Music | Catching up with Boy and Bear

Dave Hosking is just so damn likeable. He’s definitely charismatic as frontman of Boy and Bear, but he’s also just a great guy to talk to; it would seem that all this fame hasn’t gone to his head. 

Not to mention he also has a very infectious laugh.

You’re in the middle of a massive world tour with sell-out shows, it must all be mind blowing for you how far you’ve come!

I like to think we’re probably a little bit more the wiser these days. But the core of what inspires us, what keeps us going, is almost exactly the same as it was; we just love what we do, and we love playing music and love hanging out with one another and it’s nice to look back and realise that core foundation hasn’t changed that much.

It’s a really hard industry to make it in, and so many great bands break up because they just can’t sustain it. What’s your secret?!

It was really critical for us to make sure that just like a family, if there were issues and things to be spoken about then we were going to have those discussions. Because it’s such a shame – I see so many great bands that write great music that break up because of writing splits or arguments within the band. Because no one teaches you that until you get to the other side I guess.

Well done, you! So can you tell me what have been the highlights from the last year of touring album number two, Harlequin Dream?

Conan O’Brien was fairly mind-blowing. It was slightly terrifying, but it felt like... our plans seem to be working! We’ve watched so many great bands on that show and to be able to step up there ourselves is pretty special.

I’m a huge fan of your second album, Harlequin Dream. I really feel like it’s just a further step into your sound and style and it’s incredibly polished and well-developed. How do the two compare for you?

They’re chalk and cheese to me. I’ve got to be careful, because there are a lot of people who love Moonfire and really connected with it. But Wayne Connolly (producer of Harlequin Dream) is just one of the nicest guys going around and we really wanted to drive Harlequin ourselves and be able to do it at home where we were all comfortable.

Well I really hear the influence of 70s artists such as America and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, that more rocky vibe coming through quite strongly in Harlequin Dream. Do you hate getting lumped in the category of ‘folk’ and getting the ‘Mumford and Sons’ comparison?

Interestingly I used to hate the Fleet Foxes one more, probably because it was true. And particularly in the EP days I was a big mid-to-late Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses fan, and I think it always hurts more when it’s true. But yeah the Mumford thing occasionally pops up and I still don’t know, five blokes singing or something... I don’t know.

On a slightly different note, I’m intrigued to know how Boy and Bear’s recent regional tour compared with your regular-type tour and city venues.

It’s interesting you ask that because I think that’s exactly one of the great parts about playing in regional areas – people do seem to be really appreciative of bands coming out.

We were really lucky, the reception was really great. It’s great to know that our music isn’t (without sounding like an insult to regional Australia) too hipster per say to carry across. Mind you, in regional Australia there are far more hipster cafés hidden away than you’d think and if there’s one we tend to know how to find it!

In September you’re embarking on your GET UP & DANCE theatre tour of Australia, which will see you playing at some great venues like the Sydney Opera House. What can fans expect?

Interestingly enough we start discussions over the next couple of days around flipping the set on its head a little bit; we’ve been playing a fairly similar set for about a year now, and it’d be good for us to change it up a bit, especially for the people who saw us on the last city run. So with that being said, I’m not entirely sure what we’re going to do yet.

Thank you so much for your time. 

Yeah thank you very much; it was lovely to talk to you! 

Written by Jen Taylor

Image credit: Via Boy and Bear Facebook