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0000017c-60f7-de77-ad7e-f3f739cf0000Arts & More airs Fridays at 7:50 a.m. and 4:20 p.m.Theme music: "Like A Beginner Again" by Dan Barry of Seas of Jupiter

American Grizzly Uses Fans, Friends To Make An Old-School Debut Album

The members of the Chicago rock 'n roll band American Grizzly say they don’t really dream of best-selling albums and sold-out concerts. Instead, the band of Western Michigan University grads say their strategy is just to play shows and see what happens. So far, they say, it’s worked. In just a few short years, the band has gradually grown bigger, and now they’re releasing their debut album, funded completely through friends and fans. 

The members of American Grizzly have been around each other for years. They grew up in Chicago. Three of them went to Western Michigan University. But it wasn’t until the whole group returned to Chicago after college a few years ago that they finally started playing music.

They started with covers, which didn't go too well.

"I think we had a lot of fun, but actually I don’t think we were the best cover band. We were a very average cover band as far as mimicking the guitar parts, the vocals, things like that," says American Grizzly guitarist Jack Doyle. "Then it kind of seemed to go in a different direction when we played the originals. They came together and had more excitement than the covers."

Dennis Wilson, the band’s other guitarist, remembers one song the band wrote early on, called “Slow Down.” The band was still finding their style, but the sound and ease of “Slow Down,” with its harmonies and 70's-style guitar line – showed him that the band could write a song.

"When Jack (the guitarist) writes most of the songs, he’ll write it and show it to us. And we’ll all just kind of jump in, if it’s not exactly what we do when we first hear it, it’s pretty close to it. So it’s how it comes out is usually what you’ll end up hearing. And I think that chemistry is pretty cool. And it keeps it a lot of fun. We don’t have to work too hard and try to force it, it’s just what you get."

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"Spoon Feed It" by American Grizzly from You Gotta Spoon Feed It

By last August, the band had written about 20 songs and had a growing following in Chicago. They'd released a few demos in the past, but they thought now was the time to write and produce a real album -- to take the next step. The band had the perfect location to record it, too: Nashville's Bomb Shelter Studio.

The band says they wanted a sound that was vintage rock 'n roll, and the Bomb Shelter was perfect for that. For one thing, it records on analog tapes, not digitally. Secondly, the studio had recorded some major clients, including vintage blues rock band the Alabama Shakes.

"We just wanted to sound like an actual band that was set up next to each other," Doyle says. "The way we practice is we get together in a circle, right next to each other. And that’s, for the most part, how the album is. We’re all live, right next to each other, so it was real comfortable that way, and I think you can get the best of what we can do."

Getting all of that costs a lot of money – at least $7,000. But American Grizzly knew this was a rare opportunity, especially for a young band. So they launched aKickstartercampaign. American Grizzly vocalist Matt Ladd says the band knew it was a lofty goal, but it was a goal worth shooting for. This was their shot.

"It was kind of a shot for us," says Ladd. "Just because we put a lot into it. A lot of people coming up to our shows now, coming out to come see us." 

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"Round 'n' Round" by American Grizzly, from You Gotta Spoon Feed It

Fans, family, friends – they all gave a lot and surpassed the goal by more than $1,000. So American Grizzly went down to Nashville and recorded for five straight days. The end result was the exact sound they’d been searching for, heard on their debut album, called You Gotta Spoon Feed It. 

The band is planning to release the album by early April. Guitarist Dennis Wilson says it’s a new step for the band, and he hopes American Grizzly is part of a newer trend to bring vintage music back.

"It’s honest music. It’s just a couple guys up there, with instruments," he says.  "It’s a cool thing. And I think that’s why it’s making a comeback."

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