Jeremy Enigk, Ready For Another SDRE Reunion, Talks Big Hairy Gay Guys

We live in a world where even the word "bear" has become a double-entendre. Sigh.

Go ahead, laugh at Jeremy Enigk all you want. Call him an idealistic hippie. A bleeding-heart softie. A corny lyricist. Toss in a couple of cheap quips about his Christian faith while you’re at it.

“I’m the joke of the room,” he confesses on one of his new songs, “Life’s Too Short” (listen to it below). “But I only know where I’ve gone.”

While the haters and cynics pollute the music world with a smokescreen of snark, sarcasm and slander, Enigk’s genuineness and sincerity shine bright and clear.

This guy’s got heart. In fact, he’s such a nice guy that he even has sympathy - maybe even empathy - for political figures and Hollywood celebrities.

“It’s gotta be hard for political leaders, especially the good ones, to have to make the tough choices, so I can’t insult them too much,” he confides in IndiePit.

While you’re trying to swallow that one, witness what he had to say about celebrities being hounded by the paparazzi. “It’s got to be hard for them to sort of deal with that. … Stars are sort of catapulted into this absurd fame and can’t really go anywhere without the paparazzi chasing them. [That's] disgusting.”

OK, so maybe he doesn’t have much sympathy for the paparazzi. But who actually writes a song about the insufferable lives of millionaires, as Enigk did with “Make Believe,” another new tune?

Someone who can feel your pain, that’s who.

Enigk makes no secret of the fact that he was actually trying to make the world a better place with his second solo album, 2006’s World Waits. “From song to song, it was trying to sort of figure out why the world was so crazy and trying to resolve it with hope, love,” he says.

Enigk hasn’t thrown in the towel on that one just yet. But with OK Bear - his fourth outing, which dropped last month - he is taking a different approach. “Look inward and try to apply the change to yourself. That’s the first step. And then change the world.”

For his own part, Enigk has not found inner peace - even if his music sounds like it’s coming from someone who is gently in command. When asked if he is comfortable with his place in the world, he is quick to respond.

“I’m still searching for answers and peace. But I definitely have ideals. I have a goal that’s difficult to attain, but at least it’s a concept. I don’t feel completely centered. I pretty much just continue to live on, do my best, take one thing at a time and … look inside [myself]. Take the time to be quiet. Get away from all the information and crap.”

Enter “Mind Ideas” (also available below). The song leads off OK Bear and sets the table for the rest of the album. But what does the term even mean? Isn’t it a bit redundant?

“Well, to me, it’s the mind creating all of these ideas, quite literally,” Enigk responds. “So it’s almost implying that it’s lacking heart in your choices, or the world’s choices.

“The world is one world, right? And the United States, there’s all these states with imaginary lines. There’s a big line dividing [us from] Canada. And the lines aren’t really there. It’s just an idea. And it’s just to me about the powers that be creating all these imaginary lines and all these ideas. And it’s not so much based on the heart, it’s more based on the minds.”

Calling to mind “The Truman Show,” Enigk showed just how imaginary boundaries are by jetting to Spain at the request of longtime pallie Ramon Rodriguez, who issued World Waits in Spain through his Cydonia Records.

“[He] said, ‘Hey, I would love for you to come to Spain and record a record with Santi Garcia and Ricky Falkner and Victor Garcia. I will worry about all the details; all you have to do is get on a plane and have a few songs for the record.’ I was like, ‘This offer is too cool to pass up. Yeah, sure, I’ll move to Spain for six weeks and record a record.’ ”

Enigk and his equipo of musicians did just that. And it was during those sessions that the singer, speaking gibberish, inadvertently came up with the title OK Bear.

“I was just saying, ‘Valll-eee ooooo-sooo,’ ” he croons.

Victor Garcia, the session drummer/percussionist, led Enigk onto the fact that “vale” means “OK.” “And then I was, like, ‘Well, what’s “oso”?’ And he said, ‘Bear. But a “bear” typically refers to a big, hairy man who is gay.’ And I was, like, ‘OK … but it can also mean, like, a real bear, right?’ They’re like, ‘Oh, yeah.’ ”

‘Cause if that hadn’t been the case, the album would’ve called for an altogether different set of artwork. Instead, it’s a childhood photograph of Enigk that adorns the cover.

(More about that cover next week.)

While Enigk was more than happy to collaborate with the cadre of musicians, vocals included, he admits to IndiePit that he isn’t quite ready to share songwriting duties yet, as he did with Sunny Day Real Estate and the Fire Theft. As part of the former group - whose debut, Diary, was arguably the biggest game-changer in ’90s indie-rock - he even shared credit for the lyrics, with bandmate Dan Hoerner.

“I’m really comfortable working alone. I’m sort of used to it at this point. But beyond that, it’s also a matter of finding the right artist. I want to work with somebody who I like as a person but is also just amazing. And I’d like somebody who can sing - like, really sing and help carry that weight. I’d prefer to have some other options in there, sort of like a John and Paul-type of thing. … It’s a possibility.”

Another possibility that Enigk alluded to during the interview but has come to fruition since is the umpteenth reunion by his best-known project, Sunny Day Real Estate - with the original lineup intact for the first time in 10 years. The band will play a series of gigs celebrating the long-awaited reissue of its seminal Diary album and Pink follow-up. Expect rare bonus tracks to accompany the reissues, which will come out in vinyl and CD form on September 15.

Till then, fans can cuddle up with OK Bear and look forward to a possible EP follow-up that would drop next year. If that does happen, the EP would come out through the same labels responsible for the LP: Cydonia and Enigk’s own Lewis Hollow Recordings.

Listen to “Mind Idea”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

And “Life’s Too Short”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Hungering for even more Enigk? Check back next week for a discussion about that endearing album-cover photo - and how the powers messed up his “Sandwich.”

Also, peep this text-cloud breakdown of OK Bear’s lyrics to get a visual idea of how the album really is dominated by existential themes: