The Bear Necessities

The Bear Necessities are an award-winning, TTBB a cappella group from Brown University. They were established in 1992 making them the youngest of the three TTBB a cappella groups at Brown. The Bears have released 5 albums, and are currently in the process of recording their 6th. They are best known for wearing suspenders and former member Masi Oka, one of the best known alumnus of a college a cappella group and actor in the television series Heroes. Also known as “The Bears,” the group performs at Brown, across the country and internationally. Their repertoire ranges from R&B to jazz to classic rock to pop to Disney songs. Founded as an alternative a cappella ensemble, the group has a tradition of highly-theatrical, interactive performance and is known for a fun, down-to-earth atmosphere in both rehearsal and concert. This is evident in the final track of each of their albums, titled “Bear-a-oke,” a karaoke version of one of the album’s songs designed to invite the listener to sing along. The group’s alumni song is Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen.
History.
Founded in 1992, The Bear Necessities were an outgrowth of The High Jinks, another all-male singing group at Brown. In the early 1990s, The High Jinks dissolved and former members came together as The Bear Necessities (The High Jinks were revived in 2009). Some of the final members of The High Jinks, after moving to New York City after graduation, went on to begin Rockapella, a nationally known a cappella band.
Masi Oka.
A member of The Bear Necessities from 1993 to 1997, Masi Oka served as the group’s musical director during his senior year at Brown. While a member of the group, he arranged nearly 30 songs including "Invisible Touch" by Genesis, "Faithfully" by Journey, "Flashdance...What a Feeling" by Irene Cara, "All I Want" by Toad the Wet Sprocket, "The Promise" by Tracy Chapman and "With or Without You" by U2. His arrangements were recorded on the group's second and third albums, "TBNJ: The Bear Necessities Jam" (which he also produced) and "Circus People", respectively. He has described the group as a “brothership” and says his time in the group was a formative experience for him in college. A computer science and mathematics student at Brown, he spent the majority of his extracurricular time with the group. Referring to a comedic skit planned in conjunction with a rendition of the song Flashdance, he has been quoted as saying, “We had to go all-out. A cappella is all about commitment.”