While on sight at Bass Camp 2024, Moon Lvnding enjoyed catching up with Bear Grillz! Check out what he had to say below in our latest interview:
Erika Minnix: A bear found a MacBook Pro in Yosemite National Park. Do you want to talk more about that?
Bear Grillz: That’s funny. I haven’t talked about this in 12 years because that was the original story when I first launched the brand in 2012. It’s just the funny story behind the whole Bear Grillz thing; I just thought it was funny.
EM: What has inspired your sound over the past 12 years in the EDM scene?
BG: When I first started, it was a lot of dubstep that sounded like everything else, and then in 2016/17/18, I got creative and did reggae dubstep and collaborated with some bands like the Dirty Heads and Iration. A lot of my stuff from the earlier years, from 2013 onwards, was almost like a parody type. I would make funny vocals, and people would laugh. I have a song, “F**ck Bitches Get Honey,” but I don’t play that stuff anymore because it’s become much more of a serious project.
In 2018, I released my Demons albums that deal with depression and demons that are inside of a lot of people in the community. It’s more of a message to them. Even though I’m a DJ traveling the world doing all this stuff, I’m going through the same things everyone does. We are all here together. We all have to talk about how it helps heal each other. That was a big change for me the first time I had a vocalist run on my “Demons” track.
EM: You’ve played at all these festivals and toured over the years. What has been your favorite venue or festival?
BG: I always get asked this question, but it’s hard because I’ve played in 30 countries worldwide. Obviously, Red Rocks—where I’ve headlined twice, which is pretty cool. I’ve also played at The Gorge a handful of times, which is another amazing venue.
In terms of cities, I love playing in Paris, Montreal, and Sydney, Australia is always really good. Denver is always number one, though that’s where I live. LA, Orlando, Tampa—I can list a billion cities that I love playing in: Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, and Seattle. I’m going to get in trouble for not mentioning every city.
EM: Haha, you didn’t mention Phoenix!
BG: Actually, you’re right. Phoenix is awesome. I’ve headlined The Van Buren and obviously sold out Sunbar when I was there. I’ll be playing Sunbar again on my tour in December. I always look forward to Phoenix. I was just in Phoenix—I had to drive from LA to Denver back home, so I went through Phoenix and Albuquerque. It was a long drive.
EM: Oh, that was definitely a long drive. Speaking of long drives and traveling, what are your must-have travel snacks?
BG: I’ve found these kid’s fruit snacks with apple carrots, and I take those because that’s the only way I get all the nutrients I need. So, I just get on a flight and pop one. I also eat turkey jerky sticks and Aloha bars. Those are my three go-tos.
EM: Your mosh pits are epic. What’s the craziest you’ve seen during your sets?
BG: Oh god, I can’t say this on a live internet publication, but I’ve seen people have sex. I’ve had to stop some sets because people passed out, and they just overdid it. I’ve seen people pee on themselves, poop themselves. Sometimes, if the pit is going hard, you can’t leave it. If you’re in the middle, you can’t leave, so many people go, eh, I’ll just do it right here.
EM: Describe the ideal bass face for me.
BG: It’s hard to describe an ideal face; oh jeez, the ideal bass face maybe with all your teeth showing, mouth wide open, really looking like you’re about to poop the biggest poop of your life, and you’re really angry, but having fun at the same time.
EM: Maybe that’s why people are pooping during your sets, haha.
EM: Artists can see when their songs are added to Apple Music and Spotify playlists. What are the most memorable playlists that you’ve seen your music on?
BG: I don’t know about memorable, but sometimes I get on Hype Machine or Beast Moze on Spotify, and those ones just get so many plays. People love to work out to dubstep. Its high energy makes you want to punch things or go crazy, so it’s the perfect workout music.
EM: Oh, I definitely agree with you on that one. When you dropped “Happy and You Know It” a few weeks ago, I heard it on my way to a workout at 6 a.m. I didn’t expect to go as hard as I did in the car, but it was one of the best workouts I’ve had in a while.
EM: Should we expect surprises for your set tonight at Bass Camp?
BG: I’ve been taking the past five weeks off, so I haven’t really done anything crazy; I’ve been taking it easy. I finished part one of my tour, and part two will start here shortly, but I’ll have some new music that I’m excited to try out tonight. I hope I have a good set and people have fun!
EM: I look forward to going hard in the pits during your set!
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