Brown Bear Black Bear

Sydney’s Brown Bear Black Bear was born out of the bedrooms and garages of three schoolmates Dave Novak, Zeyd Naito and Derek Bogart. That was a while ago now and the band have come a long way from those angst filled days of the early 00’s listening to the likes of Yellowcard and Blink 182. The band has a truly international flavour with lead singer Dave spending his youthful days in the ‘land of waffles’ (Belgium), Derek learning the intricacies of guitar and synth whilst eating burritos in Hong Kong, and finally Zeyd, a Japanese/Jordanian manga freak turned bass player who used to plie his trade with fellow Sydney band Bird Automatic.
Drummers have come and gone (not due to lack of ability but a high flying finance career in the Canary Islands no less) but new drummer Zeke Ruckman possesses what the band has been yearning for: rapid fire beats and super tight fills.
‘Indie-tronic internationalism’. No it’s not a Marxist theory, this is what Brown Bear Black Bear are all about. An infectious concoction of fast paced guitar work, addictively zany synths and catchy memorable lyrics – an occasional tribute to Hollywood's most underrated.
Brown Bear Black Bear would like to think they pay homage to names like The Strokes, Wolf Parade, Yeasayer or even Modest Mouse, to name but a few. Although to be honest Himalayan yodelling has gotta be right up there too.
‘Jeff Goldblum’ the band’s first proper single was played on triple j and also garnered great reviews on triple j Unearthed including 4/5 rating from Steph Hughes (Home and HoseD) and was added to high rotation on FBi 94.5. The band have recently been locked inside the studio laying down some exciting new material that will be unveiled in the New Year with a swathe of shows in their hometown.
It’s an exciting time ahead for this talented Sydney quartet – so keep those ears pricked up!