White Rabbits (band)
Encyclopedia
White Rabbits is an American
six-piece indie rock
band based in Brooklyn, NY
, originally from Columbia, Missouri
. The band released its debut studio album
, Fort Nightly
, on May 22, 2007. They currently record for TBD Records
.
. Roberts and Levinson both played in a ska band (called The Hubcaps) while in high school. Even and Patterson currently live in Brooklyn with their pet hamster Ning and two poseable mannequins they've raised as their children in lieu of flesh and blood offspring.
The White Rabbits recorded its first studio album, Fort Nightly, and released it in 2007 to the public through Say Hey Records
. The album was praised by critics.
In addition to consistent touring, they have been featured on NPR
's World Cafe, where the band members discussed how they met and formed in the college town of Columbia, Missouri
. They also talked about their early sound and performed three songs. They have also performed on the Late Show with David Letterman
.
On May 12, 2009, the band released their second album, titled It's Frightening
. The album was produced by Britt Daniel
, lead singer and guitarist of Spoon
(whom they asked after meeting the band while on tour in Minneapolis). Retrieved on February 16, 2009 The album was released on TBD Records
, which also hosts the bands Radiohead
and Underworld
. The band also worked with Nicholas Vernhes at the Rare Book Room.
s, notably Bob Dylan
's "Maggie's Farm
", which was also covered by one of the band's main influences, The Specials
. Typically they will put their own twist on cover songs by playing them in a style/genre that is different from the original. After playing a particularly energetic show at South By Southwest in 2008, NME
named them one of the top three bands performing that year.
They have toured with bands such as The Walkmen
, Richard Swift
, Interpol
and Spoon
. In 2007, they began a national tour with the Kaiser Chiefs
in support of their album Fort Nightly
. This followed a tour through the United Kingdom. In 2010 the band went on tour with Interpol
.
White Rabbits also performed at the 2010 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
on Saturday, April 17, 2010 on the main stage. The following day, Stephen Patterson, along with Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox, joined Spoon
during their set for "Who Makes Your Money."
White Rabbits played at the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival
and the 2010 Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans Halloween weekend, and opened for Muse
at London's Wembley Stadium on September 10, 2010. On October 29, 2010 they were the opening act for Interpol at the Verizon Wireless Theatre in Houston, TX.
They played on the BBC Show Later With Jools Holland, where they performed Percussion Gun and They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong.
and included on the Friday Night Lights Vol. 2 (television soundtrack)
. It was also featured in Season 3, episode 19 of Gossip Girl and it was also featured in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (video game)
.It was also featured in episode 4 of HBO's 24/7 Road To The NHL's Winter Classic
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
six-piece indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band based in Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, originally from Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
. The band released its debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Fort Nightly
Fort Nightly
Fort Nightly is the debut Studio album by the American indie rock band White Rabbits. It was released May 22, 2007 on indie Say Hey Records.-Track listing:# "Kid on My Shoulders" – 4:36# "The Plot" – 3:33# "Dinner Party" – 3:48# "Navy Wives" – 4:24...
, on May 22, 2007. They currently record for TBD Records
TBD Records
TBD Records is an American record label co-founded by Coran Capshaw and Phil Costello, and is a sublabel of ATO Records, distributed by RED Distribution. The label was founded in August 2007 and quickly announced its first release, the band Underworld's first studio album in five years, Oblivion...
.
History
The band formed in Columbia, Missouri. The band's frontmen, Greg Roberts and Stephen Patterson, met at the college in 2004. Alex Even, Adam Russell and Greg had formerly played in the band Texas Chainsaw Mass Choir. The original White Rabbits lineup consisted of five members, but after relocating to New York City the next year, the band expanded to six members. The sixth member, Jamie Levinson, had grown up on the same street as Roberts in Webster Groves, MissouriWebster Groves, Missouri
Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is named after New England politician Daniel Webster....
. Roberts and Levinson both played in a ska band (called The Hubcaps) while in high school. Even and Patterson currently live in Brooklyn with their pet hamster Ning and two poseable mannequins they've raised as their children in lieu of flesh and blood offspring.
