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Polar Bear Club
Since the moment Diatribe staff member Chris first heard Polar Bear Club, he’s been hopelessly hooked to their music…we dare you to try to remove their new album from his stereo! Go ahead, try it. So, he was more than happy to be able to pick the brains of Polar dudes Jimmy and Chris and ask them about their favorite beer (his is Guinness Extra Stout; buy him some).
Diatribe: I'm sure you've been asked this before but…how did Polar Bear club start out?
Jimmy: Well it started out with almost all different members. Chris and I are technically the only original members. It started out as a side project for Chris and as it evolved through the demo and EP it started to become our primary band.
Diatribe: My favorite song off the new album is "Our Ballads". I get the theme behind the song, but was curious to know if it was based on actual events? Was the conversation with “Mr. Lawyer” real?
Jimmy: Yes it is. It's about a friend of mine who heard our EP and had a lot to say about it. A lot of it was constructive but what stood out to me was that he said girls would not like this. He dubbed it macho camaraderie and that really stuck in my craw I guess.
Chris: Yeah, it was a total bummer. I actually had the conversation with the guy in a work setting and it was super awkward. I think sometimes people interpret the song as really hostile toward that individual, but I know none of us meant it that way. He's a really nice guy who just comes from a different generation and is transparently out of touch with how things work in punk/hardcore or ideally with music in general and we felt we had something to say about it, because it's a topic that's very worth addressing.
Diatribe: So, Sometimes Things Just Disappear came out not too long ago, what's the tour schedule looking like?
Jimmy: TBA. We are working right now on a fall-ish tour and when it all comes together we will post it on our MySpace. There will be lots!
Diatribe: What does Sometimes Things Just disappear mean to the band?
Jimmy: A lot. I mean, it is our first full-length. We wanted to stick our foot in the door with this and say "Here is what we can do, get ready for what's next."
Chris: I honestly just thought it was about tacos, but alright.
Diatribe: I'm a big fan of The Redder the Better as well as the new album. I can sense a progression musically with Sometimes… it seems more concise. Did you guys approach the songwriting and recording of this album any differently?
Jimmy: Yeah we did. And it was a totally natural progression just because we had two new band members going from Redder the Better to Sometimes Things Just Disappear. Things are going to change when new people get involved and we really embraced it. I think we have always written songs under our own pretense of not caring what we are supposed to sound like and just writing what we want.
Chris: I also want to add that it was easily the most fun writing process we've had yet and will only get better. Things just click so much more when you have five individuals working together rather than one or two people writing and dictating. The music is an absolute collective effort at this point.
Diatribe: When writing songs, are you more influenced by the music you listen to or your own experiences? Or both?
Jimmy: Both, definitely. A lot of stuff influences us I think. For me it could be a book or a movie or anything. But yeah it works both ways.
Diatribe: What's the weirdest thing that's happened to the band? Any bizarre show stories?
Jimmy: One time we played really well and sober ...it was weird.
Diatribe: So, what's next in the immediate future for Polar Bear Club?
Chris: Tour…check our MySpace soon!
Diatribe: Okay, in closing would you care to extol the virtues of your favorite beer?
Chris: This changes all the time but the one constant is Labatt Blue Light. It's truly great, and those commercials about hunting and fishing are pure gold…Youtube them, trust me. Or at the moment I'm sort of partial to Dos Equis Lager I think.
Jimmy: My favorite beer is...empty. OH!
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