Norwich-based band Bearsuit are going from strength to strength, with their debut album Cat Spectacular! getting rave reviews from both fans and critics. They've just completed their first UK tour, with a tour of America looking like the next step. Blast catches up with Lisa, Jan, Matt, Cerian, Ian and Richard at Waterloo Park Walkabout 4, just after a beautifully summery outside set. I am convinced Bearsuit are single-handedly holding off the rain. When you play, you always seem to be having a lot of fun all the time. Lisa – It’s all a rouse! Is it like that in the studio? It’s hard to imagine Bearsuit recording anything. Lisa- It was really fun the first few times we went in, and then it got a bit boring... Jan – We mainly go into the studio to play grand theft auto. Lisa – And trying to eat our own weight in crisps. Matt – and ping pong. I always thought studios were really small, no room for ping pong and things in it? Lisa – Oh no, there’s dogs that you can play with and a swimming pool... You've just done your first UK Tour – how did that go? Jan – It was really fun. Cerian – We just want to keep going; we could do it forever, Matt – But that’s because we had gin on the bus. Lisa - The best bit was... Lisa breaks out into hysterical laughter, all the others look a bit puzzled. Lisa – When Jan She can't keep it in, and starts laughing uncontrollably again. Jan – What did I do? You can't tell embarrassing stories! Lisa – It was when Jan got naked!  | | Matt hits his drums |
Jan – Oh yeah...I don't remember any of that. Matt - You have to put that bit in, when Jan got naked. What’s your favourite suit apart from a Bearsuit? Lisa – I have a full dog suit, it’s got a head and hands and feet and everything. Everyone else looks at her silently. Lisa - That was the question, wasn’t it? Has anyone else got any suits? Jan – No it’s just you... Matt – Oh I’ve got a Chewbacca suit Cerian – Me and Jan have got Ewok suits. Richard – I had a superman suit and won our village dressing up competition when I was six. Ian – 16, wasn't it? Richard – oh yeah sorry, 16. Lisa – Have you got any suits, mousey? Ian – No I haven't got any suits...oh yeah, I've got a spacesuit. It’s not cool though, it’s like one of the earliest ones, one of those Russian ones. But they're even better Ian – Yeh It’s really cool, but it’s really basic. Jan – I have an AT-AT costume but it’s quite hard to move around and play in. Matt – Isn't that just a cardboard box? Jan – Yeah but it’s an AT-AT costume! What do you think is the weirdest sound or strangest instrument you've used?  | | Richard concentrates on his bass |
Matt – We had a tortoise. Lisa – Yeah, a mechanical tortoise, it’s on the start of hey Charlie hey chuck Matt – The breathing at the start, it’s actually a mechanical tortoise walking across the floor. Cerian – Didn't we have some real squirrels? Lisa – Oh yeah! Were they mating or something? Jan – They made really awful noises, like ‘wahhh, ahhh!’ That’s a lot more interesting than I was expecting. Lisa - Oh and we had a dog I think. And some Lego, there’s some pouring of Lego. You've said that there aren't really a lot of bands like you that you draw from, so where do you draw inspiration from? Cerian – We're all into different music, so we just all do what we want. Matt – We just seem to make it up as we go along! Does that make the song writing process difficult, if you all like different things? Jan – It just happens. It’s the process of putting as many noises and as many sounds into one song as is humanly possible. Matt – Mousey's word is law, so whatever he says goes. What do you think of the scene in Norwich at the moment? Cerian – It’s brilliant, it’s really cool. There’s loads of really great new bands. There are a lot of bands at the moment, not just in Norwich, who seem to be not exactly like you, but classed in the same kind of category – happy, sporadic multi-instrumentalists, making schizophrenic noise. Do you think this has spawned from anything? Ian – I think it’s a reaction to a downer in the music industry and society. That’s what seems to be the general feeling – it mirrors the ‘sound byte’ society of the moment, with mp3 players and hundreds of music channels and iPods, no one seems to listen to more than 30 seconds of music anymore... Richard – Then we'll just have to make 30-second songs. Jan – that’s our ultimate goal really, isn't it? Do you think this new material has changed a lot since some of your earlier singles like Chargr or Hey Charlie, Hey Chuck? Richard – its more bear, isn't it. Jan - More bear, less suit Lisa – Hey! That’s my line! Jan – I think there’s just more, isn't there? More of everything. Matt – We're getting better at playing our instruments. Or worse, depending on how you look at it. Lisa – It’s more extreme. All the nice stuff is going to be really, really pretty and nice, and all the horrible songs are going to make you want to puke. There’s no middle ground. Cerian – Nobody stopped us getting big headed. Matt – That's only you. As well has having lyrics, you seem to use your voices as a type of percussion, and there’s lots of percussion in your songs, with Cerian’s shaky egg and the drums and the handclaps. Why do you think you like it so much and include so much? Matt – I think we need more. Cerian – I just hate doing nothing on stage, so I pick up anything round me and just shake it and hope ‘please don't kick me out of the band!’ Ian – When you're in the studio, there’s just lots of percussion instruments lying around, and you can't help picking them up and playing with them all the time. Richard – Anything with ‘ooh ooh ooh’ and handclaps sounds better. Describe your sound in four words. Jan – We can do five words... No, four and a half is the limit. Jan - Dog, cat, organ... Cerian - Shout, scream, stop, sigh. Ian – The numbers four two, one and three. But you just have to find the right order. | 