The White Rabbits recorded its first studio album, Fort Nightly, and released it in 2007 to the public through Say Hey Records
Say Hey Records
Say Hey Records is an independent record label based in New York City, and is the brainchild of founder Aaron Romanello. The label has put out notable records by White Rabbits, Shy Child, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's eponymous debut LP, and Inouk, as well as releases by Cause For Applause, The...
. The album was praised by critics.
In addition to consistent touring, they have been featured on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's World Cafe, where the band members discussed how they met and formed in the college town of Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
. They also talked about their early sound and performed three songs. They have also performed on the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
.
On May 12, 2009, the band released their second album, titled It's Frightening
It's Frightening
It's Frightening is the second album by the American indie rock band the White Rabbits. It was released May 19, 2009 on TBD Records, with "Percussion Gun" being the first single....
. The album was produced by Britt Daniel
Britt Daniel
John Britt Daniel is the co-founder, lead singer and guitarist of the Austin, Texas, rock band Spoon.-Biography:Britt Daniel was born in Galveston, Texas, and grew up in Temple, Texas, in a household of five children...
, lead singer and guitarist of Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
(whom they asked after meeting the band while on tour in Minneapolis). Retrieved on February 16, 2009 The album was released on TBD Records
TBD Records
TBD Records is an American record label co-founded by Coran Capshaw and Phil Costello, and is a sublabel of ATO Records, distributed by RED Distribution. The label was founded in August 2007 and quickly announced its first release, the band Underworld's first studio album in five years, Oblivion...
, which also hosts the bands Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
and Underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
. The band also worked with Nicholas Vernhes at the Rare Book Room.
Live shows
White Rabbits are known for their energy onstage, their switching of instruments, and cover songCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s, notably Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "Maggie's Farm
Maggie's Farm
"Maggie's Farm" is a song written by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 15, 1965, and released on the album Bringing It All Back Home on March 22 of that year...
", which was also covered by one of the band's main influences, The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
. Typically they will put their own twist on cover songs by playing them in a style/genre that is different from the original. After playing a particularly energetic show at South By Southwest in 2008, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
named them one of the top three bands performing that year.
They have toured with bands such as The Walkmen
The Walkmen
The Walkmen are an American indie rock band, with members based in New York City and Philadelphia. The band formed in 2000 with three members from Jonathan Fire*Eater—Paul Maroon , Walter Martin , and Matt Barrick —and two from The Recoys, Peter Bauer and Hamilton Leithauser . All but Bauer...
, Richard Swift
Richard Swift (musician)
Richard Swift is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and short-film maker...
, Interpol
Interpol (band)
Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
and Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
. In 2007, they began a national tour with the Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....
in support of their album Fort Nightly
Fort Nightly
Fort Nightly is the debut Studio album by the American indie rock band White Rabbits. It was released May 22, 2007 on indie Say Hey Records.-Track listing:# "Kid on My Shoulders" – 4:36# "The Plot" – 3:33# "Dinner Party" – 3:48# "Navy Wives" – 4:24...
. This followed a tour through the United Kingdom. In 2010 the band went on tour with Interpol
Interpol (band)
Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
.
White Rabbits also performed at the 2010 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
on Saturday, April 17, 2010 on the main stage. The following day, Stephen Patterson, along with Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox, joined Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
during their set for "Who Makes Your Money."
White Rabbits played at the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...
and the 2010 Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans Halloween weekend, and opened for Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
at London's Wembley Stadium on September 10, 2010. On October 29, 2010 they were the opening act for Interpol at the Verizon Wireless Theatre in Houston, TX.
They played on the BBC Show Later With Jools Holland, where they performed Percussion Gun and They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong.
Studio albums
- Fort NightlyFort NightlyFort Nightly is the debut Studio album by the American indie rock band White Rabbits. It was released May 22, 2007 on indie Say Hey Records.-Track listing:# "Kid on My Shoulders" – 4:36# "The Plot" – 3:33# "Dinner Party" – 3:48# "Navy Wives" – 4:24...
