, the five-piece returns from their first actual tour to Western Canada.

“The tour has been really good,” Frank describes, as they sit in their van on one of their drive days. “We’ve played a bunch of shows already and we’re already on our way back playing some more. The tour has been great and we’ve had the opportunity to play to a bunch of new people, make some new fans, and experience what it’s like to play every day. It’s been fun.”

Following tomorrow’s show, Bears in Hazenmore intend to book their first tour east of Saskatchewan and finish up the full-length record they hope to release later this year or early next.

The group, which also consists of Darnell Stewart (guitar), Dalton Lam (trumpet), and Tanner Wilhelm Hale (drums/vocals), has produced a phenomenal EP that gets more interesting and complex with each listen. Influenced by acts like Explosions in the Sky and Bon Iver, the quintet creates an atmosphere that would be seemingly hard to duplicate live.

According to Frank, that’s not necessarily the case.

“As far as the music, I think people will notice it’s somewhat of a big sound. We have saxophone and trumpet in our music so they play a different role than they would in a jazz or orchestral setting. It plays a bit of an interesting twist for an indie rock group like us. That tends to stick out for people.”

Stewart agrees, noting the offbeat humour the five share from the stage.

“I would describe our music as somewhat serious from a composition standpoint but we’re really five silly people. When you listen to our record you get the serious edge but when you see us in concert we merge a fun attitude with what may be considered serious music.

“We love to interact with the audience,” Stewart continues, “and really try to get to know them personally. One of our quirks lately has been asking people what they’re doing for their birthday.”

It sounds odd but if their show is as fun as they are to interview and the music as good as Airwaves, it ought to be a good time.

Bears In Hazenmore

Aug. 28

The Exchange - Leader Post

Bears in Hazenmore is the combined talents of Brady Frank (lead vocals, guitar, keys, trombone and French horn), Dana Rempel (tenor and alto sax bass), Darnell Stewart (guitar, bass), Tanner Wilhelm Hale (drums, percussion and vocals) and Dalton Lam (trumpet, flugelhorn and vocals). They recently released a self-titled three-song EP Bears in Hazenmore that shows a band with a huge amount of potential. On their Bandcamp page they describe their music as ambient-indie folk, which is completely accurate but I would also like to throw the word pop in there as well.

The band creates expansive soundscapes in which Frank can sing over. I appreciated the vocals and thought they added to the music but I would have been happy just listening to the music itself. One component that needs to be mentioned is how integral the horns are to this music. It adds another layer of depth and complexity that sounds symbiotic against the guitars that have an ample amount of hall-like reverb on them.

The first track Winter Air initially contains loose, sparse guitar and doesn't take long to get layered with horns and percussion. I was reminded of Bon Iver at times - think Holocene not Flume. The music is so good the vocals can almost be overlooked at times. Frank does indeed have a good voice and also has a knack for delivering infectious vocal melodies. Towards the end the vocal harmonies combine with the boiling intensity of the music creating a climax.

Thirty-Four Days is another success. The song finds its finest moments when Brady repeats the lines "I don't know what you want" before exploding into the last part of the song. They close with These Northern Mountains, which is another testament to the talents of the band.

Bears In Hazenmore certainly impressed with this debut EP. I normally have some advice but all I would say here is keep making music and get it into as many hands as possible - The Equal Ground

Greetings, my friends! In this week’s edition of The Regina Band Interview Series, I introduce to you Ambient-Alternative Folk band Bears In Hazenmore. These beauties recently released their self-titled EP this past August and made it into the top 10 in the CBC’s “Rock Your Campus” competition. Atta be champs!

Bears In Hazenmore is five-strong with band members Brady Frank (vocals, keys, guitar), Dana Rempel (bass, saxophone), Dalton Lam (trumpet), Darnell Stewart (guitar), and Tanner Wilhelm-Hale (drums).

Graciously, Frank, Rempel, and Lam took the time out of their busy schedules to sit down for an interview with me. Enjoy the fun below!

