Bears and Airplanes: a band created from a cohesion of music ranging from jazz to rap.

The group is comprised of four members, all who play a different role in the composition of music.

Senior Justin Tullis is the lead singer and the main songwriter for the band, while senior Garrett Bowers plays lead guitar and occasionally the tuba. Senior Pablo Bastidas focuses on percussion- consisting of drums and a Beat Box; while freshman Ian Graham, by far the youngest of the group, plays bass and the piano.

They are even hoping to incorporate the mandolin into their performances in the future.

Tullis and Bowers met in Jason Myer’s U.S. history class last year and were paired to create a rap about Teddy Roosevelt and Black Power, they soon realized their similar love for music and ability to compose, quickly forming into something more than just two kids screwing around with empty melodies.

The often challenging part is avoiding a stereotypical sound, which is something the boys felt was a recurring issue in pop music.

“We wanted to do something different,” Tullis comments. “People ask us what genre of music we are in and I don’t know what to tell them–I don’t have an answer because it is not normal. It is different, but it is good.”

For a while the two bounced around names, finally settling with Bears and Airplanes, after Bowers’ childhood nickname Gare Bear and Tullis’ initials J.E.T.

However, the formation of the group is not as odd as their diverse musical backgrounds, ranging from classical to punk rock.

“Justin has been listening to rap for forever and a half,” Bowers says, “We come from very different musical spectrums. I listen to a lot of jazz…, [Pablo] listens to punk rock, and [Ian] listens to a lot of weird stuff.”

It is one thing to be skilled in many areas, and another to attempt to entwine them in order to result in a pleasant sound. So how were they able to mix such different musical style and not have it sound like one giant circus theme song? Practice and communication.

“A lot of the time one person will come up with something and we then will build off of it,”Bowers explains. “One of our songs starts with classical music, and another will start with a heavy drum beat,” and the creation happens “organically.”

Even with a swift beginning, and only performing as a group for a short amount of time, Bears and Airplanes remains humble. Instead of striving for the largest audience and a surplus of screaming fangirls; they focus on enhancing their abilities as performers and creating music that they personally enjoy.

“People who aim to be famous are not doing it for the right reasons. We just want to make good music, that’s all we want to do and that’s what we are about,” Tullis reaffirms.

In order to support Bears and Airplanes, Myers attended the band’s first live performance at SoZo Coffee House on Jan. 9.

He was overwhelmed by their talent and dedication.

“The players themselves are fun-loving, off the cuff, big-hearted, and wonderful. It was cool to see some talented musicians come together and [create] something that was fun, entertaining, and meaningful to them,” Myers smiles widely with pride.

The beginning of this compilation of teenagers is promising–currently working on an EP, publishing their music to YouTube, and aspiring to be on a popular mixed tape. The band also hopes to have more gigs at either Trunk Space or SoZo Coffee House in the near future.