Today we’d like to introduce you to Brother Spacebear.
Brother, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
(This was written by Brother Spacebear’s sister, Ramona) Brother Spacebear got his start back in 2004. He began playing dive bars all around the area with a variety of different cover songs and a few originals. For a while, it really was just a hobby, as he was working full time at the Munitions Factory in Parsons, Kansas. He’d drive the long drive almost every weekend and wear himself out onstage, usually leaving blood on his guitar from playing so hard, but it was always a hobby.
It was after he got fired from the plant that he decided to make music his full time thing. From what he told me, he was fired for trying to unionize the place, but he always did tell tall tales. Possible he just got sick of the grind and moved up north.
He stayed in a van by the Kaw river in Lawrence for a bit, writing songs and playing the college bars. He got a bit of a reputation for starting fights with the audience, but he could still put on a hell of a show. He was generally loved by the audiences, though no one could get the name right. Things really got going once he got his hands on an old laptop and started recording music himself. He began making connections and getting other musicians to join him on projects, like the lovely Grant Klein, a KC staple. To this day, I’m not sure where he got the money to buy the gear. He never was any good with money.
He put out three albums: Heartlands (2018) Sinners, Lovers, and the Devil Himself (2021), and THE CRISIS IS (2025), along with a couple EPs: Midnight Karaoke Ultra (2019), Experiments in Honesty, Vol. 1 (2019) and Vol. 2 (2023). Through this blitz output, he began to gain a cult following and hatred in equal measure. His star had yet to truly rise when he was taken from us in an incident involving motorcycles. He will truly be missed, and his wild memory will live on.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road was never smooth for him. For one, Brother Spacebear always seemed like he was splitting out of his skin, like the man he was couldn’t be contained. I remember he often would go through serious times of depression, really doubting if his art was worth the pain he went through to make it. By the end though, he seemed to have really made peace with his place in the world, if not who he really was in it. He understood that he worked better as a bit of an outsider, and began really embracing his fellow weirdos.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Brother Spacebear was a musician. He played guitar, bass, piano, and could make anything with strings at least talk. While he was never a professional recording person, he would help folks record music as well. He also had begun picking up chainsaw carving a few months before he died, though he hadn’t gotten very good at it.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
He always loved the weird parts of Kansas City. He was always most excited when he’d call me after playing some basement gig. He loved the energy of a house full of KC punks. They were so hungry he’d say. He really hated Johnson County though. I won’t repeat what he said, but know he had some real problems with rich people
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brotherspacebear/
- Other: https://brotherspacebear.bandcamp.com/
