Kris from Yeah Bears Interview

Here is an interview with Kris from Yeah Bears and Hira Hira for the Ausgrind blog on the announcement that Yeah Bears are no more. This Sydney pop thrash band has been kicking around Australia for quite a while now and they will leave quite the hole in the Sydney scene, it will be sad to see them go. Be sure to catch their last show as Cosmos!

Can you tell us a little bit about the members?
Ben and I started the band around 2006 and it took us about a year before we solidified a line up. We got Dane onboard as he was one of the few drummers we knew and were pleasantly surprised when we saw he actually had chops. We knew Ham from Call the Medic, Call the Nurse!! and figured he'd be able to fill out the sound with some bass and because we didn't want to sound like The Bronx we got Rivals on keys who we had heard playing under his solo moniker Question? Ben does a lot of design has had some cartoons on the ABC and it's quite popular on the internet. Dane works an IT helpdesk and likes rum and hockey, Ham is now a junior executive at a Transport company and plays bass in another band. Rivals is a school teacher at a behavioural and disability school in Mortdale and I work in Admin for a  superannuation company and also play in Hira Hira.

So on the conclusion of your life in Yeah Bears, is there something you regret?
I think the only thing I regret is not touring or recording more, this was probably what I liked most about this band. I found getting out of our hometown playing and bonding was what I enjoyed the most, so considering we only did about 4 or 5 short tours in our 2 or so years as a band, I definitely regret not doing bigger/longer tours.

Something about your band you would change?
I'd probably changed the name, to Le Yeah Bears.

Why did you break up?
I think we all started to take on new responsibilities and priorities, we all said once we stopped having fun it would be over.... We recently decided that we conclude the band on terms where we can all still be friends and look back at the band fondly.

What was your favorite gig?
My favourite gig would have been on our first tour to Melbourne. On the first night we had to send Rivals home because of a dire family emergency and then on the second night we had to rush Ben to hospital after skinning his middle finger in a bathroom accident at the Espy. The remaining three of us were a bit out of sorts and didn't know if we where gonna be able to play this house show in Moonee Ponds, we turn up and still we're not sure.... Then I get a call from Ben saying "Hey, ugh... man, where's this  house show? I told the nurse I had to have lunch with my parents and they'd be pissed if I didn't show up" about 40 minutes later he turns up with his hand in bandages and his bloody shirt from the night before and he's extremely high on Morphine. We plugged in and played, it was such a relief to be able to play and we played accordingly, so much energy and emotion coming out of those instruments.... (sorry Rivals, we did have dozens of good shows with you, this was just the most memorable)

Would you rather have no arms or no legs and why?
I'd rather have no arms and develop a new style of drumming which would make Rick Allen from Def Leppard look like a chump.

What are your favorite heavy Australian bands at the moment?
I've always loved Hospital the Musical for their technicality and great live shows, Craterface for their great party tunes and their crossover thrash/punk sound. Agents of Abhorrence for their utter annihilation of everything in front of them, their abrasive and massive wall of sound is something to cower before.

If you have any advice for someone out there who wants to start a thrash/spazz/electronic band what would it be?
buy a laptop and download Logic, become an MC for a shitty electro band and tour the world till your head disappears up your ass.

If you could start a cover band what would it be called and who would you cover?
I've tried to start a covers band called "Mouth Jazz" a couple of times, to no avail. we'd just mimic all the instruments with out mouth's and play residencies at the Brass Monkey and the Vanguard.

Any more comments?
Shameless Plug? Yeah Bears final show at Cosmo's Rock Lounge in Marrickville October 17 @ 7pm. Come along, IT'S FREE! There will also be cheap merch/cds and a few surprise acts as well.

http://www.myspace.com/yeahbearz