What first got you interested in music?

Brady Frank: School and music programs certainly helped, but I also learned guitar just from the Internet.

Dana Rempel: Simple Plan.

Dalton Lam: I was forced into playing piano by my mom.

How did your band get into the music industry?

BF: We just played around Swift Current a lot…and then also just asking to play places in Regina.

What are your future goals as a band?

BF: We’re hopefully going to do some festivals and tours coming up. We might be going to Canadian Music Week in Toronto in May, doing a Western Canadian tour sometime over summer, hopefully releasing another EP, and then hopefully releasing a full-length sometime in about a year.

What is the meaning of life?

BF: Dalton’s parents own a restaurant in Swift Current, and it’s the best buffet I’ve ever had in my entire life.

DR: 42

DL: Doors.

What is your definition of true love?

DR: I think true love is most often found between someone and a dog or a sandwich.

DL: Brady’s music.

Do you prefer reading fiction or non-fiction books?

BF: Non-fiction.

DL: I have two textbooks…so, non-fiction.

Which superhero do you look up to the most?

BF: Batman.

DR Christopher Nolan’s Batman.

If you could eliminate one of the 10 commandments, which one would you eliminate?

DR: I think maybe the one about coveting your neighbor’s ass.

What are your greatest failures?

DR: This band.

What are your greatest successes?

BF: People coming up to you that you don’t even know that say your music has impacted them.

DR: The recording.

Who are your favourite sports teams?

BF: I’m a big Blue Jays fan.

DR: The Hartford Whalers.

DL: I fell asleep at the Rider game.

What musicians inspire you the most?

BF: Justin Vernon.

DR: Sigur Rós, Hollerado.

DL: Freddie Hubbard.

Would you like your life to end with a fairy tale or tragic ending?

BF: Tragic.

DR: Quick and painless.

Do you like cats?

BF: I love cats.

DR: Fuck cats, man.

DL: Hate cats.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

BF: I cannot stand it when people eat loudly.

Why is the sky blue?

DL: Isn’t it because, like, the sun gives off a bunch of colours and something happens in the ozone layer that turns the sky blue?

What physical aspects of yourself are you most proud of?

BF: We maintain the same haircut pretty well. All 3 of us.

DR: I think when I cut my nails, I do a really good job.

DL: Nothing.

Which historical event do you wish never happened?

BF: Richie Bellis’ death

DR: The day the music died.

DL: The Big Bang.

There you have it folks! Although I still have no idea what “Bears In Hazenmore” means (I probably should’ve asked), these guys lay down some sweet tunes and have the fun, quirky personalities to go along with it. If you want to see them in action, check out their show at O’Hanlon’s on Feb. 6! - The Carillon

The Bears are coming out of their winter slumber – and they’re hitting the road for their first six shows of 2016.
Bears in Hazenmore, originally out of Swift Current but now Regina-based, have six dates lined up in Saskatchewan and Alberta in the next couple of weeks. Dana Rempel (bass/sax) says the February 13-20 span worked for all five members of the popular ambient alt rock band.

“We sort of had been planning for a while to go on tour around February break because that means I’m not working as a teacher, and the guys who are in university, they’re off as well. So we can take a little time when we’re not working or studying anyway and make a quick run and hit some of the spots we were really successful in on our last tour.”

That includes dates in Saskatoon, Regina, Swift Current, Lethbridge, Calgary, and Edmonton. “We had a great time in Calgary and Edmonton on our last tour,” Rempel commented.

“We haven’t played in Saskatoon for a while, and we haven’t played in Swift for a while, so we knew that, we knew we’d play hometown show in Regina, and when we booked our tour last summer, we wanted to play Lethbridge but the timing didn’t work out. We recently made some friends there [in Lethbridge] who just opened up a small venue alongside a record label, so we’re going to go play their space there. We just strung together six dates to fit over this week, and then we can get out there and play a little bit.”

