Bryce Barsten and Anne Tong first crossed paths 16 years ago, launching Chinese American Bear over a decade later. Blending English and Mandarin, the duo crafts melodic indie pop that creates fuzzy nostalgia and pure elation. Their bilingual songwriting explores the unique interplay of both languages, unlocking expressive possibilities. Their latest album, Dim Sum & Then Some, revels in carefree happiness and dreamlike whimsy. Jampak had the opportunity of interviewing Chinese American Bear ahead of their first San Diego performance.
Pleasure to have a chat with you both. Thank you for your time.
BRYCE: No problem. Nice to meet you.
The pleasure is ours, if you could please introduce yourself to our audience: Who you are and what are you currently working on?
Both: I'm Anne and I'm Bryce
BRYCE: And we are Chinese American Bear. We are currently on our US-Canada tour promoting our newest album Dim Sum & Then Some.
You are currently on your first day of the U.S WEST COAST leg. Do y'all have a pre-show ritual at the moment?
ANNE: Yeah. We are in the middle of our big US North American tour. So we've already played Europe, the East Coast and the Midwest. And we have definitely developed a ritual by now. It usually involves food. I’m usually eating in the green room backstage & relaxing. Bryce will usually have a beer or two. I don't drink before shows.
And definitely making sure I pee right before I get on stage because it's very important. Especially when I get nervous, it just triggers my bladder for some reason. So I always have to pee extra when I'm nervous. That's definitely part of the ritual.
I completely resonate on the nervousness.
What is your favorite song of your own set list at the moment that you are loving to play each night?
ANNE: Yeah, I have a couple of my favorite songs to play currently. One of them is called Dance, Dance, Dance. It's actually a song that's only on the vinyl right now. It's not out on streaming platforms yet, so that's been really fun because for a lot of people, they've never heard it. It's fun to see people's reactions.
And then the other one that's really fun. It's my favorite song "Forever Lover" that's my favorite song off the album and that I just love performing every night.
BRYCE: Yeah. I also really love playing Dance, Dance, Dance. It's been fun seeing the crowd reaction. Also, we've added some jam sections and there's sort of a guitar solo there. There's a keyboard synthesizer solo that Anne plays and she doesn't get a lot of those moments. And the outro is kind of crazy, I think it's a song that's meant for a live show. And it's also been fun seeing the reception. Definitely that one.
Now I'm eager to hear it. You've met through high school and Anne has very little experience being in a band. This is for Bryce, would you have thought you'd be in a band with your life partner?
BRYCE: No, not even in my dizziest daydreams.
ANNE: It was definitely out of left field.
BRYCE: I mean, it's been amazing. We work really well together, even before the band started. We just kind of operate really well together just in normal life with even things as chores and stuff. I think it kind of becoming partially work relationship too with the band has been pretty smooth, thankfully. And it's been fun for me to see Anne witness and experience the world I've been in for a long time.
And I think she's come to appreciate it a lot more and how hard it is, you know. She kind of watched me struggle for a long time and didn't quite get it. And not to her fault, I think no one really gets it unless you are in it. Like in any kind of arts.
It just really is hard. It's a gate kept industry. And it’s been fun bringing her more into my world, watching her also kind of come into her own and actually enjoy it.
You are in awe. And you're happy that she can also support you. Anne, how has it been for you to join a band? To be synergetically aligned with the chemistry, both romantically and musically?
ANNE: Yeah, it's been a blast. This was definitely something I never expected for my life. Never on a bucket list of dreams to be in a band when I was younger. So it's just been this biggest unexpectedly wonderful thing. I love getting to tour the world with my husband.
We talk about how if he ended up just being in one of his more solo projects, touring a lot, it would have been really hard on our relationship for him to be gone often. So it's really fun to be able to travel and do this together as a couple. It’s really fun to build something together with your partner.
You two are incredibly aspiring and I am loving the trajectory you are having. Correct me. Have you all started the project in 2019, or was this a Covid project that you did not think would reach this length?
ANNE: Frankly, yea. I wouldn't even say it started too serious. Like I felt we were dabbling and experimenting around 2019, 2020 and didn't really take this project seriously until 2022.
Like the first few years was really just us.
BRYCE: Like a song here and there.
ANNE: We just experimented with sounds, kind of having fun together, not intentionally thinking. We put more intention behind it starting in 2022 and we noticed ‘Wait, people are like really listening to our songs online. Should we put out an album?’
