Interview conducted with Scott Preece - Drummer for I Fight Bears 15/06/22
MM: When did first come into contact with Metal music and what was your first concert?
SP: The first time I heard anything metal related was back in school, I actually remember despising screams until they grew on me!... I believe the first concert I ever went to was Coheed and Cambria at Cardiff Uni. That was a hell of a show!
MM: How did you get the band name
SP: We played about with a few (sensible) names prior to coming up with what we have now, but everything seemed to be taken. A close friend of ours then suggested “I fight bears” after the movie ‘The Revenant’ and we thought why the hell not!?
MM: Why did you want to play in this genre of music
SP: I think for most of us it’s the type of music we most enjoy listening to, and on top of that metal is quite a challenging genre to play for musicians, so it’s always good to push yourself and find the fun in doing so.
MM: Who or what inspires you to write songs? What bands have inspired you the most?
SP: We’ve been inspired by so many bands, Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God just to name a few. For our own songs though, mental health is something we write about a lot, if we can help anybody out there by listening to our music, then that’s great!
MM:Can you tell us about the music that you have released so far?
SP: So it started with our debut album (self titled). We spent a lot of time putting those songs together and we're proud of them. We currently have 2 new singles released from our upcoming EP (Liberosis) with a third just around the corner! We feel like we’ve ‘found our sound’ more with these new tracks and it’s definitely the direction we want to head in for the future
MM: Which places to play were important to you and why?
SP: There are so many great venues around and we appreciate all the hard work that goes into getting bands out there, for us though ‘Hobos’ in Bridgend is very close to our hearts. Unfortunately a recent storm has all but decimated the building. They are currently fundraising to help build the venue back up, a link can be found on their Facebook page if anybody wants to help them out.
MM: What was the weirdest show you ever played and why? feel free to name more than one, and don't withhold the details .
SP: At a very recent show we played, the pit was going a little crazy and then we happened to see some absolute hero fully break dancing in the middle of the pit. That was pretty surreal!
MM: Are there any other types of music you would like to play with a band?
SP: We sometimes mess about in band practice playing different styles, but the only thing we’ll ever be playing live as I Fight Bears is straight up metal!
MM: What can we expect if we go to one of your gigs?
SP: 5 old men doing their best to not look like old men, while playing some seriously heavy tunes!
MM: Which festivals would you like to play at?
SP: We're currently in the process of competing in this year’s South Wales ‘metal to the masses’ which will give us the opportunity to play at Bloodstock Festival if we win. That would be pretty awesome
MM: What are your plans for the future?
SP: Keep writing, keep recording, and keep showcasing our music to anybody who wants to hear it!
MM: Thanks for the interview. Is there anything else to add?
SP: Thanks! And yes, if people tell you we don’t ACTUALLY fight bears, they are just jealous..... And honest.
I Fight Bears
https://ifightbears.bandcamp.com/merch
https://www.facebook.com/ifightbearsband
https://www.twitter.com/ifightbearsband