Aside from Rempel, the group is comprised of Brady Frank (lead vocals/guitar/keys), Darnell Stewart (guitar), Tanner Wilhelm Hale (drums/vocals), and Dalton Lam (trumpet). Their second EP “Airwaves” went on sale last August, and the bandmates are now in process of writing some new material. Rempel expects Bears to be back in studio late in 2016.

“We want to approach our full-length release in a pretty big fashion. We’re using this tour to play our new material, to get that out there and we want to stay relevant doing that – relevant is a weird word to use for that. We want to keep active doing it because we just loved going on tour so much. We felt like we were better musicians, felt like we were better friends, we felt like we were part of the scene, and as much as we love what we do outside of touring, we’re just trying to find ways to keep it going.”

Each of the dates on the Hibernation Tour will feature musicians from across the spectrum. Because Bears in Hazenmore’s sound can’t really be pigeonholed into one genre, Rempel says the artist combinations on the bills on each tour date will appease fans of all types.

“Colter Wall is playing with us in Saskatoon on the 13th, as well as an artist by the name of Vaero – she plays violin and keyboard and guitar, does a lot of looping, and also plays with a bunch of people and sings in English and French- she’s really great. Every date actually has someone else with us – the one in Regina isn’t confirmed yet… Colter in Swift… in Lethbridge, we’re playing with our friend Max Hopkins – he has a band called Max and the Minimums. And then in Calgary and Edmonton, basically the reason we planned this tour was our friends the Ashley Hundred, from Calgary, wanted to play those two dates, and they were like, ‘Why don’t you guys come to Alberta and play with us?’ So we’ve got those guys, and we’ve also got I Am The Mountain in Calgary, and Lyra Brown and Consilience in Edmonton. A whole bunch of new bands, which is another great thing about going on tour, we get to hang out with people who do the same stuff as us and hear new music. I think one of the cool things about this tour is pretty much every bill is pretty eclectic.”

TOUR DATES



February 13th – Vangelis Tavern, Saskatoon, with Colter Wall and Vaero


February 16th – O’Hanlon’s Irish Pub, Regina



February 17th – House concert, Swift Current, with Colter Wall

(SOLD OUT)

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February 18th – The Attainable Space, Lethbridge, with Max and the Minimums



February 19th – Nite Owl, Calgary, with the Ashley Hundred and I Am The Mountain


February 20th – The Almanac, Edmonton, with the Ashley Hundred, Consilience, and Lyra Brown

For more information on the Hibernation Tour, visit www.bearsinhazenmore.ca. - Southwest Booster

Geography is a bitch. Not the school subject, but the relative placement of locations in our world, especially when geography keeps like-minded folks from being in the same place at the same time. The five friends that came together as Bears In Hazenmore last year in Swift Current, SK spend most of the year in different cities, following different academic pursuits, but when they are in one place, writing and recording music together, something beautiful clicks.

Exhibit A is their three-song self-titled EP released last month, that features some expansive arrangements, lush, orchestral strokes embellished by brass and woodwinds, and a passion that’s palpable with each bar. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Brady Frank leads Bears In Hazenmore, alongside Dana Rempel on bass and saxophone, Darnell Stewart on guitar, Dalton Lam on trumpet and keys, and Tanner Wilhelm Hale on Drums and vocals. - Quick Before It Melts

Kicking off August 1 in their home province, ambient alt rockers “Bears in Hazenmore” will begin their western Canada tour at the Sask Landing Provincial Park.
The group, which began in Swift Current, released their self-titled debut EP in 2014 and these latest show dates are in support of their newest six-song EP, “Airwaves”, slated for release on August 11.

“This group of songs comes from a different space compared to our first EP,” says lead vocalist Brady Frank. “It’s also more cohesive as an EP, with a central idea that brings it all together.”

The five-piece ensemble includes Frank (lead vocals, keys, guitar), Dana Rempel (bass, sax), Darnell Stewart (guitar), Tanner Wilhelm Hale (drums, vocals), and Dalton Lam (trumpet). Bears in Hazenmore have gained national recognition in CBC Music contests and recently, they were invited to take part in a Canadian Music Week showcase in Toronto.

