Being A Bear

Not everything needs to be serious all the time. Some things really are just about having fun. When you mix having fun, a love for music and your best pals, something extraordinary happens: a good band. Add years of music-making experience, complex time signatures and an all-around positive attitude and you get Being a Bear, one of Calgary's newest and most animalistic musical attractions.

Being a Bear's sound could be described as the sweet noise that is made when you open up a new jar of honey: a metal-against-glass sound followed by a satisfying rush of air that ensures your honey is fresh and previously unopened. Alternately, the sound could be described as experimental hardcore carrying catchy riffs with an apparent old school pop punk influence.

Being a Bear released their first demo, It was only five dollars. What did you expect, lobster?, in which each song title is a reference to the popular television series The Office. Each song has its own influence, bringing you through many genres ranging from cheery pop punk to innovative screamo punk and beyond. Being a Bear is bursting into new scenes within Calgary. It's refreshing to see a band live that doesn't sound like every other band on the bill. High energy, hard-hitting riffs and presence will drop your jaw.

Members of Being a Bear Matthew Terakita (drums), Carson Long (guitar), Rob Gruszecki (bass) and Adam Maisonet (guitar) have started, joined and ended the lives of a handful of local bands, such as Attila, the Yuckiest Prince, Go Mordecai and most recently, This Is Your Test. TIYT broke up because of changes in musical taste and direction. At the end of their musical reign, however, they were already writing music that had a bit more of a poppy sound. Once TIYT officially broke up, Being a Bear was born and with it came a fresh writing style. Members wanted a new challenge and an original sound for Calgary local music. Their influences range from whatever each member has been rocking recently to local Alberta bands old and new such as the Wolfnote, Fake Cops, the Dudes, Mad Cowboys, Brain Fever, Beija Flor, Defeat Tasted Nothing and Belvedere.

"Being a Bear was originally supposed to be called Extreme Rad, which then changed to Shark Volcano, Wolf Hulk and then we finally settled on Being a Bear. We thought if you could be something cool that could rip your face off but also be gentle and cuddly and attractive to look at, it would be a bear," Long says.

"We are bears," adds Terakita.

Gruszecki met the rest of the Being a Bear members through the all-ages scene, going to shows since before he was fifteen. They have been in and out of many bands together and as such, Gruszecki wasn't an initial member of the band. Paul Showler, the original bass player, recently moved to Halifax to go to school. Gruszecki quickly filled the spot, also fulfilling position of good friend. With him he brings a new writing style to the table and new ideas. If you pay attention to local music you should be familiar with Ghost Factory, Gruszecki's dark acoustic solo project.

Self-recorded in Paul Showler's mom's basement, Being a Bear really proves that they are a true do-it-yourself band. They spray-painted a design on the demos themselves and printed all the covers themselves as well. In total, putting out the demo maybe cost them twenty bucks. Given their experience in the all-ages scene, it should come as no surprise that Bring a Bear have their own ideas on how to improve: in short, they encourage kids to put on their own shows, even if it's in their mom's basement, and to play more mixed bills, uniting what they see as a segregated Calgary scene. - Beatroute