SCRUFFY BEAR – AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNE ESTELLA
Yorkshire-based farm dwellers Scruffy Bear are a Soulful Fuzz Rock fourpiece whose eagerly anticipated debut EP Face the Rain is about to make a big splash! The band have come a long way since starting life as a University project and are now able to boast running their very own live music venue among their accomplishments. I chat to vocalist Georgy about Scruffy Bear’s past, present and future endeavours, and discover why raw passion is at the heart of it all…
[ANNE] You released the single, ‘Stories of Strange Women’, in February – what is the song about?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] Ey up – Georgy here! ‘Stories of Strange Women’ is for all the weirdos out there that second guess themselves. I grew up always taking solace in stories about unique people that stuck to their guns and didn’t change for anyone else. Stand up and keep being weird and wonderful!
[ANNE] Give us a bit of background on your band – how and when did you all meet, and how did you come up with the name, Scruffy Bear?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] We all met at Uni in Manchester in 2018 but were part of different projects. I had been trying to put together a 70s-inspired Rock band since I’d got to Uni and after a year, I’d seen Sass (bass) kicking about quite a bit playing for lots of different people, and eventually we started hanging out. We found we wanted the same things out of a band – authentic 70s Rock with a hint of psychedelic and a LOT of raw passion. We started writing songs together and it just worked so naturally straight away.
Regretfully we parted ways with our original drummer after six months and we had SO many people recommending Ryan to us. We batted our eyelashes as nicely as we could and got him to audition and it was a very similar thing – it just worked so naturally together! We had a few different guitarists here and there until we started to bump into Jack all over Manchester randomly.
Jack was doing a lot of session stuff at the time and didn’t have time to play for us, but we managed to get him down to a gig one day and he quickly came up to us after our set and said “Soooo… do you still need a guitarist then?” By then we knew we’d convinced him, too! The name has been around since the very inception of the band – it’s simply cos we love bears and we were all pretty scruffy at the time!
[ANNE] Who are your musical influences and how would you describe your style?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] We like to go for Soulful Fuzz Rock to describe our style. I looooove that we sort of sit in the middle of a load of genres and don’t particularly call one home. We’re all over the place with our personal music tastes. We all live together in a lovely old farmhouse and throughout the day you might come across Ryan listening to Black Sabbath, Mars Volta and then traditional Latin music; Jack listening to Ariana Grande, John Mayer and Royal Blood; Sass listening to Half Moon Run or Vulfpeck and then fangirling over Rush with Ryan. I’m a huuuuuge Amy Winehouse, Led Zeppelin, Paramore and Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak) fan – literally their new album is blasting out my car every day I pull home from work. I think we just have one thing in common when it comes to inspiration – music that is full of raw passion and emotion. Doesn’t matter what genre it is!
[ANNE] Your debut EP Face the Rain drops on 22nd April – what can you tell us about it?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] Aaaaah! Honestly, I can’t believe it’s finally coming out. It’s four tracks of Scruffy Bear goodness and ranges from Metal-laden riffs to groovy and laid-back bass & drum sections.
‘Stories of Strange Women’ opens the EP up with me shouting about listening to your spirit and not getting in your head. We wanted ‘Stories’ to be uplifting and it very much goes in line with the title of the EP Face the Rain – stand up and face the rain!
It then follows on to ‘Magic at our Fingertips’ about my frustrations with people not taking climate change seriously – with laid back verses and a Black Sabbath-esque chorus riff. I love how contrasting ‘Magic’ is – it really helps depict how huge corporations “green wash” their marketing and products, but yet they’re some of the biggest contributors to climate change with waste and single use products.
Then ‘Blackmoss’ is third and just fully punches you in the face and gives you no choice but to pay attention. The world is a proper heavy place. I hate that everything is spun so negatively, and we are trained to look for the worst in people and situations. ‘Blackmoss’ is trying to work through the mud of confusion that everything is in and not get too bogged down with it, whilst also learning to be open to other people’s experiences. Listen out for the middle section – Sass’s ticking clock bass part mixed with Ryan’s rim clicking part is my faaaave thing and then Jack absolutely RIPS a solo over the ending riff.
The EP finishes with ‘Solace’. ‘Solace’ is a straight up love song but in more of a 70s Blues Rock fashion. It’s one of the softest starts with an absolute belter of a riff to finish it off. ‘Solace’ is about only feeling truly at home when you’re with that other person – nothing ever feels complete without them. It’s that feeling of solace when they’re close by – you know everything will be okay. We’ve had several different versions of this song and for years we couldn’t find the perfect counterpart to the riff. There’s even a bit of flute on the track – make sure to listen out for it!
We’ve tried to record a début EP several times with several different songs but each time it just wasn’t up to our standards. BUT we worked with the amazing Seadna McPhail from Airtight Studios in Manchester on ‘Face the Rain’ and it was mastered by Michael Zimmerling. We’re so happy with how it’s come out and can’t wait to finally have a good little SB story and chunk of music for everyone to hear.
