Bear Lincoln change name to Van Goat, release new single
The first time keyboardist Ben Einstein from Bear Lincoln told me the band was planning to change their name, all I could think was: Why? Your music is so spectacularly catchy and exciting and addictive I wouldn’t care if you called yourselves, without a whiff of irony, The Gun-Loving Donald Trump Fan Club (a horrible idea, but possibly a fabulous T-shirt). Unless the band decided a new musical moniker was necessary to fit a new musical identity. Maybe Bear Lincoln is too whimsical or frivolous to match their future sound, one that requires solemnity for solemn times and solitary contemplation [...]
Balanced Breakfast: Bridging the music industry, one city at a time
Photo by Theodore Maider Every Thursday at 8am, a group of musicians, music industry professionals, and everything in between meet up at San Francisco's Piano Fight for Balanced Breakfast, a meet-up catered to tackling, addressing and learning the many facets of the music industry. Starting in San Francisco, the meet-up has spearheaded the movement toward demystifying many aspect of an otherwise difficult to navigate or cryptic industry. Along with this, Balanced Breakfast has presented numerous shows around the Bay Area (and even at SXSW) and hosted other gatherings. Later this month, Balanced Breakfast will be presenting one of their biggest [...]
Bear Lincoln releases new music video for “Give”
The boys in Bear Lincoln have a new music video to share with y’all. Set at a house party, which is fitting considering “Give” is one of their most effective party-starting songs, it features exactly the kind of good time you pictured in your head when you first heard the tune. Consider it a preview of their upcoming showcase with Balanced Breakfast at the Independent later this month. If they can ensure that kind of craziness at a quaint house in Berkeley, just imagine what they’ll do to the Independent. https://youtu.be/nqabBYdSMI8 Battlehooch, Sun Hop Fat, Bear Lincoln, Lords of Sealand [...]
SONG-FREUD: Bear Lincoln’s “Revival”
Welcome back to SONG-FREUD, the only music column in the whole world that goes deeper than a Chilean mine. A pro bono psychotherapy session available for your cathartic pleasure, SONG-FREUD is a public service. It’s good karma to write, and good karma to read. ***** Gentlemen, we need to talk. I can smell an existential crisis from a mile away, and yours is easier to spot than Netanyahu’s vomit-inspiring smirk. I know that your spanking-good song “Revival” is about a celebration of youth, renewal, blah blah blah. But I also know that your name is a pun, and thus, everything [...]
Pass Go & Counter Culture showcase at the El Rio
Pass Go and Counter Culture are teaming up to put on a pretty rad Thursday night show at the El Rio. Headlined by neo-soul/pop/rock outfit Bear Lincoln and featuring the electro-psychedelia of Heart Sweats along with garage rockers Zip Zilch Nada, the evening promises to be an eclectic mix of sonic entertainment. Here's how I imagine it will go: Bear Lincoln's gonna make you dance, Heart Sweats will make you question your perception of reality, and Zip Zilch Nada will make you smile painfully with lines like, "Looking out over the city / I see apartments I can't afford / [...]
Bear Lincoln introduce new album Bare Lincoln. See what they did there?
There are many words you can use to describe Bear Lincoln's new album, Bare Lincoln, but I'm going to go with infectious because their music attacks like a disease: it overtakes your body for days on end, it won't let you function like a normal human being, and it makes you wonder if you'll ever be cured. I have a feeling, however, that you won't want to be cured from their addictive blend of soul, funk, Motown, and rock. Oh, and don't forget the Latin-pop flavored "Sara Feliz" or gospel-tinged closer "Revival." Maybe it's a case of genre attention-deficit-disorder or [...]
Bear Lincoln share new music video “The News”
Dexy's Midnight Runners were searching for the young soul rebels way back in 1980 and they might be pleasantly surprised to learn that the young soul rebels turned up 34 years later in the East Bay. Yes, Bear Lincoln comes from a long line of enthusiastic white boys attempting soul music and actually pulling it off, a feat easy to botch and incredibly difficult to perfect. Their latest single and accompanying video "The News" recalls the most bouncy of Motown tunes as well as latter-day soul/pop/rock saints like the The Zutons and The Heavy. "The News" sizzles and cracks with energy and, [...]