If you go down to the woods today, you'll find a young man and his guitar. And if you do, make sure you sit and have a listen, for this man is And The Bear. With his unique voice, folk tinged rock and a smile on his face he is striking a march on London, and doing very well with it too. Having moved to the big smoke to follow a dream, it seems the country lad has plenty to offer.

Hailing from a small Somerset hamlet, nineteen year old Asher Preston has been a great companion of music from an early age. A multi instrumentalist, versatility is undoubtedly top of his talent list. “I learnt the Clarinet at the age of nine, not very rock and roll I know, but it meant I was able to read music, which is cool right?!” jokes Preston, “I then learnt the drums at age eleven and at the age of fourteen I got asked to sing in a metal band, probably as I was the only other guy who knew who Slayer were!” From there he continued on a varied musical journey, forming the band Pilot and taking both drumming and vocal responsibilities. Having moved to London with the band, it was there that he started to consider a solo project. “I still play with Pilot now but I created And The Bear as my own personal project. I just felt I needed something that was all my own doing”.

And despite it's relative infancy - only a year in progress, Preston refers to it as a “baby bear” - there have already been positive comments. “It's been really good since I came to London. I've worked hard on polishing the set, getting some decent recordings and getting rid of any old material that I felt didn't do me justice, and I feel it has really paid off from the response I have been getting at gigs.” 

It is this dedication that shines so brightly in Preston's music, creating something fiercely unique in a city swarming with generic acts. With an attractive marriage of folk and acoustic rock, tracks including the relentless “Young Man Beware” and the smouldering “How To End A War” belie his years, demonstrating poise and consideration in every note. And, as to be expected by now, this is not something that happened by accident. “As a singer songwriter it's so easy to get lost within the whole 'one man and his guitar' thing, in which you just sing about love and relationships.” comments Preston,  “No matter how good your voice is, I feel it's getting a bit old now, so I try to avoid these subjects as best I can, try and be a bit more sinister with my lyrics. I'm more aggressive, lets say, when I perform!” 

As well as drawing on this motivation to be different, Preston also takes his inspiration from a wide and distinguished array range of artists. “I love different bands like Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Yeah Yeah Yeah's and Nick Cave, but I would have to say Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash are my biggest influences.” Preston admits, “I just love that story telling side to song writing.” Despite such lofty admirations, there is certainly a touch of both his heroes amidst the young man's work. Whilst considered and thoughtful song writing is no doubt a trait learnt from both Dylan and Cash, it is the later that is most evident in his simmering live persona. As demonstrated in the new “How To End A War” video, Preston is no stranger to an angry grimace and a black trench coat either. 

So what does the future hold for a baby bear in the big city? As you can expect, lack of motivation will certainly not be a problem for this particular grizzly. “Improvement. I always want to better myself. I find it makes things more interesting that way.” Preston explains, “The music industry is far too competitive and unpredictable to rely on the dream of becoming a full time musician, even if it's the only thing I would say I'm good at. So I keep it simple and say I just want to keep on improving. Improving my skills as a musician, improve the quantity of people who hear my music and improve the amount of people who come to my gigs, and hopefully someday the right person will pick up on it. Things have a way of falling into place I think, it's a more realistic dream that way.”

Anonymous
Posts: 1

Re: And The Bear
Reply #1 on : Mon April 05, 2010, 20:35:37

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you're right, he is grizzly!

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