TRACKS OF T BEAR!
IN A BUSINESS WHERE visibility equates with viability, T Bear defies the odds. After initially attracting attention with a pair of albums released in the late ’70s on RCA, he chose to go under the radar and subsequently abandoned the idea of making music entirely. Now, nearly 35 years later, he’s reemerged with a new album, Fresh Bear Tracks, and a determination to renew his efforts and put his career back in full throttle.
The album was preceded last year by a single, tellingly titled “One Day at a Time.” Written during the height of the pandemic, it offered a message of hope and reassurance for those dealing with the stress brought on by isolation and uncertainty.
Born Richard Gerstein in New York City and raised in the Caribbean, the artist now know as T Bear found his initial inspiration in the sounds of the British Invasion. At age 13 he was already writing his own songs. Taking his cues from the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Bob Dylan, Odetta, Fred Neil and Sandy Bull, he began playing open mic nights in Greenwich Village while still in his teens. He was working at Manny’s Music in New York City when Hot Tuna’s Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady discovered him playing piano in the store, and, suitably impressed, asked him to sit in with them during an upcoming at the famed Fillmore East.
Later, after serving a stint as album. He eventually returned to New York and formed a group called The Phantom Band, a band that was made up of session players and touring musicians.
