It happened like a dream for Boy & Bear. The Sydney-based band sent a demo — marked in pen on a writeable CD and wrapped in paper — to Australia's national network radio station, Triple J. "They put it in high rotation," recalls Boy & Bear's front man Dave Hosking. "We've never stopped since then."

The band's 2011 album, Moonfire, was not commercially released in the U.S., but their 2013 follow-up album, Harlequin Dream, has garnered airplay and has inspired packed gigs across North America. Now touring in support of the album, Boy & Bear play tonight at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, but not before they stopped in to The Current's studio to play some songs and to chat with Mark Wheat.

Although Boy & Bear have been touring constantly, they didn't want to write a record filled with songs about lonely days on the road, but touring certainly informed the tone of Harlequin Dream. "Travelling exacerbates one's feelings," Hosking says. "A lot of these songs were written in the early hours in dark hotel rooms."

Listen to the complete interview to hear more about Boy & Bear's explosive rise, about the band's thoughts on different types of audiences and how the second album came together.

There's also a very good story about how the music video for "Two-Headed Woman" was filmed on location in Hutchinson, Minn., and features a car that — by sheer coincidence — belongs to the father of The Current's Jill Riley.

Songs Performed

"Old Town Blues"
"Three-Headed Woman"
"Southern Sun"
All songs off Boy & Bear's album, Harlequin Dream, out now on Nettwerk Records.

Hosted by Mark Wheat
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Web feature by Luke Taylor

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