Tour dates:

August 1st

Sask Landing Provincial Park, SK

Park Amphitheatre

August 6th

Swift Current, SK

The Lyric Theatre

August 7th

Saskatoon, SK

Amigos

August 9th

Calgary, AB

Broken City

August 12th

Kelowna, BC

Fernando’s

August 13th

Vancouver, BC

Seven Dining Lounge

August 14th

Duncan, BC

Duncan Showroom

August 15th

Victoria, BC

Copper Owl

August 16th

Vancouver, BC

Cafe Deux Soleils

August 18th

Revelstoke, BC

Last Drop

August 19th

Banff, AB

Elk and Oarsman

August 20th

Red Deer, AB

Bo’s Bar

August 21st

Edmonton, AB

Bohemia

August 22nd

Calgary, AB

Blind Beggar’s Pub

August 28th

Regina, SK

Venue TBA - Southwest Booster

A search to find Canada's next big campus music act has led Swift Current Bears in Hazenmore to the Top 10.

CBC's Rock Your Campus Competition is for students enrolled in a Canadian college or university. Through a series of votes, the winning band receives $10,000, sponsored Youtube videos, and a concert on campus.

"We're a five-piece group, we're all from Swift Current and we sort of met through different music things in Swift Current and now we're a band," said Brady Frank, Lead Singer for Bears in Hazenmore. "We launched the project of March this year, and we have an EP out. We play alternative folk music, alternative rock music, it's a little bit hard to define."

"The voting ends on Thursday at 10pm our time, you can vote once a day on your computer, but if you have different browsers, you can click and vote more than once," Frank adds.

The competition started with hundreds of up and coming bands, which was voted down to the Top 100, Top 10, and soon to be the Top 5. In the final stage, the top five bands go to a panel of judges to declare the winner.

The final round of votes can be casted online at cbcmusic.ca. - Swift Current Online

I’ve yet to see this band live myself, but their name’s popped up a few times in the last while in the Prairie Dog music listings so I thought I’d put a post up for a gig they’re playing at Lancaster Taphouse in southwest Regina on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Thanks to the magic of Google I was able to discover that Bears In Hazenmore is a five-piece ambient indie-folk group fronted by Brady Frank. He’s the main songwriter, and also plays a range of instruments. Joining him in the band are Dana Rempel (bass, saxophone), Darnell Stewart (guitar), Tanner Wilhelm-Hale (drums, vocals) and Dalton Lam (trumpet).

Bon Iver is one influence listed by Bears In Hazenmore, and in August they released their debut self-titled EP. The gig on Saturday at Lancaster Taphouse should get going around 9 p.m., I think, and to give you a sense of what the band sounds like here’s video of them performing their song “Between Two Worlds” - Prairie Dog

