A Chilliwack band is releasing its second LP album this coming week and they’ll be celebrating in the form of a livestream show.
Upbeat alt-punk/folk band called Like Bears will be performing live on social media on Friday, April 24 to launch its new album ‘Fling Mingo.’
The interesting thing about the band, which has been around for nine years, is they give their music out at no charge.
“We release all of our music for free. Even the physical copies are free. We really like to make our music accessible,” said guitarist and vocalist Leo Nickle. “When I see a bunch of kids singing along to our songs, that is what means more to me than anything.”
They’re able to do this by keeping costs quite low.
“It’s all very DIY,” Nickle said.
They record the majority of the songs in his bedroom – the band doesn’t pay someone hundreds or thousands of dollars to mix and record the albums. They burn the CDs themselves.
People, especially teenagers, love it and Nickle said it’s been “very positive” having their music be so accessible.
There are 12 song on ‘Fling Mingo.’
“Eleven songs are original, and then we do a punk rock cover of Baby Beluga by Raffi,” Nickle said.
It’s been a long road to put their most recent album together. They started recording it in December of 2018, and then they had to put things on hold when their drummer, Ted Kim, moved out of the province for a year.
While he was gone, Kim would record his drumming and send it to the rest of the band so they could continue to work on the album. Each time he would come back home to visit throughout the year, the band would get together to record more songs.
When Kim returned home at the end of 2019, the band finished up the album. They were just preparing to release the album when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
So, like many musicians, Like Bears decided to switch their album release to a virtual show on Facebook.
The Like Bears album release live stream event is set for Friday, April 24 at 7 p.m. via the band’s Facebook page. It will be about an hour long.
Since some of the members live together, they will be live streaming back-and-forth from two different houses. Nickle and Ryan Wood (lead guitar, vocals) will perform a few songs, then it’s over to Colin Baird (bass, vocals) and Ted Kim (drums).
Anyone who comments on the video during the live performance will have their name entered in a draw for a prize. The lucky winner will receive a Fling Mingo CD, T-shirt, pins, stickers and a signed roll of toilet paper.
On April 24, ‘Fling Mingo’ will be available on every major streaming platform, plus some other smaller ones that “you’ve never heard of,” said Nickle.
It is their second LP – their first one ‘We’re Fun’ was released in 2016, and their EP ‘The Bear Sides’ came out in 2018 (hear song Defeated from that album below).
They have full plans to have an in-person release party once things are back to normal.
“It’s been tough for musicians during the COVID pandemic, but I’m hoping everybody stays strong through all of this.”
For more, go to facebook.com/wearelikebears or likebears.ca.
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