Stories like that are a ray of sunshine when you don't take it seriously. I'm learning the approach is more of a lighthearted fun between you and keeping the spirit extremely high.
BRYCE: Yeah, it feels like luck.
It’s very much a case of, if you enjoy what you're doing, the right people will find you.
BRYCE: Yeah. Definitely, definitely.
ANNE: Exactly. Because I think it also feels more authentic and comes off authentic.
People like and realize genuine work.
And at the moment, what's one of your goals that you would want to cross off your list, something you're hoping to reach before the end of the tour? It could be metaphorically or psychologically or just between you two as well.
ANNE: Selling out as many shows as possible. Maybe that's the obvious one.
One of our favorite things is meeting new fans and hearing how they discovered our music, hearing how they connect with it. It’s really special for us. And we also love how diverse our fan base is. When we first started this band, we were thinking ‘Are only Chinese people going to like this?’ because it's partially Chinese lyrics.
But we love that there's so many non-Chinese speakers that are at our shows. And it seems to also reach a wide range of audiences. When we play all ages shows, we'll have little kids, for example, in our Boston show there was a family that brought their three year old and six year old, and it was their two little girls very first concert.
So we'll get little kids all the way to people that are older, like retirees. I feel like I'm going off on a tangent answering the question. But yeah, just continuing to meet new fans and like a diverse range of fans.
BRYCE: Oh, I don't know, like every tour we seem to get better at performing. I just hope by the end of this tour we can continue to level up, get more comfortable on the stage and just like be a really great live band to watch and get tighter as a band.
That’s kind of always the best feeling for me at least, like each tour.
For both of you. What is your favorite lyric? One that you're extremely proud of or one that stays with you. ‘This came out of my mind. I had to write this down or we had to put it down to recording.’
BRYCE: Oh yeah. And so many! ANNE: One that comes to mind, this was off our last album “WAH!”, Our last song, "Take Me to Beijing". Several lines from that song:
Take me across the ocean.
Take me to the sea.
Take me to the kingdom.
Take me to Beijing.
I chose the word kingdom because in Chinese, the word China literally translates to the Middle Kingdom. When you say China in Chinese, you're saying Middle Kingdom because it just saw itself as the middle of the Earth. And then I think in that song, I also talk about:
Take me to your hometown
show me where you first loved
and show me your family.
I felt like a lot of people have been able to connect with that. Even if you're not an immigrant from China, and you might be an immigrant from another country cause everyone knows the feeling of their hometown where their loved ones are originally from? Yeah, those have been special lyrics.
Happy to have learned about that. I correlate kingdom with a castle or fortress. Kingdom is very much a fortress to call a safe space.
BRYCE: Yeah, honestly that song might also be my pick, but just thinking of another one.
This song. Home. Right. Sorry. "I Want To Go Home" We just call it home off this new album and I really like the verse. It’s a little bit of a callback to a song from our previous album titled "Pink Strawberries." But it's:
Let’s go pick some pink strawberries
Find someplace where we get married.
Running round in circles, baby.
Let's go find someplace we call home.
So also a lyric about homes. I think that MAY BE OUR thing. Home is very special.
I’m attaining your theme would be making yourselves comforting and your listeners also find something comforting. I would have to give praise to your newest album, Dim Sum & Then Some. The mixing is superb and I love the fuzzy sounds you produce. Especially, in the song “Land of Fun”.
My ears perk up and I'm charged up every time it plays.
BRYCE: That's so fun. Nice. Love to hear that. We don't play that one live yet unfortunately.
But that's very good to hear. Good to know. Good to know.
All right, we've reached the rapid fire section: Coffee or tea?
BOTH: Coffee!
Would you say you are more of a daytime person or nighttime person?
ANNE: Daytime
BRYCE: Day... God, I love both. I feel like I'm a daytime guy now, which I hate because I want to be. I want to be cool.
I want to be cool. Night guy. But we're just getting old, you know, like the mornings or the mornings are awesome, I think. I think deep down I'm a night guy. But, you know, because we're adultS. Sorry. It is a rapid fire, but because were adults. I have to be a day guy.
I'm forced to be a day guy.
Vinyl or streaming?
ANNE: Oh okay. So for me it's streaming because it's like it's just more convenient. It's just like I can listen to it on the go. I don't have to be at home.
I love listening to music in the car while I'm on a run. I actually constantly have a pair of earbuds in my ear. Like, I could be grocery shopping and I'm listening to something.
BRYCE: Yeah, that's a TOUGH ONE I feel like maybe this question needs more context of like, because I, I definitely I definitely listen to more.