The first story revolves around best friends Brady Frank and Dana Rempel who share a love of music. They were acquaintances from the Swift Current area who saw an opportunity for the musicians to start jamming together and wanted to bring in others. Frank knew Darnell Stewart from his employment and saw Hale in another band.
They love music and are encouraged to perform because of the vibrant music scene in the city. They all perform at open stage nights at Swift Current’s Lyric Theatre and think they have an opportunity at something special. They are right. This alternative rock/indie folk band is on the verge of breakthrough greatness. They released a self-titled EP Aug. 19 after recording it in the spring. They are currently in a CBC contest, Rock Your Campus, where according to Frank, the quintet thought they’d enter just to gauge what kind of response they’d get.
The response exploded. After hundreds of entries, the Bears of Hazenmore are in strong contention for a Top 10 placing and an opportunity at the $10,000 prize.
“It’s crazy,” explains Frank of the band which basically formed in 2013. “When we first started the process of entering it it was just to see if people liked our sound. We weren’t expecting to get to the Top 100 even ... Then we still got even more support and we didn’t expect to be in the Top 10 running.
“I guess our sound is really different, but we still use basic instruments like brass, woodwind, two drum tracks, more than just your basic thing. It’s unique and it’s more than just pop rock, but then again we’re not reinventing the wheel with the instruments.”
The responses was far better than expected and now they’re in the middle of a battle for a Top 10 position.
At last check, they were doing quite well and hoped by Oct. 20, they’d receive some good news.
Bears In Hazenmore consist of Frank (guitar, vocals, keyboards, trombone, french horn), Rempel (bass, tenor, alto sax), Stewart (guitar, bass), Hale (drums, percussion, vocal), and Dalton Lam (keyboards and trumpet).
Frank says if they won, it would go a long way in getting a full length LP recorded in a studio.
Perhaps even better with this national attention is the notoriety and invaluable exposure they are receiving from booking agents, recording companies and venues looking for bands to perform.
One Regina music critic took quite the shine to them and called them an ambient Queen City folk group and “hauntingly good.” Frank thought it was pretty exciting to get that kind of endorsement.
Even better, that particular critic also books guests for the Global TV Regina affiliate’s morning show and they just appeared Oct. 20.
“It was unbelievable timing with the CBC Rock Your Vote,” says Frank with a laugh noting they were booked on the morning show appearance two months ago and had no idea about the CBC contest.
They are able to incorporate a lot of instruments as they are all multi-talented musicians. While the label, alternative is thrown around a lot, they truly are a diverse mixture of rock, jazz, and almost orchestra-like.
Currently, the five-member group is in three different cities with Frank, Rempel and Hale at the University of Regina (where they are in the musical education program), Stewart at the University of Saskatchewan and Lau in Edmonton. They range in age from 18 to 26.
It hasn’t stopped them and any gig the three members in Regina get they either try to get everyone together or just pick up who they need to fill in.
Bears are definitely inspired by all of the performers coming out of the southwest and are buoyed at the success a group such as the Midnight Roses have experienced. Frank says like the Roses who played there last summer, they would love to play in a future Regina Folk Festival. He gives a lot of credit to the southwest, especially the performers and the excellent venues in which each of them were able to hone their craft.
“We’ve done some open stages (at the Lyric). They are helping to support local music — it’s definitely where I found my passion to perform,” explains Frank.
Frank writes a lot of the songs from his personal experiences. He says because they all play different instruments which overlap, they each have their strengths and will contribute to what they think would work musically with those lyrics.
“They can come up with something that has the right feel to it,” says Frank of his bandmates.
How the group got together and their relatively quick rise to fame is one unique story, but then there’s the other story — how they got the name for the band as unique as the group's sound.
Frank and Rempel were doing some work for the Art Gallery of Swift Current in the summer of 2013. One of the jobs they had was to help set up a giant tent in the hamlet of Hazenmore for the community’s 100th anniversary celebrations. As there was no Hazenmore restaurant open that day, some of the locals offered to buy Frank and his friend dinner, but they had to travel to nearby Kincaid.
As they sat in the diner, a rather rambunctious six or seven-year-old child overheard the fact all of these people were working in Hazenmore. The child insisted he knew a friend was in Hazenmore and told him about all the bears that lived there. Of course, this wasn’t correct, but the child was rather insistent this story was true.
Turned out the bears were actually in Waterton, but why let that ruin a good story? Frank and Rempel were laughing about these bears in Hazenmore when the friend looked at Frank and said to him that it would be a great name for a band. That name stuck.
Anyone who wants to help feed the bears and the quest to win the CBC contest, go to: http://music.cbc.ca/#!/ Rock-Your-Campus or check out Twitter at: cbcmusic.ca/ rockyourcampus. - Prairie Post

