Bears On Fire celebrate release of first full-length CD

Since its humble beginnings as a trio practicing each day, playing college events and coffee shops, Bears On Fire has grown into a four-piece dance rock group with a full-length album due for release this weekend.

Lead singer Jonathan Poston said the new album, "The War Will Be Here Soon," is a good representation of the group as live performers.

"When I started writing this CD, I was thinking about what I wanted people to hear at a live show," he said. "It's really upbeat -- that's what we want people to feel. People leaving with a smile on their face. For the most part it is all songs and lyrics that are light-hearted. It's not just communicating an emotion but telling a story."

The band's story began in 2008 when Poston, who also plays guitar and synth, drummer Josh Reeves and then-bassist Jarred Harris had the idea. They produced an EP, "Space Travel Has Never Been So Fun," in June 2009 and that fall they began putting together the full-length album, "The War Will Be Here Soon."

"It came a lot easier this time and seemed to flow really well," Poston said. "It's one of the best albums I've heard from anyone around here in a long time."

Although Harris played on both albums, his involvement playing and touring with other groups forced him to leave Bears On Fire. That loss led to the addition of David Pfanstiel (keyboards, drums and backup vocals) and Nick Pupek (bass and backup vocals). The new Bears On Fire lineup will host the CD release party and perform today at the former Grace Cafe. Reeves said the four current members fuse indie rock and dance.

"We are definitely one of the few bands that combine indie rock with dancey synth," he said. "Usually it goes one way or another."

Poston said when they started as a trio, their style was more a combination of swing, jazz and rock. It has more of a dance feel now.

"It all changed with the purchase of a synthesizer," he said.

Although Pfanstiel and Pupek just joined the group a month ago, the four members have been friends for close to 10 years. Pfanstiel said one summer a few years ago they jammed together almost eight hours a day.

"That was a lot of fun," he said. "For us, that's where we honed a lot of our skill. It's not just business for us. At the end of the day, we're just four guys who are friends and want to have fun."

Poston likes to have fun with the lyrics, which Pfanstiel said "range from outer space to robots and everything between."

Bears On Fire took that odd outer space fascination and made a video for the song "Foxy" from the new album. The band debuted the video on YouTube last month. It depicts a UFO crash and a bear (Pfanstiel in costume) in search of a lost girl, who is actually a robot.

"I ran away in the bear helmet and literally about ran into oncoming traffic in Illinois," Pfanstiel said with a laugh.

Next summer, the band members plan to travel to New Zealand for Bears On Fire's first foreign tour. They said they hope to tour the U.S. in the spring before they embark on that trip.

Bears On Fire's CD release party is at 8 p.m. today at the former Grace Cafe in Cape Girardeau. The doors open at 7 p.m. and Ryan Corn will open.

Bears On Fire's newest CD "The War Will Be Here Soon" will be available for $5, and comes with a copy of the EP for free. For more information, visit www.bearsonfiremusic.com. Click here to hear a track from Bears on Fire's album.