Another local band is making waves in the Eugene alternative/indie scene: Moonbear. With a creative sound and talented musicians on board, Moonbear is certainly a growing band to look out for.
With Sebastian Brown on bass, George Lerczak on guitar, Cameron Roche on drums and Lauden Jones on guitar and vocals, Moonbear leans more towards alternative rock mixed with shoegaze indie. The band lights up venues all over Oregon, from revered house show spots to bars like Fathoms on the weekends.
The band was started in March 2022 by Brown and Jones. They decided to start a band together after meeting in a music theory class at Lane Community College. Later, Jones met George Lerczak in an audio engineering class and asked him to join Moonbear.
“I thought he was way too good to be in our band,” Brown said. “We got him, and we’re not gonna let him go.”
Each of the band members have been passionate about music for the majority of their lives, citing middle school bands or instruments gifted from their parents as the beginning of it all.
The quirky band name, Moonbear, is courtesy of a misheard lyric from “Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus” by The Strokes. The lyric says, “Dancing on a moonbeam,” which one of the band members misheard as “Dancing on a moonbear.” To this day, the member who misheard the lyric is still debated frequently among the band.
Their favorite shows they’ve played have been Monster House’s final show, the WOW Hall Halloween show and a festival in rural Oregon where they got to play on the wing of a plane. For the Halloween show, they all dressed up as witches as they performed.
Releasing two EPs and two singles over the course of 2024, the band is working hard to release new, original music for their fans, with over 2000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Each member implements their musical influences into the songwriting process, citing Interpol, The Strokes and The Beatles as their biggest influences. Their biggest songs on Spotify include “Medusa,” “Baby’s First Television Set” and “Dogfight.”
When asked to describe what their songs are about, Brown said, “They’re a great balance between really depressing lyricism and groovy sounds.” Jones added, “I just want them to be really honest. The lyrics are honest thoughts and feelings about the world around me.”
In the future, the band is hoping to continue releasing music and to go beyond the bounds of Oregon, possibly playing shows all down the West Coast. They want to get the message out that they are extremely grateful for all of the people who support them, and they are excited for what’s to come.
To hear more from Moonbear, you can check them out on Spotify @Moonbear and follow them on Instagram @moonbear.band for show dates and release updates.
