In the early 2000s, I lived in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a few blocks away from Mark Paffi. Through friends of friends, I ended up going to these Wednesday night parties Paffi threw, hosting friends in the community. I remember meeting John Gaviglio there, and we were sitting on a couch. We talked about music, and he told me he was in a band named Bear vs. Shark. I was excited when he mentioned that one of their many influences was At the Drive-In, as I was enamoured with that band at the time. I started going to Bear vs. Shark shows right after that moment, which were a string of basements, punk houses, and small venues.

The spacing in their songs was unique to me. Not everything was in 4/4 timing; the sound each guitar player made was unique, different, and unfamiliar. Paffi would periodically shove the microphone in his mouth, gyrate his body, press his head onto fans’ heads while singing, and perform as a conduit for some unseen energy. They’d switch instruments for different songs throughout the set. There were so many moving parts. It felt good to watch them. It felt exciting and explosive. The sound they produced was expansive, energetic, and coordinated, while unpredictable. I went to every show of theirs I could because I wanted to keep feeling all of those feelings.

I always got those feelings when I saw them through the years—in the Los Angeles area a few times after Michigan, mostly because I lived there for a long time—and I still got those feelings when I saw them on 2025 April 13, 2025, in Philadelphia.

For the first time, it dawned on me when I saw them play at this recent show, that Bear vs. Shark carried with them through the years this raw, anamalistic, charged energy. And it reminded me of literal bears and sharks, the power of music, and the desire for self-expression – to burn white hot with instinct, and what organized energy can become.

I’m grateful that I got to interview Marc Paffi and John Gaviglio of Bear vs. Shark in one of the many greenrooms backstage at Union Transfer. We talk about intention, composition, life, Fugazi, and music in general. Thank you guys! Much love!

Jonah