The Bears

During the 1980s several groups refreshed the Beatles’ tuneful side, among them Utopia, XTC, and the Bears. The last of these outfits gained its widest recognition through the presence of versatile guitarist Adrian Belew, yet a series of intermittently released, well-crafted albums kept the quartet largely invisible beyond a loyal cult audience. The Bears’ lineage reaches back to a Cincinnati trio called the Raisins, whose lineup featured guitarist and singer Rob Fetters, bassist Bob Nyswonger, and drummer Chris Arduser. In 1976 the Raisins crossed paths with Belew, then performing with Sweetheart, during a Nashville engagement; the musicians connected immediately and agreed to collaborate at some future date. Although contact continued, Belew’s expanding schedule—encompassing work with Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, King Crimson, and his own solo projects—postponed any joint venture. Still, Belew carved out time in 1978 to helm a Raisins demo and to cut a version of “Oh Pretty Woman” alongside the group. By 1983 the long-delayed partnership materialized when Belew produced the Raisins’ self-titled LP; everyone involved soon concluded that his role should expand, prompting him to join full-time and prompting the ensemble’s rechristening as the Bears. After debuting onstage together in 1985, the quartet delivered its first album, 1987’s The Bears, followed a year later by Rise and Shine, which climbed to number 159 on the Billboard chart—the band’s strongest commercial showing. Soon afterward the label collapsed and Belew resumed his solo work, bringing the Bears to an abrupt close. Fetters, Nyswonger, and Arduser regrouped as the Psychodots, releasing a self-titled debut in 1991; their second effort, 1993’s On the Grid, preceded a joint tour with Belew supporting his album Here. On that double bill the Psychodots served as Belew’s backing unit and occasionally revisited old Bears material. Observers anticipated an imminent Bears reunion, yet the Psychodots kept issuing records while Belew pursued both solo releases and further King Crimson commitments. Eventually the original four musicians reconvened, issuing Car Caught Fire in 2001—their first studio album in thirteen years—and mounting a tour that yielded the live document The Bears Live the following year.