Grizzly Bear biography
Grizzly Bear is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band, composed of Edward Droste (vocals, guitar, omnichord, keyboard), Daniel Rossen (vocals, guitar, banjo, keyboards), Chris Taylor (bass, backing vocals, various instruments, producer) and Christopher Bear (drums, backing vocals, glockenspiel). The band employs traditional and electronic instruments. Their sound has been categorized as psychedelic pop, folk rock, and experimental, and is dominated by the use of vocal harmonies. The band is one of the few non-electronic artists signed to Warp Records.
Daniel Rossen is also a member of the duo Department of Eagles.
Grizzly Bear began as a moniker for singer-songwriter Ed Droste's music in the early 2000s. Regarding the band's origins as a solo project, Droste notes: "It was just like doing a little home project, and I thought "oh, this is fun, I'm just going to call this stuff Grizzly Bear. ... Our name was actually just a nickname for an old boyfriend of mine."
Grizzly Bear's 2004 debut album, Horn of Plenty, features myriad sounds and layering of voices. It was largely the solo effort of Droste (who wrote all the songs in his bedroom) and predates the formation of the band, which has been dubbed anti-folk, freak folk, lo-fi. Rolling Stone magazine wrote of the first album that "The pure atmospheric power of the songs is more than enough to hypnotize." In 2005, the band re-released the album with an additional disc of remixes by Solex, Dr. Cuerpo of The Double, Castanets, Final Fantasy, The Soft Pink Truth, Dntel and others.
The band performed four shows as a three-piece (Droste, Horn of Plenty collaborator Christopher Bear, and Chris Taylor) before adding Daniel Rossen (a friend of Bear's from jazz-camp)
Their first record as a quartet and to feature material written by Rossen, Yellow House, was released on Warp Records in September 2006. It was named for Droste's mother's house where it was recorded and ranked as one of the top albums of 2006 by the New York Times and Pitchfork Media. In 2007, Rossen recorded a cover of JoJo's single "Too Little Too Late" for Droste's twenty-ninth birthday. In 2006 the band did a Take-Away Show session with Vincent Moon.
Also in 2007, the band released Friend, an EP which features outtakes, alternate versions of songs, and covers of Grizzly Bear material done by Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS), Band of Horses, and Atlas Sound. In addition, members of the Dirty Projectors and Beirut collaborated with the band on "Alligator" and the EP's hidden track.
On March 1, 2008, Grizzly Bear performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
In summer of 2008, Grizzly Bear opened for Radiohead on the second leg of their North American tour. In Toronto, on their last date of the tour together, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood spoke of his love for Grizzly Bear, on stage, calling them his favorite band. The band opened for Radiohead on the second leg of their North American tour of summer 2008.
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