(2007, Say Hey RecordsSay Hey RecordsSay Hey Records is an independent record label based in New York City, and is the brainchild of founder Aaron Romanello. The label has put out notable records by White Rabbits, Shy Child, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's eponymous debut LP, and Inouk, as well as releases by Cause For Applause, The...
) - It's FrighteningIt's FrighteningIt's Frightening is the second album by the American indie rock band the White Rabbits. It was released May 19, 2009 on TBD Records, with "Percussion Gun" being the first single....
(May 12, 2009, TBD RecordsTBD RecordsTBD Records is an American record label co-founded by Coran Capshaw and Phil Costello, and is a sublabel of ATO Records, distributed by RED Distribution. The label was founded in August 2007 and quickly announced its first release, the band Underworld's first studio album in five years, Oblivion...
, MuteMute RecordsMute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
) #184 U.S.
EPs
- "White Rabbits Daytrotter Sessions" (7/16/2007, DaytrotterDaytrotterDaytrotter is a website for the recording studio Horseshack, which hosts recording sessions with many popular and typically upcoming indie music acts, although it works with local bands in the Illinois area as well. The sessions can be compared to that of a radio station's lounge recordings, where...
) - "White Rabbits Daytrotter Sessions" (11/2/2009, DaytrotterDaytrotterDaytrotter is a website for the recording studio Horseshack, which hosts recording sessions with many popular and typically upcoming indie music acts, although it works with local bands in the Illinois area as well. The sessions can be compared to that of a radio station's lounge recordings, where...
)
Singles
- "The Plot" (Digital Single, 2007)
- "Cotillion Blues/Beehive State" (Digital Single, 2008)
- "While We Go Dancing" (7", 2008)
- "Percussion Gun" (Digital Single/Radio Promo, 2009) (#31 Billboard Alternative Songs) Used as in game music in EA Sports 2010 FIFA World Cup: South Africa
- "Lionesse" (Radio Promo, 2009)
- "They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong" (Radio Promo, 2010)
Live Recordings
- "White Rabbits: Live
[In Spaceland - June 13, 2007] " (2007, Spaceland Recordings) - "Live at LollapaloozaLollapaloozaLollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
2007: White Rabbits - EP" (2007)
Members
- Alexander Even – guitar, vocals
- Brian Betancourt - bass
- Matthew Clark – drums, additional percussion
- Jamie Levinson – drums
- Gregory Roberts – vocals, guitar
- Stephen Patterson – vocals, piano
Influences
- The SpecialsThe SpecialsThe Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
- The Style CouncilThe Style CouncilThe Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn also...
- Aztec CameraAztec CameraAztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....
In other media
"Percussion Gun" was featured in Season 4 for the television series Friday Night Lights (TV series)Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
and included on the Friday Night Lights Vol. 2 (television soundtrack)
Friday Night Lights Vol. 2 (television soundtrack)
Friday Night Lights Vol. 2 is the second soundtrack for the NBC television series Friday Night Lights, a program inspired by the film of the same name. It was released by Arrival Records/Scion Music Group and is distributed by Fontana Distribution....
. It was also featured in Season 3, episode 19 of Gossip Girl and it was also featured in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (video game)
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (video game)
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is the official video game for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, published by EA Sports.The game was announced on 26 January 2010 during a GameSpot interview with Simon Humber, one of the producers of the game, and released April 27, 2010 in North America...
.It was also featured in episode 4 of HBO's 24/7 Road To The NHL's Winter Classic
External links
- White Rabbits Official Website
- Daytrotter Sessions - Downloadable MP3s
- - Preview of upcoming Manchester Show from zpop Manchester
- White Rabbits Unveil New Songs at NYC Gig 2/18/09!
- White Rabbits Interview nthWORD Magazine
- White Rabbits Live Review Fazer Magazine, October 9'
- Video session for 'They Shoot Music - Don't They'