Bears and Lions

t’s become a gloriously terrible cliché in the indie kid’s music scene to say “what another great year for family music!” but alas, it is once again an accurate statement. 2013 was an amazing year for family music but as good as the albums were, the batch of standout singles was even gooder, er, greater. Here are the 23 best kindie (kid’s + indie) all-ages family songs of 2013. Happy listening!!

*For the purposes of this list, 2013 is defined here as 11/1/2012 to 11/1/2013



BEARS AND LIONS “PANCAKES” single

An audacious song about silver dollar pancakes that you have to hear to believe. Srsly! This 5-minute track is 100% bonkers!


- See more at: http://cooperandkid.com/catch/art-entertainment/the-best-family-music-songs-of-2013/#sthash.seMmLm01.UAbk8oIi.dpuf - Cooper & Kid

Bears and Lions is a band from South Carolina, boldly making their mark on the kid music circuit. They seem to be following a trend in children’s music, where the musicians have these personae or alter egos with back stories. Perhaps it appeals to the imagination of a child.

While I’m not sure I buy in to this fad entirely, Bears and Lions have just enough quirk and humor with what I’ve heard so far to hook me.

Two guys, one wearing a bear costume, the other donning a lion suit, singing songs. Their website explains that the pair of animals used to be circus performers who looked forward to their post-show treat of pancakes brought to them by the Bearded Lady. One day they escaped to pursue their dreams of making it big, writing songs along the way about their adventures.

Sure, the premise is bizarre. I mean, do bears and lions even have opposable thumbs to play the guitar? And yes, the set up is a bit hokey. But I’m willing to forgive it if they keep delivering songs like “Pancakes.”

The song has a bit of a hard, almost rap-metal sound to it. It’s as if Rage Against the Machine and Cake had a baby and started making children’s music with its gradual build and mariachi-ish horn. The song not only lays out Bears and Lions backstory, but it also makes my mouth water with this roll call of pancake varieties and toppings. IHOP should consider making this their theme song.

Give it a listen and see for yourself!

Read more at http://www.totallyfullofit.com/2013/07/23/bears-and-lions/#1pgWP3SLHXoGSQtl.99 - Full of It

There are lots of words and pictures to share from Kindiefest 2013, and I'll be doing that shortly. But I didn't want too much time to pass by before sharing the music from Bears and Lions, a new band from Hollywood, South Carolina.
BearsAndLions.jpg

I think there were other sets that were more popular and frankly better at the industry showcase on Saturday night. But I'm pretty sure if I polled those of us huddled stage right, the set that had us laughing the most and saying something like, "I have no idea what that was, but it might have been brilliant" was from this duo of two guys dressed up as a bear and a lion wearing basketball uniforms and strumming guitars, telling the story in song of a bear and a lion who... oh, what does it matter? They played a song called "Mediocre Kid" which might just be an anthem -- yes, it's about an average -- maybe even mediocre -- kid, but the song somehow manages to be inspirational. For the song "Good Boy," they managed to get Recess Monkey's Drew Holloway to act like a dog. It was just a loopy, occasionally surreal performance that resulted in people loudly shouting "Pancake Sweepstakes!" in unison.

A lot of people were reminded of The Telephone Company, and I totally get that (duo? check; surreal? check), but the first band that came to my mind was The Thinkers (duo? check; surreal? check). There's even a touch of the late, lamented Quiet Two in there, at least if they had been influenced by Southern rock rather than the British Invasion. [Edit: Not to mention, of course, fellow showcaser Ratboy Jr., though their songs are more whimsical than Bears and Lions'.]

So I haven't quite made up my mind yet about them, but I can't wait until they're ready to unleash an entire album onto the world. Listen to 5 songs below plus watch a couple live videos (not from Kindiefest), and pick up a free track here. - Zoogobble