The Bunny The Bear; what do you think of when you hear these words? Perhaps a cutesy daytime cartoon on Nick Jr. about a lovable pair of furry best friends, wiggling their fuzzy bodies and singing soft tunes down a field of flowers? Nope. I think of two,grown men wearing plastic bunny and bear masks wailing into a microphone chasing little kids away and luring in the weirdos from the goonies.
I love The Bunny The Bear,and after personally speaking to the cheery and charming Matt Tybor (The Bunny) on a bright, sunny and sweaty Saturday afternoon, I’ve grown to respect them as authentic and genuine musicians.
He doesn’t remember half the cities he’s played at on the Fight To Unite Tour, but Matt sure doesn’t really seek the negatives at shows. All the kids come out, everything sort of “blends” together. Rather than worrying where he is or where he will go next, he seeks to please every fan that comes out to see The Bunny The Bear.
As a young boy, Matt sought to learn guitar, only to be slapped with a leather glove by his guitar teacher when he messed up. “I decided to learn how to play bass, but then I ended up with the same teacher.” To think he’d be scarred. But the “impulsive” Bunny’s inspiration for becoming a musician seemed to become involuntary. “Being a musician is not as enjoyable to me as other musicians. I’m not like ‘I love touring,’ I’m just like ‘why do you make me do this?’”
But of course Matt enjoys what he does. “I said I was going to start a band called the bunny the bear runaround in plastic bunny masks and make weird music.” He’s not like any other musician I’ve met. He meant what he said, and what he said was real; there was nothing to hide. The masks weren’t some corny gimmick they planned out; they tried it for the hell of it. “Maybe it was serious at the time like ‘yeah fuck I’m so cool,’ but I guess it worked to our benefit so far.” Matt doesn’t think it separates the band much from other bands in the hardcore/experimental scene. What he thinks actually sets them apart from other bands is the actual music. “There are lots of other bands who wear masks.”
Music; Matt loves writing music, but doesn’t use much of the melancholy events in his life as inspiration.“I kinda just write whatever comes out; I don’t even know what my songs are about until like a month later.” He writes whatever comes to mind at the time;whatever it is, he’s certainly not bad at it at all. However, he views being a musician “more of a job than anything.”
Though he admits that they aren’t making much money, and he isn’t a huge fan of their 2011 album “If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say,” he is very content with the musical out comeof The Bunny The Bear’s newest LP “Stomach For it,” to be released in May. “It’s more mature and focused, completely different from the last album. There’s alot more intricate guitar, a lot heavier.” He pauses and furrows a brow. “A lot more Bunny. There’s way too much bear in the last album.”
Matt is a very modest guy. I don’t think he realizes how talented he is. “If you say so.” But he seems to be a bit lost in what genre he wants to pursue. “I don’t listen to any screamo music.I actually don’t like any of it really. Preference wise, I can’t sit here and listen to that shit.” He’d rather listen to Brand New. Any of the bands he’d ever want to collaborate with would be the complete opposite of what his band sounds like. “Whatever the fuck our genre is.” He refused to sugar coat anything he said. “Any band that I would want to collaborate with would be like ‘what the hell is wrong with you’ and shoot me down.” Honesty is a very important quality a musician should possess. You can’t be afraid of speaking the truth. Lying and sucking up to look good will only bite you in the ass. Might bring you a couple of bucks, but in the end it only pegs you as a phony.
These warm fellows have along way to go, but are certainly creating a huge buzz. What’s next for Buffalo natives The Bunny The Bear? “We’re taking it day by day.”
While Matt tries his best to stay sane, you can pre-order their new LP “Stomach For It” here: http://www.victoryrecords.com/merch/packages/24401/The_Bunny_The_Bear_The_Stomach_For_It
love these guys, matt is one funny dude