Cincinnati band Bear The Moon joined Kaleidoscope host Juliet Fromholt for a live studio session and interview following the release of their debut EP, Microscopic, last month. They also have two upcoming performances in Cincinnati. The band features Alex Karshner on vocals and guitar, Justin Ghamandi on guitar, Lawrence Cobb on bass, and Travis Gray on drums.
In the interview, the band members talked about forming Bear The Moon in fall 2022. The band grew out of the collaboration of Alex and Lawrence, who began playing music together after work. “We started going to my practice space after work and writing a little bit, and eventually we started realizing, ‘this is pretty good,’” Alex said. He and Lawrence decided to recruit two more musicians for the band.
“We found Travis on an app called Vampr. It’s kind of like Hinge or Tinder, but for musicians to find other musicians. And we’ve known Justin for a long time. It took some coaxing, but we eventually got him to join.”
With the addition of Travis on drums and Justin on guitar, Bear The Moon set out to define their sound and write new material for the group.“We all come from different backgrounds, so we essentially just took pieces of people’s backgrounds to try to make one cohesive sound together,” said Travis. Before long, took to the studio to record their new 5-track EP, Microscopic, which came out on July 26, 2023.
Bear The Moon have also started performing live in the Cincinnati area, though they say they hope to tour outside the state in future. Justin reflected on the band’s journey over the past year.
“It’s very interesting to see where these songs came from, from the writing room, to the recording room, to seeing people dance to them… It’s kind of surreal, to be honest, because it happened so quickly. We were writing these songs not that long ago and now we’re at a radio station.”
Bear The Moon will perform live alongside Colin Bracewell and Dearest at Northside Tavern on Wednesday, August 9. They will also play on Sunday, August 13, at Motr Pub with Dravin & The Ravens. Their EP, Microscopic, is available on streaming services. Information and updates about Bear The Moon are available on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
