Popular western Canadian band Lion Bear Fox is coming “home.”
“We always call Cochrane our Alberta home,” said Ryan McMahon, who plays guitar and sings vocals. “My cousin lives on top of the hill. It really is a wonderful place.”
The soulful Vancouver band returns to town Oct. 14 and 15 for back-to-back 7 p.m. shows at the Heritage House Coffee Company in Historic Downtown. McMahon said the band hasn’t been to Cochrane for a while, and he and his bandmates Chris Arruda and Cory Woodward are excited to showcase some new sounds for their fans in the community.
“They can expect a slew of new music,” he said. “They can expect three guys who are really happy to see them again.”
Lion Bear Fox formed four years ago, almost by accident. Each member had solo careers that weren’t particularly satisfying for a number of different reasons, so McMahon asked his friends to join together and do a spontaneous tour.
“(I suggested) let’s go have some fun and drink some beer and play music. And they said yes,” he recalled. “Two, three, four shows in, you start collaborating. It felt very good and very right.”
The music industry agreed, naming Lion Bear Fox one of the Top 20 unsigned bands in British Columbia. They toured extensively for the next couple of years and shared the stage with the likes of Tom Wilson and Kim Mitchell.
Two years later, they’re on the road again. This time, each guy is in their 30s, and McMahon said while touring is still a ton of fun – it’s definitely a lot tamer than the trips of their wayward youth.
“Now you do the show, meet some people, have a couple of beers – then watch Netflix and chill,” laughed McMahon. “I go really dark. I’m the Making A Murderer guy. Cory would watch Modern Family.”
On stage, spirit drives the band’s passionate music, which is described as a fusion of folk and rock with “a pinch of gospel and a dash of growl.” Spirit even drove their choice of band name: it’s a combination of the three members’ spirit animals.
Woodward, who is part Metis, is the Bear.
“He’s lovable. He’s larger than life,” McMahon said.
Arruda is the Lion because he’s “very ferocious” – and has a huge lion tattoo.
“I was the last to be named,” said McMahon, who is the Fox. “I’m wily and kind of sly and clever. I feel like the personalities were just waiting to be titled.”
All three bring those unique personalities to the stage, where McMahon said their shows are specifically designed around the vocals and the lyrics. They usually finish off the night with their popular song Home, which McMahon describes as their “battle cry” since it represents the friends’ similar emotional journeys.
“Originally, it was Chris’s song. It’s basically the story about how he was struggling as a solo songwriter – as all three of us were,” he said. “He was driving to work one day and he wanted to crash his car into a tree so he didn’t have to go to work.
“We really do feel like we did save each other’s careers. It’s about following your purpose.”
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