Lobsterfest 2014: Grin and Bear It
By Sammi Nelson, Blogs Editor
Lobsterfest is going to get a taste of the ultra-aggressive this year thanks to Cleveland-based powerviolence trio, Grin and Bear It. The band formed in 2009 and has since been tearing it up on stages across Ohio and surrounding states with their heavy sound. ACRN spoke with lead vocalist Rich Pauley about the origin of the band, along with current projects, future recordings and tour plans. Pauley graciously answered any questions ACRN had and expressed the band’s excitement for collaborations with other musicians, also mentioning that it’s looking forward to Lobsterfest’s variety-filled lineup. The band will also be playing at Forward Ohio, a music fest in Columbus the same weekend as Lobsterfest.
I’ve heard you guys described as “powerviolence.” Can you explain how that influences your sound?
Rich Pauley: Yeah, I mean it just basically means we play fast and aggressive and heavy.
Your blog mentions that you’re releasing a few splits with other bands. Are these songs going on an album?
No, they’ll be on separate records. The tracks will be exclusive to their respective split.
How many are you recording?
We recorded 17 songs and those will be distributed throughout the four splits.
Do you guys have an album or an EP coming out soon?
The next thing should be the split with Rabid Pigs and that’s coming out on Rotten to the Core Records.
How often do you guys tour?
Right at this moment it’s been a while, solely because we went through a little line-up change. We dropped a bassist and then I actually injured myself. Then we wrote and rewrote all of our material to record for these splits, so we haven’t been on tour in a little over a year. We’re actually going on tour at the end of summer.
Have you played in Athens before?
I haven’t, but the other two guys [Drew Baccaro and Kevin Gruick] are in a band called The Antilles and they have played in Athens.
Are you stoked to play at Lobsterfest and Forward Ohio?
Yeah, very excited for that! It’ll be two very different shows and we’re pretty excited for both of them. We’re excited about Lobsterfest because we’ll be the band that stands out a little bit. It’s a pretty diverse line-up and it’ll be great to be playing with Black Dice.
So that’s two fests in one weekend, which seems pretty crazy to me. Are you guys prepared for that?
Oh yeah. It’s nothing. I mean we just look at it like two other shows and we just happen to be playing with a bunch of other bands we like.
