Focus on the Local Scene
Curl up with local band She Bears
By Kelly Vormelker, Staff Writer
November 10, 2008 | 9:17 p.m.
She Bears: n., God’s weapon of choice. Applying this definition to local band She Bears leaves the question, just what will result from taking in a show? Lightning bolts and earthquakes perhaps? Speakeasy thinks this band is worth the risk.
She Bears has been home to an array of Athens musicians since the band’s conception. Former members have traipsed in and out of the band, each exiting from a slightly updated décor. Finally satisfied with the arrangement, She Bears rests as a grouping of six musicians. The members are at long last content with this arrangement, and they hope for longevity.
“We were a big band from the beginning. Then they started dying off," band member Alex Eiler said. "Last year we went through a long list of people and came out to be a pretty solid group of individuals.”
Stephen Pence, Alex Douglas, Pierce Martin, Caitlin McGlade, Ryan Franz and Alex Eiler make up this solid group.
Pence, the founding father of She Bears, stumbled upon Athens on his way out of Texas. He managed to leave the politics in the dust and, instead, bring with him the beginning base songs for She Bears. Behold, there is more to America than the great state of Texas. As She Bears shuffled through members, these tracks inevitably changed and grew in new directions.
“I mean, we had a grounding to start off of, but we certainly didn’t stay,” Franz said.
Under the current lineup, composition has become much more collaborative. “Slowly I shifted to bringing in less and less of a complete idea and just bringing in smaller pieces to try and implement everyone,” Pence said.
These ideas are reaching completion as the lineup finds ways to fully exploit its potential. Six members, with six personas all projected at once, must find a way to seamlessly intermingle these personas. Without offending the audience, of course.
“I think it is a lot of fun. Since we’ve had so many changes in the band, the songs feel new again,” Martin said.
The members are finding their niches, while noting that the process is really kind of a mess sometimes. Nevertheless, tracks are experimented with and custom-fitted to the six. Successful track "Shirley" evolved in this way. This hit has become a fan favorite at shows, proving that the method to the madness of She Bears is really pretty sane.
“Shirley was the first song we [collaborated] on. There were a couple pieces that everyone had ideas for, and we just went and filled in the gaps,” Douglas said.
Madness looks good on the She Bears. Proven by its loyal following, the band’s live shows are building up with each performance. Six She Bears on stage results in an intense energy and palpable live presence. The band has had the opportunity to test new material on these audiences. However, do not expect to see the band mimicking the long list of jam bands Athens boasts.
“I don’t think I’ve ever really been in a band that has done that much," Martin said. "I think for the most part, if you are going to write a song it should be a song to perform.”
This fact may be why the band’s following is not full of those hippies Athens so loves, Douglas added.
Despite progress, She Bears has yet to officially release these tracks. This absence of a first record can be credited with the inevitable chaotic nature that a hearty group of six creates. The members, cast haphazardly about the room, distract each other with so-called “off-the-record” fake answers to questions. They relay everyday occurrences, such as mixing drugs with Bible study and other pastimes in which they would never, ever imagine engaging.
Under similar conditions, completing songs has been a long process for the band. Despite the distractions, drugs and introspection, an EP release is expected in the very near future. With an EP coming out soon, a full-bodied, full-length will likely follow this spring.
It's all in the name
The name She Bears does not stem from a deep love that each member has for furry creatures. She Bears is, in fact, a story from the Bible. Contrary to what this title implies, the name is as far as religion goes for the band.
“It is a bad-ass Bible story, and the Bible is a bad-ass book,” Martin said. (See above reference to simultaneous drug use/Bible reading, and the band’s true motives become clear.)
Pence writes most of the lyrics for She Bears' songs. Pause for sigh of relief -- no political, religious or other agenda here. Songs simply unfold about the general happenings in the life of a She Bear. “Unfortunately there is some shitty, kind of depressing stuff that happens," Pence said. "We are looking to move away from that a little bit more. Better times call for happier messages.”
Rejuvenated lyrical prose and continuously meshing members have combined to put forth live shows worth penciling in. However, do not expect the band to wreak havoc on the Court Street scene anytime soon. True, the members can be easily stalked out on campus, often spotted at other shows. So keep a lookout for Stephen’s grisly mane; it’s a giveaway. But She Bears refuses to be anybody’s flavor-of-the-week, at least not when it comes to its music.
“There are a lot of local bands that kind of get burned out. I want to support them, but I just saw them the other day,” Eiler said.
This burnout is something She Bears is trying to avoid. The band actually turns down shows too close together, abiding by a strict two-week abstinence plan.
This torturously long two weeks is coming to a close this weekend. She Bears will play in an Aquabear Legion show at ARTS/West Friday, Nov. 14, along with Barn Burning and Winter Makes Sailors.
Come to see the current six do that thing they do, or lie in waiting for another two weeks.
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