Artists:Talking About Commas

The concept for Talking About Commas was born in 2001 in Saratoga Springs, NY. While earning a music degree from Skidmore College, Bear Connelly started recording the original compositions he had been writing for the previous 5 years. In the Spring of 2001, Bear gained access to the school's recording studio and over the next year and a half recorded his debut album, "Variations on Descending Patterns" .

Upon graduating, Bear moved to Bozeman, Montana in search of new surroundings and kindred musical spirits. A year later, while living in Colorado, he began to record under the moniker "Talking About Commas" as a studio-only one man band. Bear has played guitar, piano, bass, drums, rhodes, congas, melodica, synth, and mandolin on TAC's 4 releases and often sings his own harmonies. In 2005, TAC released a collection of home recordings dubbed 4-Track and Forget: Crude Home Recordings and Other Assorted Attempts at Enlightenment compiled from 5 years of tapes.

From 2004-2007 Bear lived in Lake Tahoe, CA. There he co-founded the band Two Out Rally with childhood friend and fellow White Thigh, Dan Hurley. While touring almost exclusively with Two Out Rally and The White Thighs, Bear continued to write and record songs for Talking About Commas on his own. He also played some solo Commas shows in both Lake Tahoe and San Francisco. While in California, Bear released both of Commas' digital EP's (2006's Love is the Other Side of the Fence and 2007's The Blue River EP) through SNOCAP's online music store. Both EP's were recorded in Bear's home studio which lead to Bear experimenting with an array of synthetic sound textures not possible with acoustic instruments

In August of 2007, Bear returned to his roots and moved back to Rhode Island. There he plans to record and tour as Talking About Commas full-time. Some shows will be solo acoustic efforts and some will find Bear accompanied by a band.

Commas' first LP with Rhody Records was released in July of 2008. This new album, "Sick of Blocking Out the Sun", was recorded by master engineer/musician, Pete Morse at Busted Barn Studios in Freeport, ME. It features Pete Morse on electric guitars and bass, Stefen Samuels (of Portland Maine prog-rockers "Eldemur Krimm") on drums and a cameo by RI songstress Allysen Callery on the song "Plea Bargain". It was manufactured by Oasis and produced by Tom Newman of Rhody Records.