Bear in Heaven are the latest band from New York ready to take on the world! And that includes Australia. Their sophomore LP, Beast Rest Fourth Mouth, has finally been released down under. Josh Brown chatted to guitarist Adam Wills about animal names, touring, the new album and their hometown of Brooklyn. Oh, and I'd expect them to be playing Laneway based on the below...

Your sophomore album, Beast Rest Fourth Mouth, has finally been officially released in Australia! Does it seem surreal that your songs are being listened to halfway around the world? Is it something you’ve gotten used to yet?

It IS surreal. It's a wonderful feeling, to know that something you've worked quite hard on, is now your own personal ambassador across the globe.  We're quite proud of the record, so to know that it is indeed half way across the globe, in a land we've never been to, it's a trippy feeling.  Ya know, since we started a myspace page years ago, we've had a lot of Australian bands and fans contact us, lots of mutual respect, so it's been a long time goal to put out a record down under, hopefully we'll be traveling there soon to play some shows.

Lovesick Teenagers has been getting some exposure on radio in Australia. Can you tell us about the song and how it came about? Were you a lovesick teenager once upon a time?

This was the last song to go on the record, seeing that it's been one of the biggest hits from the record has been a surprise.  We added it last minute as more of a textural hint to the last song, Casual Goodbye... We lifted the last moment of Casual Goodbye and repeated it as a chorus in Lovesick Teenagers.  These songs are thematic companions, and the most auto-biographical tracks on the record. 

The album is already set to be re-released later this year with an extra disc of remixes. Can you tell us about the remix project and how you decided upon the contributors?

Indeed! We're very excited about this. It came together pretty quickly, and we're all amazed on how well it turned out.  We've been getting remixes in our mailbox since the record came out, mostly of Lovesick Teenagers, so that's probably what sparked the thought to curate a disc of track by track remixes...  Our label asked us who we'd like to have do remixes, and god, that was probably the hardest part, really difficult to know you can choose anyone you want, and make a decision.  We dropped a handful of names one afternoon, and a week later, everyone had said yes!  The disc really does flow well, and there's something for everyone on it. Dance floor hits to epic drones.  Very happy.

Have you always wanted to be a musician? What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Hmmm. I can't say that I've always wanted to be a musician.  I wanted to be a film maker, I graduated from film school with every intention on making films or documentaries, but that just never happened.  I randomly fell into this band and it took up all of my extra-curricular creative energy outside of my day job.  It's really rewarding to know that I asked for a guitar for my birthday at 14 and it's allowing me to travel the planet, hopefully my parents feel the $200 was worth it now.

Including animals in band names seems to be all the rage these days.  Can you tell us how you came up with your band name and how easy or difficult it was for everyone in the band to agree on it?

I think the trend has finally burst, ha, indeed there are many bands with animal names, and ours kind of came by accident.  The name Bear In Heaven came about 10 years ago when Jon was looking for a name for his solo project.  There were several names thrown around, Violet Rays being one of them, which would've worked perfectly now seeing how many mystical-esque band names there are right now, ha.  But Bear In Heaven comes from a title of a painting our friend Jeff Sims did, it's a simple as that. 

Your adopted hometown, Brooklyn, is well known for its reputation as an indie breeding ground. What is it about the area that attracts and fosters indie bands?

Hard to say.  New York as a whole is a magnet for creativity.  Whether you're a chef, a painter, a dancer, or a musician, this city has and always will attract good art.  It seems to me, here in the states at least, the breeding ground for inventive music shifts locations every 10 years.  When I was in college it felt like every band I listened to was either from Chicago or on a Chicago based record label.  Before that, in high school, everything was coming out of Seattle.  So, it'll be interesting to see where music bubbles out of the future.  Being born and raised in Atlanta, I have high hopes for that town to bring a new musical movement.  Lots of great things have been happening down there lately.

The band has been touring pretty solidly throughout 2010 across America and Europe. Can you tell us about any similarities or differences between touring in the two continents?

Yes. Tour tour tour, we just wrapped up a 3 month tour which was pretty intense as it was our first "Real" tour and it was long!!  We split half of our time in the states and the other half in Europe.  I find the differences pretty minimal at this point.  But I think Europe knows how to appreciate music a little better than the states.  There's a little more dancing, fans are passionate and will always thank you for the show, and venues and promoters really treat you well.  We like both equally though, it's been an adventure.

Do you have any plans to tour Australia in the near future?

Yes please.  We've been pushing for that hard, and are hoping with some luck, that we'll be coming to your beautiful continent in late January, to hit some festivals and club dates, and I dunno, scuba dive? That would be nice.  We've got a lot of Australian friends here in New York, and there some of our favorite people, can only imagine the entire country is full of good people, so, we'd like to see for ourselves.  Bring us there! 

What are your favourite and least favourite parts of touring?

Favorites are enjoying local specialities, whether it be food or drink.  We're all big foodies, so, when we can, a nice meal in a foreign land can be the perfect thing.  Meeting new friends, also, a big highlight.  We've already met so many amazing people whether it be fans or professional relationships, it's nice to have music bring new people in to our lives.  Least favorite? Waiting.  Tour is 50% waiting around, either for sound check, or for planes, or you name it, it's hard to stay entertained on tour, lots of blank stares in the backstage area for us, haha.

And finally, apart from the touring, what else is in store for Bear in Heaven in 2010? Global domination we hope!

Global Domination indeed!  We're working harder than ever. Touring is taking up a lot of time, but now that we're home for a couple of weeks, we've managed to start writing new material to include in our set, and hopefully record during our off time.  We want to keep things fresh and interesting, for us, and our listeners.

Bear in Heaven's sophomore LP, Beast Rest Fourth Mouth, is in stores now through Inertia!