Rock Singer Reveals New Career as Therapist After Leaving His Band

Ed Droste, former frontman of Grizzly Bear, announced on Tuesday that he will move on from a career in music to one in therapy. Droste announced that he will be starting up his own independent practice in Los Feliz, California, in an Instagram post. “I’m thrilled to announce the next stage of my career and the commencement of my independent practice as an associate therapist,” Droste wrote. “I provide virtual and in-person counseling for adults and teenagers in Los Feliz. If you know anyone seeking a therapist in California, please don’t hesitate to share my contact details. My psychology today profile is linked up in my bio, or you can reach me via my supervisor’s website http://www.laurenmarimon.com Thank you all so much for your support!” 

In 2002, Droste formed Grizzly Bear, initially as a pseudonym for his solo work, but later began collaborating with drummer Christopher Bear on the band’s first LP, 2004’s Horn of Plenty, after which the members started playing shows with bassist Chris Taylor. Following the addition of guitarist Daniel Rossen to Grizzly Bear’s roster, the group released four more albums, including the band’s most recent release, Painted Ruins, before Droste announced he was leaving the group to devote himself to his studies in therapy. As Grizzly Bear has gone on hiatus, the other band members have put their talents to work on their own solo projects. For example, Daniel Rossen released his first solo album in 2022, You Belong There, and earlier this year, he and Chris Bear wrote the soundtrack for A24’s film Past Lives. 

In a 2022 interview for Larry Fitzmaurice’s newsletter Last Donut of the Night, Grizzly Bear’s Rossen noted that the band is currently on hiatus. “There’s no official line here,” Rossen said. “I still work closely with Chris Taylor, I still talk with Chris Bear fairly often — he lives in Spain now. Ed and I are still in contact, but he needs a little distance from us for personal reasons. He’s pursuing a different career. We may do something again. When those [Painted Ruins] tours ended, I was about to have a child, Chris Taylor just had his son, Chris Bear has a family, he was pursuing other work. It made sense to have a break there to do other things. We’ve always taken time between records. I don’t know what the future holds. I think for now it’s safe to say we’re inactive, but I’m very reluctant to make some grand statement like, ‘We’ve broken up!’ I don’t trust that, especially because people come back together again. I think it’s entirely possible that we could, I just don’t know.”