Biography

Polar Bears, are an indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band from Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...

 who currently play in and around the North Bay music scene. They have toured nationally with long time friends The Velvet Teen

The Velvet Teen

-History:The Velvet Teen was founded by Judah Nagler and Logan Whitehurst as a side project from their other bands, Tin Circus and Little Tin Frog. Judah and Logan recorded the EP Comasynthesis, which had a prominent electronic sound, in 2000...

 and have done numerous West Coast tours since their inception in 2001. In March 2004, they released an EP, Shorts Are for Warm, on Petaluma

Petaluma, California

Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...

-based record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

, Pandacide. More recently, in early 2007, Polar Bears self-released their full-length album, The Future King. Currently this album is only available directly from the band at their live shows and from The Last Record Store in Santa Rosa, CA. Polar Bears are notable in the Sonoma County music scene for being one of the biggest drawing and intensely furious live bands in the area. Their following has steadily grown during their existence, being prominently featured in publications such as the North Bay Bohemian and Metroactive.com. Bands that Polar Bears have shared the stage with include: Victims Family

Victim's Family

Victims Family is a punk band formed in 1984 in Santa Rosa, California by bassist Larry Boothroyd and guitarist and vocalist Ralph Spight. Drummer Devon VrMeer completed the trio. Their sound blended punk, heavy metal and jazz, making them difficult to categorize into a single genre...

, Cursive (band)

Cursive (band)

Cursive is an American indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, on Saddle Creek Records.-History:The band was formed in 1995 by Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn, Steve Pedersen , and drummer Clint Schnase. In 1997, they released Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes. After a couple years of touring, the band...

, Nomeansno

Nomeansno

NoMeansNo is a Canadian progressive punk rock music group originally from Victoria, British Columbia and now located in Vancouver.The band has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America and Europe...

, The Casket Lottery

The Casket Lottery

The Casket Lottery is a three-piece indie rock band from Kansas City, Missouri, United States signed to Second Nature Recordings.-1997:The band started in 1997 after Nathan Ellis spent time on the road with Coalesce. He and Stacy Hilt struck up an instant friendship and love for music beyond the...

 and Aloha (band)

Aloha (band)

Aloha is an american indie rock band currently signed to Polyvinyl Records. The four members of Aloha are scattered across the eastern half of the country, but spend most of their time making music together. Some Echoes is the second Aloha album since T.J...

.

Other projects

Shane Goepel helped start Litany for the Whale with Sonoma County musicians Richard McKee, Jef Overn and Boston transplant Michael Conrad. Goepel and McKee parted ways with the band in 2008. Matthew Izen currently plays in The Velvet Teen. He played guitar in The New Trust after Michael Richardson left the band. He has also recorded and produced records for bands around the area, most notably The New Trust and Loma Prieta. He is also known for his great, great height, as he stands at 6 feet, 10 inches.

As 'Polar Bears'

• Shorts Are for Warm - 2004 (Pandacide)
• The Future King - 2007 (Self-released)