Bear Hunter

“We’re salty,” chortled Maurice Spencer on a pleasantly plain Sunday evening in the back room of Duffy’s Tavern. At Spencer’s right with casual grins sits Chris Hunter (guitar) and Clint Bear (drums). All three sip bloody Marys, and legitimate bloodies at that: four green beans, four olives and plenty of Worcestershire, Tabasco and cayenne pepper. Together the trio equates to Bear Hunter. Consistently flying under the indie radar, Bear Hunter and their dreamy sound has in fact logged more time in the local scene than most, with roots being planted as far back as the mid-‘90s. This is writing that can be read quite clearly on the wall from even a brief glance at the gang’s social interaction. Subtle jabs are thrown about nonchalantly, and balls are busted with comical ease.

    “I moved in with some guys, probably 1996, and they were in a band called Jensing, which Clint was in,” reminisces Hunter. “I was playing with my high school buddy at the time and Clint would just sit in and jam with us.”

    The pair formed a lasting musical bond, while at the same time Hunter produced a solo album of his own.

    “Then we met Spencer. He actually reviewed my CD for Synthesis,” said Hunter. “He expressed interest in jamming with us so we all started playing together.”

    The newly formed Bear Hunter began with vigor, releasing an EP (2002’s 5-Song EP) and gigging regularly about town. But as Hunter himself puts it, to the chagrining laughter of the group, “then it went downhill for a while.” During this extended period of limbo, to which Bear jokingly attests was “probably ‘cause we were all living together,” the seeds to what would eventually become a full-length Bear Hunter album were planted. In an effort to take the next step, the group meticulously and continuously created, developed and altered their sound; a sound which is diversely influenced but most genuinely evocative of Grandaddy, The Flaming Lips and even Galaxie 500.

    The album, You Will Be Heard!, now complete, had initial tracks laid in August of 2004. Nearly finished on several occasions, the entire project was endlessly sacked and stripped down to the bones.

    “Spencer would work his ass off getting everything all together,” clarifies Bear. “Chris and I would come down and kinda critique what we heard. We’d make old Spencer kind of bummed ‘cause he’d spend hours and hours on this stuff and we’d go like, ‘Can we hear more of this? Can we hear more of that?’”

    The trio realized a delicate balance had been established. So much time had been invested that the process found aims in “extreme” perfection. While long stretches of downtime and nitpicking can often result in an album’s over-production, such is fortunately not the case with Bear Hunter’s finished product. The extra penny has been well spent, and You Will Be Heard! rings true from front to back.



    The album begins effortlessly with the pensive electro feel of “Drumfire pt. 1/ Syd & Mary.” Soft key tones and synthesized drums give a proper introduction to the beautiful downy friction that ultimately encompasses You Will Be Heard! Spencer’s vocal timbre is rich with character and unmistakable: high in pitch and penetration, yet gracefully soulful. Bear quickly makes his presence felt in the following track, “The Lie.” Precise beats on a well-groomed drum kit go an awfully long way, and Bear makes this a theme throughout the record, with particular acclaim due on cut six, “My Nemesis the Cheese Grater.” Between the skin-work, Spencer’s hooky bass line and Hunter’s vibrant guitar work, “Cheese Grater” is a standout track. Much is to be said of Hunter’s axe handling around the album, which often gives validation to the notion that less can be more. With a chuckle, Hunter makes humble light of his ability.

    “I just have riffs…and [have] probably been living off those same riffs for the past 10 years,” he said.

    Hunter is also the bringer of supple sounds from the marimbas, which can be felt quite pleasingly on “Caught in a Well.” The latter portion of You Will Be Heard! is nothing short of serene. “Sea of Tranquility” floats like a ship while the percussion-less “Miscommunication Age” blends seamlessly into the mellow bliss of the album’s final track, “Strike Up the Band.” Furthermore, You Will Be Heard! is immaculately produced, and sounds wonderful on both stereo and headphones. There are endless bits of audio gold sprinkled about the album that cannot be adequately spoken for in print.  

    The group unanimously agrees that You Will Be Heard! is a definitive representation of Bear Hunter’s sound and vision. The next step is, appropriately, to “make it be heard.” A small tour from the 14th through the 22nd of September will lead the group up through the Pacific Northwest and down through the Bay Area. “Now is the time,” states a determined Bear.

    But as the bloodies ran dry and my gin began to slurp, I thought to throw a stupid question out for kicks. Bear Hunter in a nutshell? With his head tilted back laughing at the ceiling, Spencer exclaimed, “All I think of are terrible, terrible, sarcastic things to say!”

    Hunter attempted to shine a beam through the fog by stating that Bear Hunter is “just an interesting conglomeration of people who are not ‘best buddies forever’ kind of guys; just three guys with different ideas who come together and make something.” Then he paused with a smirk as a commotion builds. “Not that we’re not friends.”

    Bear swiftly jumped on his case with a huge smile, and I heard Spencer teasingly trail off that, “Clint and I are best buddies but Chris and I…”



    Laughter faded into the hollow reverberation of Duffy’s former smoking sanctuary and Spencer capped the affair with the best line of the night: “We tolerate each other in the name of rock ‘n’ roll.” 

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