I’ve been writing about The Bunny The Bear for ages – so long that some of the writings were lost on sites that pre-date this one, though my first mention of the band here as “The Rock Father” dates back to 2011. One thing that particularly resonates (and is always reinforced thanks to social media) is that TBTB frontman Matthew Tybor became a “Rock Father” himself at almost the same time that I did – his son and my oldest daughter being the same age. In those years there has been some personal struggle, and for Tybor, the situation has at points been more dire. Those life experiences have shaped the band’s latest album, The Way We Rust, and the new single, “I Am Free,” is a prime example. Check out the new video and some background below…
From the Official Announcement: Dealing with demons while in the public spotlight isn’t an easy thing. It’s something The Bunny The Bear’s frontman, Matthew Tybor, has been doing for years while struggling with substance abuse. It was that struggle that inspired the new song, “I Am Free”, which the band is proud to premiere the video for.
The powerful lyrics of the song (This is the last time that I’ll walk ashamed of my choices, this emptiness, feeding my future to flames. This is the day I will finally be free of these demons, addictions that keep me in chains. I am free) are extremely personal to Tybor as he is currently in recovery and is no longer using. He explains, “[substance abuse] can seem like a seeming endless struggle to overcome such demons. Booze, pills, whatever really. A huge bulk of society struggles with some, or all of the above, myself included. Sometimes you have no choice but to find that sliver of hope within all the despair.”
This video is special as the band shot footage on during shows in a few of their favorite cities and put together a live video for the second single off their upcoming Needful Things Records release “The Way We Rust”. Tybor shares, “I couldn’t be more stoked with how the video turned out. I hope our fans, old and new, enjoy this video as much as I do.”
“The Way We Rust” will be be out on March 17th. Pre-order bundles are available at this location.
