Built For Comfort to play with Frosty Mugs at Bear's Place

Two local bands will bring blues and rock to Bear’s Place Friday. Built For Comfort will perform from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. with a $4 cover, and Frosty Mugs will perform at 10 p.m. with a $3 cover.

Bear’s manager Leah Neumann said she thinks it is great for the venues and performers when the venue helps support local talent.

“I prefer local talent because they already have a following, so we can expect a bigger crowd,” she said.

The four band members of Frosty Mugs are IU seniors and serve as the house band at Bear’s.

“Bear’s place has a great atmosphere and great drinks like the Hairy Bear,” lead guitarist John Sloneker said. “The name sounds like something you regret stumbling upon on the Internet, but it is even better than it sounds.”

Sloneker said funk, hip-hop and reggae band Elephant Quiz will be joining them, playing acoustic, experimental and electronic music in contrast to their style.

“We get gritty sometimes with the blues and the rock, but can also be melodic,” Sloneker said.

Bassist and vocalist Jake Parsons said the Allman Brothers, Beck, Led Zeppelin and Phish all influence the band.

“As far as lyrical inspiration, I just string together some words,” Parsons said.

Each member has played with different kinds of bands prior to Frosty Mugs, so when they started playing together each member brought their own styles to the table.

“We all like different music, so when we play together you never know what’s coming,” rhythm guitarist and vocalist Sean Smith said.

Similar to Frosty Mugs, Built For Comfort used to be a regular house band with a gig every Friday night at Bear’s, but now they count on a gig once a month.

“We all have full-time jobs, but do this cause we love it. Playing and playing together is something we look forward to a lot,” said David Baas, lead guitarist and vocalist for Built For Comfort.

Baas and Tim O’Malley, fellow guitarist and vocalist in the band, have been playing together since the mid-’80s. The other two members joined in the ’90s.

“There is a famous blues song written about middle-aged guys like ourselves titled ‘Built for Comfort,’ so we thought it was appropriate for the band,” Baas said.

The band plays some original songs, but mostly covers of blues and roots-rock artists Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Freddie King and B.B. King.

“We have a nice regular following that we are hoping fills up the room,” Baas said.