Video found at URL - Global News

The five members of Bears in Hazenmore came together during the summer of 2013 to create the group.
“We’ve been playing for about a year now,” lead vocalist Brady Frank said. “We started last summer, just writing some tunes, and then wrote some more songs over the winter and some over the summer as well.”
Frank is responsible for writing most of group’s own music and he also plays the guitar, trombone and keyboard.
The group started to take shape after he introduced some of his musical ideas to his long-time friend Dana Rempel, who plays bass and saxophone. They were joined by Dalton Lam (trumpet, keyboard), Tanner Wilhelm Hale (drums, vocals) and Darnell Stewart (guitar).
“It’s a bit of a blend of genres,” Frank said about the band’s sound. “It’s a blend of alternative folk music and then it also has a sort of jazz and rock feel.”
This is a reflection of the jazz, rock and classical music background of band members. There is a strong focus on ambient guitar in their music in combination with brass and woodwind instruments as well as dynamic percussion. The American indie folk band Bon Iver is an important influence on Bears in Hazenmore.
“It sounds a lot like them,” he said. “The vocals are a bit different, because it’s not as high.”
Other groups that influence them are City and Colour, Local Natives, Explosions In The Sky, and Aidan Knight.
“Explosions in the Sky is sort of the guitar sound we have,” he explained. “We don’t structure our songs in the same way and they’re not written in the same way, but if you listen to Darnell’s guitar, it sounds like one of the guys from Explosions in the Sky is playing it.”
The five band members grew up in Swift Current, but are now studying in different locations. Frank acknowledged it presents a challenge for them to jam together during the school year, but he and two other band members are in Regina.
“So I do get to play with them quite a bit but we usually aim for practising around holidays and when we come home for Christmas and Easter,” he said. “I wish that we did have more of an opportunity. … It’s only about four months a year that we’re in the same city.”
The lyrics of his songs reflect his own life experiences or are based on storytelling ideas from books he read or movies he watched. For example, the idea for the song Sarajevo came from a book he read about the siege of the city Sarajevo during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. Some of the lyrics also reflect a connection to the prairies.
“There’s a couple of songs,” he said. “One’s about missing the prairies when you’re not in the prairies, the charm of the prairies that you usually don’t think about because it’s flat and boring, but you miss when you’re away.”
He has also written songs about the Cypress Hills that highlight the unique location of this forest in the middle of the prairies.
“I find that really interesting,” he said. “There’s a song called Boiler Creek, which is actually a creek that runs through the Cypress Hills.”
The band’s name also has an interesting link to the prairies. Frank and Rempel went to Hazenmore to set up a large tent that was rented from the Art Gallery of Swift Current. They were invited to lunch by local residents and during the conversation a young boy was retelling a story about a bear sighting that happened in Alberta, but he thought the incident took place in Hazenmore.
“So we just thought that sounded like a really cool, catchy name,” Frank said.
“So we stuck with it, Bears in Hazenmore, as if there were bears there.”
The group recorded their first EP in March at a studio in Saskatoon during two 10-hour sessions over a weekend. It contains three tracks with a total length of 15 minutes.
“We’re pretty excited about that,” he said.
At the time they had around six original songs to select from, but since then they have written a few more.
“We thought that our first release would be better to have a shorter record and also financially to put a full length record, just starting out, is quite difficult,” he said.
At the EP release party on Aug. 16 they will be playing these songs as well as some of their other 11 original songs and a few cover songs. Bears in Hazenmore will also headline the Lyric Theatre’s Open Stage on Aug. 15 and they will be performing an acoustic set at Urban Ground coffeehouse in Swift Current on Aug. 20.
The EP release party will be at Gowan’s Grove, which is located about 10 minutes south of Swift Current on the farm of Shann and Ray Gowan.
“It’s this nice little place that’s nestled in some trees,” Frank said. “So we’re going to set up a tent and then also have lights in the trees.”
Entrance is $10 and music will start at 8 p.m. The two opening acts will be Colter Wall and Stacy Tinant, and Logan Amon will be doing a solo bass set during the Bears in Hazenmore performance.
The first track on the EP, Winter Air, will be released as a single during the fall and the album will also be available on iTunes and on the Bandcamp website.
For more information about the band and for details about the EP release party, including directions to Gowan’s Grove, visit the Bears in Hazenmore Facebook page. - Prairie Post