Transcript of Ghetto Blaster Interview

The question that's probably floating though your head is "Bear Claw? Who the hell is Bear Claw?". While some may start thinking it's probably sweet like its doughy counterpart, it just ain't the case here. The band's unassuming disc, Find the Sun, found its way into my grubby little hands and took me on a journey back. Back to the days when men were men and sheep were scared. The group's sound harkens to the lost souls of Jesus Lizard, Tar, and even early Janitor Joe. I realize that some of these names may strike you as odd references because they've all dissipated in the wind. Those sounds were often rhythm heavy and in your face. The focus was on creating a mood rather than attempting to rip through power chords for a radio friendly hit. Find the Sun recaptures that motivation. I was able to get a hold of the band-more specifically Scott Picco, whose drumming has much to do with the group's resonating sound.

So, I know you guys got together from the “ashes” of another band, Hello Operator. Were you guys just tired of playing the music that you were working on at the time?
Bear Claw: That was part of it. It just seemed to start dragging on and there was no energy left to it. There were a lot of ideas that seemed stale and it felt as thought we were forcing things. The band went on hiatus for about a year when one of guitarist went to Italy for a year. When that happened we got the idea to start Bear Claw. Once the guitarist returned, we tried to start Hello Operator back up, but it quickly became apparent that it was not meant to be.

How does one differ from the other (Bear Claw/Hello Operator)?
Bear Claw: Well, the first and most obvious thing is that Bear Claw is composed of two bass guitars as Hello Operator was composed of two guitars, a bass, and drums. Hello Operator was more melodic sounding and had less unique rhythms going on and was more focused on intertwining guitar work. We all feel as though Bear Claw is more unique. It’s considerably more rhythmic and powerful. I guess it seems more pure to us. One thing that kind of embodies it to me is that our first two practices consisted of deciding how we were going to get the two basses to mesh the way we wanted. We barley even worked on songs. After that, I had to ditch my drums for a different kit to accommodate the sound. They we really started writing. One thing with this band is that the ideas come so much easier. We really have a great chemistry going on and all of us truly write the songs in a group environment.

Do you guys all originally come from Chi town?
Bear Claw: Yes and the south ‘burbs…all born and raised in the ‘burbs and in Chicago.

How did all of you guys initially meet?
Bear Claw: Rob and I went to grade school together. It’s been really great to be able to grown up with someone like that and still be playing music with them. I think we first started playing in 7th grade and have been ever since. We met Rich a while back in an old band that me and Rob were in when we played a show with one of Rich’s old bands. This was back in high school. After that, I really didn’t see Rich for a while and then we met again-at Guitar Center of all places. We exchanged number and that’s how Hello Operator started.

Would you be able to live and breathe without music?
Bear Claw: Well of course! That’s a silly question. But no, it would be very hard. It’s been a huge part of all our lives since grade school and I can’t imagine not being able to play music. The couple of times that I wasn’t able to play regularly in college it would almost put me in a foul mood. And then, after I got the chance to get back to it, I felt much, much better.

Working with Albini – was there any thought of working with anyone else?
Bear Claw: For Bear Claw no. We knew right away that Electrical Audio was where we wanted to go. We had done some demo work on our own but, when it came time to do a full album, that is where we wanted to go. It was a great choice too because he really seemed to be able to relate to what we are going for and what we were trying to do. It was the most comfortable any of us have ever felt in any recording situation ever. He was very open with us and we even had plenty of good laughs while we were there. His level of speed and efficiency complemented the way we work in the studio too.

Words: Gerry Laffer - Ghettoblaster Magazine