[ANNE] You’re playing a string of dates around the record launch – where will you be playing and with whom?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] Our first one after the EP is released on the 22nd is in Manchester at Gullivers with Dig Lazarus and Deadwing. We’ve been wanting to gig with Dig Lazarus for a while after we met the lovely bunch in Blackpool. The drummer of Deadwing is Sass’s little brother and they’re an absolutely cracking live band – we can’t wait! We hit the Hat Factory in Luton on the 30th of April for our first gig down South. Then we’re doing a headline show at the venue we’ve just opened in North Yorkshire, Pealie’s Barn, on the 7th of May. Then the 11th of May at Bannermans in Edinburgh with Deadwing and Moonrunners.
[ANNE] You mentioned Pealie’s Barn there… so what made you decide to open your own venue and what are your plans and hopes for it going forward?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] Opening a venue wasn’t something I had considered before personally, but we were very lucky and couldn’t really turn the opportunity down! After we all moved up to Yorkshire we started practicing in an old converted barn. No other bands practiced there and it wasn’t a venue yet, just a really cool space! We got talking to the owner and got along with him really well, and he said he’d always wanted to open it as a music venue.
We kept practicing there for a few months and ended up getting a text from him one day to say do we want to move onto the farm and help him set it up. Of course, it was a resounding YES! Honestly, it’s the most incredible and unique space, almost everything used to convert the buildings has been from reclaimed and recycled materials, a lot of it from the farm itself. It has so much character!
We were lucky to get there when 70% of it had already been set up and we could bring our musician and gig goer heads into the mix. We have two stages (outdoor and indoor), a beautiful courtyard, two bars and we’re hoping for a café in there too by the end of next year. We’re trying to keep everything very local and Yorkshire (I’m the pushy one and I’m very passionate about being from Yorkshire) and we want to create a space that any type and age of person can come and enjoy and immerse themselves in something different. It has its own special vibe and we’re hoping we can make it a part of the touring circuit at some point too.
All genres are welcome and we’re focusing on grass roots original music with an ethos that is about fairness, sustainability and keeping the venue accessible to everyone. We’re very lucky to have been asked to run the place – we’ve each found our roles and thank God we work so well as a team! I’m so glad the owner Pealie turned down all of the offers to whitewash the place and turn it into a wedding venue, it’s so much more than that. It’s brought so much to the band too that we’re incredibly thankful for – we have so many different spaces for music videos and photo shoots! All of the photos and videos from the EP have been shot on the farm. Visit www.pealiesbarn.co.uk for more info!
[ANNE] Will you be appearing at any festivals this year?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] We are! Our first proper festival appearances. Butterfly Effect festival on the 21st of May at Pealie’s Barn and the day after on the 22nd of May we’re playing Call of the Wild Festival in Lincoln Showground! It’ll be our first larger festival appearance and it’s been postponed a good few times, but we’re so excited to play it. Absolutely cracking lineup too!
[ANNE] Imagine you’re playing with your dream lineup, from any era… Who are you sharing the stage with?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] Ooooooh. What a question – love that it can be any era too. Jefferson Airplane, Jeff Buckley, Led Zeppelin and Limp Bizkit (thanks Ryan!) would be our choice. Some psychedelic Rock and banging tunes to start off with, Jeff Buckley and his incredible songwriting to get all the feels going, Zeppelin and their incredible craftsmanship to get the groove and then Limp Bizkit to get sweaty and hyped to at the end. Whaaaaat a gig! A weird one it may be, however.
[ANNE] Where do you see the band five years from now?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] Of course we have huge ambitions, we’d love a European tour, to be a part of festival season and to be headlining huge venues. That would be INCREDIBLE. But the main thing for us is the ability to sustain ourselves off our music. To have people caring enough about our message and music so much so that we don’t need to do our boring nine-to-fives is our main goal. However, if we did get huge and I could buy my house rabbits a massive treehouse I won’t exactly be complaining! We love making music, we love expressing ourselves, we love taking inspiration from lots of different places and the bigger the audience we can share that with, the better!
[ANNE] How do you feel about the term “female-fronted”?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] I have a bit of a like/hate relationship with “female-fronted”. I mean I get it – it does help women be seen and heard in the absolute minefield that is the music industry. However, I believe it shouldn’t matter the gender of any member of a band as to whether that should egg you on to listen to them. If it’s good music, it’s good music! That’s what should matter.
[ANNE] In your opinion, what needs to happen in order to get Rock music back into the mainstream and in front of a bigger and younger audience?
[SCRUFFY BEAR] I think we’re getting closer and closer to having Rock become more a part of the mainstream. If you look at the last year, the resurgence of Emo music back in the mainstream is absolutely wild to me, but it’s great! I really think we need to be conscious of keeping the sound original though. I think that’s what will get a new audience more into Rock. We’ve had enough of a recycling of the “glory days” and I think it really can put people off because of the stereotype that goes along with it too. I think the more original Rock is, the more accessible it is to every different type of person and that is a really important way to keep good Rock music alive!
Scruffy Bear are:
Georgy Eaton
Jack Wild
Sass Lafferty
Ryan Hunt
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To learn more about Scruffy Bear, Check out the Website!
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