Angry Vs The Bear are an electro, punk-tinged four piece from Essex, who kindly agreed to give me an exclusive interview. Read on to discover the truth behind those haircuts, what plans they have for their debut album and more.
Rock Revolver (RR) - Firstly, how did you all meet?
Angry Vs The Bear (AVB) - Mitzi, Pat and Darren were in a band together previously and when they decided to start a new project (Angry Vs The Bear) they found Ross on the Internet!
RR - Have you always wanted to be part of a band and if so why?
AVB - Yes, it is all any of us have ever wanted to do. We have all been in different bands for years and love everything about it. We have now got something that really works, and feel very privileged that we can now do this for our job.
RR - Have your Essex roots influenced your musical style in any form?
AVB - We are all very proud of our Essex roots and in particular Colchester. Seeing bands such as Blur come out of Colchester and go on to be globally recognised has made us want to do the same.
RR - You all have such incredible hairstyles, is there a story behind the hair?
AVB - No, there is no real story, it's just something that has developed as we have gone on. We just try and out do each other, and before you know it it's out of control!
RR- Are you fans of music from the 1960's, and if so which bands/artists?
AVB - We are fans of most types of music no matter what decade it's from. The thing we like about music from back in the day is that musicians had to be good, because the tools to make anyone sound good were not available then so bands would have to record live, and if mistakes were made the only choice were either to live with it or start again from the top! No auto tune back then!
RR- What is the best gig you have ever attended and why?
AVB - That's a tough question as we have all been to so many. As a band we would probably say SXSW. It's a festival so it's more like loads of gigs all together, with bands playing on every street corner, car park, shop, pub, venue etc. The whole experience of it is amazing and something that everyone should try to go to. You get to see bands like Muse playing in tiny venues all across the city.
RR- Who is the most famous person you have met?
AVB - That's also a hard question as we have met and played with so many really good bands, like Florence and The Machine, Labrinth, Dirty Pretty Things, The Hoosiers and Neon Trees etc. Florence and The Machine were really nice and invited us out with them after the show. We have done a few gigs with Newton Faulkner as well and had breakfast with him in Manchester. I think Mitzi has even got his phone number! The Futureheads were great and gave us most their rider and they still keep in touch. Gary Powell from The Libertines is a fan of the band too, and one of the nicest famous people we have met!
RR- What can we expect from your debut album?
AVB - Twelve songs on a CD in a cardboard case, ha ha, well we have just started to record it and we are really excited about getting it done and letting people hear it, but you can be sure that we will be putting everything including the kitchen sink in to it.
RR- If you had to describe your sound in three words, what would you say?
AVB - Exciting, synth, pop.
RR- Which member has the best taste in music and why?
AVB - Well obviously we all think we have the best taste in music! But we all listen to an extremely diverse collection of songs and genres from 50's soul to reggae, to Lady Gaga and beyond.
RR- Can you tell me a bit about the writing process behind your latest single 'London Town'?
AVB - London Town was written in the same way we write all of our songs. We have our own studio, so we spend a lot of time in there thrashing around ideas. We usually start with the music, which can just start with three chords that we like the progression of, and then we just start playing them and see where it goes from there. We are also heavily into our weird sounds. Sometimes you can find one sound and the song almost writes itself. It's a weird process, sometimes you can write a song in half an hour, other times it takes months.
RR- What was it like to play at SXSW?
AVB - It was so good we did it again the next year. It was a really unbelievable experience. For some reason the Americans just got what we are about. We couldn't walk more than about five steps without people stopping us for photographs or interviews. We sold out all of our shows and even had the road closed off because there were so many people outside the venue listening to us play. It was mental.
RR- Who would you say are the best band that you have toured with in the past, and why?
AVB - Probably the Futureheads. They were just really nice blokes and gave us loads of booze. I think we still have their jar of peanut butter in our van.
RR- Personally, which one would you say is Britain's best city for music and why?
AVB - Well it's more of a town but we would have to say COLCHESTER! Because that is where we are from. Colchester's music scene is really good at the moment, with more live venues opening all of the time. You can see live music every night of the week if you want.
RR- Aside from your album, do you have any plans for the future?
AVB - We are always planning something. Well today we are going through the very lengthy process of Visa applications to get our working visas for the US, so we can go back to SXSW in March. Other than that we don't like to give too much away so just watch this space!
I would like to thank Angry Vs The Bear (and their manager) for agreeing to this interview and I wish them every success for the future.
If you would like to find out more about the band you can find them on the following links:
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