Grizzly Bear steps up to the big time

Touring with Radiohead opens up new horizons

From left: Chris Taylor, Dan Rossen, Ed Droste, and Christopher Bear. (Lane Coder)

What's a moody little cult band to do when an invitation arrives from the most respected rock group on the planet to join them on tour? First, a small freak-out is in order, replete with feelings of unworthiness and a creeping sense of unreality. Next, hole up in the studio for a few weeks to record a new album. Just for kicks - and a whiff of the big-time, and because now you can - book appearances on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" and "Late Show With David Letterman." That's what Grizzly Bear has been up to since getting a phone call in March from Radiohead. Both bands perform at the Comcast Center on Wednesday, and Grizzly Bear plays a solo show of its psychedelic folk-rock at the Museum of Fine Arts on Thursday; both are sold out. Grizzly Bear frontman (and Boston native) Ed Droste called recently to marvel at his good fortune.

Q. You've played two dates on the Radiohead tour so far. I gather it's a bit of a head trip.
A. It's a major head trip. I still don't believe that it's happening. It's like a childhood dream. Is there a band we'd rather open for? There isn't.

Q. Did you prepare mentally?
A. No. The whole time we were like, "They're going to cancel."

Q. I know you're playing a couple of new tunes, and from the sound of them the next Grizzly Bear album is going to explore the sunnier side of the street.
A. One of them is the most poppy, upbeat song we've done, but the album is going to be more diverse, really. Higher highs and lower lows. One voice and a piano, and big orchestration. I think it's going to be a smorgasbord.

Q. Grizzly Bear is four years old and already you've released a collection of remixes and an EP of alternate versions by your band and other artists, on top of two full-length albums. Tell me about the impulse to reinvent your songs.
A. Why not? It's really fun. The albums are what we really toil over, and the live versions are so different from the recordings, and if you don't like one version maybe you'll like something else, a Japanese B-side or a cover. It's a lot of bang for your buck.

Q. Grizzly Bear recorded its second album, "Yellow House," in your childhood home in Watertown. Was it strange, or poignant, making a record there?
A. It was a little bit of everything. Oh my God, it felt weird sleeping in my high school bedroom. Other times it was amazing. To unearth a family relic like "Marla" [a waltz written by Droste's great-aunt in the 1930s that the band recorded for the album] and play it on that piano. . . .

Q. You come from a musical family. What kind of sounds were floating around the house when you were growing up?
A. Everybody loved to sing old Scottish folk songs. I heard a lot of classical and choral music. My parents didn't listen to a lot of pop, but I listened to as much as I could.

Q. Like what?
A. My first stage was the stadium bands: Madonna and Tom Petty and Aerosmith. Then U2 and REM. Then I found Pavement and Liz Phair.

Q. Grizzly Bear's songs are beautifully detailed and intricately arranged. Did you study music?
A. I took some guitar lessons as a kid, but I'm basically untrained. I never thought I'd be doing music. I studied journalism in college [at New York University] and I basically wanted to do what you're doing. Then after college I went through some depression and got a four-track to fool around on but it was very frustrating to me because I couldn't layer the way I wanted to. When I found Pro Tools it was a revolution. "Horn of Plenty" [the first Grizzly Bear record] is this weird sketchbook of me learning to write music.

Q. Now that you have three bandmates, do you ever miss working alone?
A. No. Everybody brings in ideas. I'm a simple pop guy. Dan [Rossen, who shares songwriting duties] is grandiose. He composes and arranges in his head. I love his complex ideas, and he likes my intuition and naivete. The other two [Christopher Bear and Chris Taylor] are great songwriters, too. It's a real collaboration.

Q. I read in a newspaper interview that your favorite movie of all time is "Saw." All four of them.
A. What? I think I was kidding.

Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com. For more on music, visit www.boston.com/ae/music/blog.