Lion Bear Fox has removed ego from the equation.
It doesn’t matter if one member of the band is featured more on one song over the other. For the three Vancouver Island musicians it’s all about the music.
“The motto we live by – the song rules all,” said Ryan McMahon, known as the Fox. “We are here to serve the song.”
McMahon said it finally feels like the band has cemented its sound with the release of its self-titled album.
“It took some time to define what kind of band this is gonna be,” said McMahon. “We have a lot of cooks in the kitchen. We have a lot of flavours we can draw from.”
Lion Bear Fox consists of McMahon, Cory Woodward, known as the Bear, and Christopher Arruda, known as the Lion.
Each musician has enjoyed a career as a solo artist. McMahon said it started as three singer-songwriting guys that collaborated on a project, but now it has evolved.
“At the beginning we definitely took a softer, more folk approach because we were three dudes singing with acoustic guitars,” said Arruda in a press release. “As our touring began to refine our roles and our live show became more explosive, we thought we’d be a heavier bluesy-rock act. More recently, we had taken a really polished full-band pop-approach during some demos last year. This growing process was interesting, exciting and at times painful.”
Lion Bear Fox’s latest album was created with producer Nygel Asselin at Duncan’s Woodshop Recording Studio.
“We recorded 10 songs in 10 days in the middle of nowhere,” said McMahon.
McMahon said he’s the collaborative fourth member of the band who helped shape the album. Asselin was able to view the songs created with a fresh ear to help craft the songs, said McMahon.
McMahon said the new album is hopeful.
“There are songs of unity and understanding,” said McMahon. “I hope it resonates with people. We wanted to create a timeless piece of art. Not every album is that and we certainly tried our best.”
The three solo artists joined together in 2012 and shortly after were one of the top 20 unsigned bands to be featured by the Peak Performance Project. The band has released a number of EP’s including We’d Be Good Men in 2013.
Lion Bear Fox is performing during Hometown CD launch party at the Port Theatre Saturday (March 25) at 7:30 p.m. The concert is a Festival Nanaimo signature event.
Tickets are $35 for rows A-E and $22 for all other seating available by calling 250-754-8550 or by visiting www.porttheatre.com.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