I mean, I stream way more than I do listen to vinyl, but I would, you know, in a perfect world, maybe it's a little bit like the day or night in a romantic ideal world. I would be listening to vinyl all the time. Vinyl IS my answer
Cats or dogs?
BRYCE: DOGS
ANNE: Neither. I didn't grow up with pets.
BRYCE: Bears can be your answer. It's funny Anne is kind of weird around pets.
ANNE: I don’t know what to do around them.
BRYCE: She kind of just looks at them, which is funny because at least for me and I don't know about you Anne, but growing up your friends have pets. And you learn how to pet pets and how to interact with pets, but. Anne just didn't have any of that. So it's really funny watching her because it's totally not natural.
ANNE: I feel awkward
BRYCE: That's fair. Honestly, I get it, you know, kind of messy, dirty, dirty, dirty things. Maintenance very much. Yeah.
And as of now, what are your favorite road trips snacks?
ANNE: Okay. I'm thinking of the recent road trip snacks we've bought. And my favorite was Muddy Buddies.
BRYCE: Oh, that was a good one.
ANNE: Do you know what muddy buddies are? So when we were younger, they used to be a homemade thing. And then I noticed over time, you can now buy it at a store.
And now big companies are making it. It's basically like rice chex covered in melted chocolate and powdered sugar. You put it in the fridge and once the chocolate hardens you sprinkle everything with powdered sugar. But it looks like dog food.
I think that's why it was called puppy chow. But now you can buy it at gas stations and grocery stores. It's delicious.
BRYCE: So freaking good. So bad for you. BUT So good. Mine is probably sour cream and onion Pringles. Vibing on those hard lately.
I want to combine these last two rapid fires. What was the last song that you streamed and what would be your dream lineup to be in a festival, including yourself?
BRYCE: Oh, I'll answer the second question first, probably:
The Flaming Lips, The Strokes, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Paul McCartney.
ANNE: Okay, I just looked up for my last streaming song on my phone, and it's actually an AJR song called The World's Smallest Violin. I was streaming them because we just played a music festival over the weekend that had AJR performing. They were such a fun live show and I was streaming some of their music on the way home.
And then in terms of dream festival lineup, I would love to play alongside Japanese Breakfast. I'm a big fan of her and I like really look up to her. I can really relate to her and we're both from the Pacific Northwest.
We both tour in bands with our husbands. She had a very Asian American upbringing similar to me. So anyway, just look up to her in a lot of ways and would love to play in a festival with her. Oh and in the long run Taylor Swift. I'm a huge Swifty.
Looking forward to that supporting lineup announcement. Bryce, do you remember your last song streamed?
BRYCE: Yeah. Technically, I played it because ANNE hadn't heard it yet, The Formats, Holy Roller I think it's called.
FINAL QUESTION:
What are you hoping the fans from each show would take with them after the performance? What's something you kind of want them to talk about?
ANNE: I want them to say. And "this was the most fun I've ever had in a show." Like, I want them to walk away just feeling so joyful and EUPHORIC and dancing their way home.
BRYCE: That's a great one. I think I feel exactly the same way.
I want them to skip home. I want them to skip home. like a joy. Yeah, like like almost like child like. I think that's what I think. That's the kind of joy we want people to feel where like,
ANNE: without any self-consciousness. Yeah. Like self-consciousness is just totally stripped away and you just a childlike joy you're not afraid to, like skip in the most silly way home.
That is that is definitely a wonderful feeling. We need more childlike wonder to come back or keep that. Keep that spirit alive. Definitely. Definitely. Anne, Bryce, I appreciate the time you have given for Jampak. We wish you a safe and successful tour.
Chinese American Bear 2026 Tour Dates:
7/14 – Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge
7/16 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
7/19 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
7/21 – Boise, ID – Shrine Social Club
7/23 – Portland, OR – Polaris Hall
7/24 – Vancouver, BC – Fox Cabaret
7/25 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
8/7 – Sicily, IT – Ypsigrock Festival
9/17 – Copenhagen, DK – Ideal Bar
9/18 – Hamburg, DE – Reeperbahn Festival
9/19 – Cologne, DE – Artheater
9/20 – Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg
9/21 – Paris, FR – POP UP!
9/22 – Brussels, BE – Botanique
9/23 – Brighton, UK – The Hope & Ruin
9/24 – London, UK – Oslo
📸/✍️: Ricardo Arriaga @aurorealis64