Hollow Bear is a 4-piece band, hailing from Altoona, PA:
Tyler Puhatch: Bass/Vocals
James McTavish: Rhythm guitar/Clean vocals
Hunter Andrews: Lead guitar
Rich Wood: Drums
How they got started:
Tyler: I’ve done vocals in a few different bands for about 5 years. I just started playing bass in November because we couldn’t find a committed and talented bassist. It’s been awesome so far.
James: My parents bought me an acoustic guitar when i was young. Ever since, I’ve been playing and singing whenever I have nothing to do (which was quite often). I have 6 years experience.
Hunter: I first got an electric guitar about 6 or 7 years ago, and ever since then, I’ve been playing. I also played in a few bands throughout my musical career.
Rich: Everytime my dad pissed me off growing up I would lock myself away with my shitty acoustic guitar and learn to play using online guitar tablature. I have my jerk dad to blame for a lot of my talent. thanks dad.
Their genre:
We kind of fall in between a few different genres. It’s mostly a screamo/post-hardcore/indie mix. We’re inspired by all kinds of things going on in our lives. The lyrics are about a lot of things like different ways of perceiving nature, relationships & other friendships, family, and a lot more.
Their biggest inspirations:
Tyler: Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate), Defeater, Modest Mouse, Brand New, La Dispute, my little brothers, my friends, my family, mathematics.
James: Dallas Green, Third Eye Blind, Modest Mouse, Alexisonfire, my brother and my family. My inspirations are good sounds.
Hunter: Foo Fighters, August Burns Red, Modest Mouse, Pierce the Veil, Hit the Lights, Mahatma Ghandi.
Rich: Jesus My Lord and Savior, The Beatles, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, Bradley Nowell of Sublime, and Rusko.
How they work:
We all come up with ideas for songs fairly often. We go over them at practice. If we end up finding something we can do with it that sounds good, then it will likely become a song. For now, we just record on our iPhones. We do plan on getting some studio recordings before the year is over. We also plan to have a demo out before that. James and Tyler are students at PSU Altoona and we all have work, so we go to Tyler’s garage whenever we can all manage to be free. We’ve been getting about 3 practices in each week lately.
Choose a song; what’s the meaning behind it?
Tyler: Our song, “Uncertain Returns To Second Homes (The Coldest 40 Mile Drive),” is about missing old friends that aren’t as geographically close to you as they used to be. For my freshman and sophomore years, I went to University Park. I switched to PSU Altoona to save money and play music. I’m in Pi Lambda Phi, and I really miss every friend I made up in State College. And from what I’ve heard, they miss me too. So this song was dedicated to all of my State College friends.
Best live show:
We have only had two live shows as a full band and both were awesome! The full set from the first show is here! We have another show coming up on May 31 at The Archway Center in Altoona, PA.
Future plans:
We plan on releasing a demo (check Facebook for updates on that), merch soon as well! We want to continue to play shows in central PA. We would also like to travel further for shows before the year is over. We also would like to go to a studio to record an EP. This will likely occur closer to mid-Fall.
You can catch Hollow Bear perform at the Archway Center in Altoona, PA on 5/31!
Make sure to check out their band page and listen to their tracks!