McClainJohnson.com

Bear Hands is a New York City-based band. They played Buzz Beach
Ball 2014. Guitarist Ted Feldman recently discussed his family’s love
of music, how Bear Hands came together and the creation of “Giants,”
For more info on Bear Hands, check out http://bearhandsband.com/

Did you come from a musical family? Were your parents musical?
Neither of my parents can carry a tune, but they started me and my two
brothers on classical string instruments at a very young age. Music
has always been a big part of our lives, maybe only because Mom and
Dad are great fans, patrons, lovers of music.

What was your earliest musical memory?
Watching a kid named Eric Jacobson play cello through the window of a
practice studio door.

What was the first album you bought?
Dookie by Green Day

How did Bear Hands get started?
After about 9 months of hanging out, working on films and talking
about bands, Dylan asked me to come to a practice space in manhattan
and play with these two “professional musicians” named Val and TJ. To
everyone’s surprise, it went swimmingly, and one rehearsal later we
had a 4 song demo that no one has ever heard.

Your latest album is Distraction. What was the first song written for the album?
Either “Giants” or “The Bug,” I don’t remember.

How did the song “Giants” come together?
Dylan had written most of it in his parents’ basement in Connecticut,
sent me a garageband demo and asked me to come up and work on it. We
did a marathon session, fleshed out the form, I wrote the guitar
leads, the intro, the bridge… Then over many, many shows and
rehearsals, a couple more demos, the four of us maneuvered it into
what it is on the record.

What is your favorite song on the album?
“Bone Digger.”

What do you enjoy most about the music scene in New York City?
I don’t know man, I haven’t been home since February, but I hope it
still has the breadth, the diversity, the intelligence, and the
ambition that anything New York has.

What’s been your weirdest night out in NYC?
Lived there my whole life, come on!

What has been the strangest show you’ve played with Bear Hands?
Not sure, but we have a running list of the worst bands we’ve played
with. Won’t name names, but the shows happened in Liverpool, Toledo,
and somewhere in North Carolina, and holy shit they were bad.

You played Buzz Beach Ball this year. What do you enjoy most about
playing Kansas City?
The gosh darn enthusiasm!

Do you have a quote or motto that you live by?
No, why? Do you? Seems a bit reductive.

What advice would you give to musicians just starting out?
Get a job, you hippie!