Frightened Rabbit: Stun Us Like A Bunny In The Headlights!
» Frightened Rabbit: Stun Us Like A Bunny In The Headlights! - July 16, 2008
Frightened Rabbit... well, admittedly this writer did not have a clue about the band that conjured images of terrified little bunnies - and on a name only visual interpretation, decided that there was no way this band would be all lovely flowers, and rainbows and 'la la la laaa' singing. But oh how one can be wrong!
And after many moment tangling with wrong numbers, calling Japan and other things that tend to put a person's head in a spin pre-interview, I was finally connected with the wonderful Scott Hutchinson, lead singer and one of the founding members of the bunnies who from what I can tell are anything but terrifying!
When our lines connect for me its Friday near on lunch time snow on Mt Wellington and that thrilling feeling sweeping through my insides as I wait to hear a voice amongst the international beeps and patches of silence.
For Scott it is Thursday evening and 9pm the other side of the world Austin, Texas and hot... I must admit I have a moment of jealousy and lament the loss of our summer sun.
Frightened Rabbit began in their home town of Selkirk in Scotland, as just Scott with the name (FR) his label for solo shows. Then joined by his brother Grant on drums in 2004, the coupling took them from solo to band.
Their indie-rock debut LP Sing the Greys, released in mid 2006, saw the band add two more members, Andy and Billy on keyboard and guitar respectively and then solidify themselves as a new act to pay attention to, from the country that contains contemporaries such as Belle and Sebastian.
The accent is apparent. From the instant a track begins you can recognise the country of origin for this band. No false or heavily learned accents just the honest lungs of a singer who is very proud of his heritage.
It just seems like the songs themselves are an honest representation of most of the way i think and who i am and how my life is. If i was to adopt an accent that then would just take away from that and i try to be as honest as possible and part of that is singing in my own accent. It seems ridiculous to me that I would put on an American accent, he says.
And then I ask perhaps one of the most cliqued questions possible when interviewing anyone in a creative field - how did you go with the dreaded second album? I always think expectations twirled within perhaps the chance of doing something entirely different (which for a musician is often a decision that can be perilous with the results either thrilling or confusing a die hard fan).
It wasn't so dreaded. the first record was kind of really a small release and i had so much time in between because it was actually finished and done about 2 years ago...
So with iTunes as my guide, and a quick 30 second blast of every track from their debut LP re-released as an album to assist me prior to actually speaking to the Scottish lad, I broached the question of the album number one compared to album two whether there was pressure to follow up amazing debuts and if the whole process of anything subsequent was daunting?
That whole first record was kind of home done. and the second one i had a lot of time to write it and i didn't dread it i was really looking forward to it, he says.
Frightened Rabbit, perhaps like any band about to break it big, have had some misses and hits with record label signings. I ask Scott about whether he wants to touch on a subject that perhaps may cut a little deep a near signing with Fiction Records.
I don't mind going in to it. It was them that pulled out at the last minute not us. We were really up for it and it was a really anguished, upsetting and sad experience we had... It was not our decision at all and it was basically a record deal that we were so excited about... it was taken away from us at the last minute.
Now Frightened Rabbit are signed with Fat Cat which in all accounts (both looking on line and speaking to Scott) the label has its thoughts firmly spread across both sides of the globe and a true international presence.
Its great - they have given us the opportunity to work on both sides of the Atlantic - we're touring the US as much, if not more, than the UK... an open and giving label - they have been fantastic from start to finish... I met the guys who are putting the record out in Australia (Inertia Records) in Austin in March and they just seem so passionate.
And now Frightened Rabbit have doubled in size, from two to now four, I question Scott on how the growth happened whether perhaps you could compare it to growing a family and adding children as the years pass and the stability and love for the music grows?
It's been an organic process for me, playing on my own on a guitar and a drummer I knew... then Billy and Andy... yeah it's just a case of gradually evolving and allowing other people in but you have to be the right person, you can't just put a band together and hope for it work out immediately!
So after the debut album in 2006, the invitations to festivals began, with South by Southwest in March 2007.
It (SXSW) was amazing. We only played two shows... weirdly enough I am actually sitting in the venue where we played our first SXSW show at right now. At that point yes (it was our biggest crowd to play to)... the crowds were big anyway. We played once in the US and it was great to get our name out there so it was definitely good for that.
Next on the circuit agenda is Tea in the Park, with Rage Against the Machine headlining the festival this year.
I had not been to tea in the park since I was 15. Its in Scotland - north of great Britain - you definitely should come
With the distinct sound of a band from Scotland, Scott and I discuss the differences for Frightened Rabbit in breaking into each of the big markets of the musical variety US, UK and Australia how the music crosses over and perhaps whether it highlights the cultural differences.
No it seems like it is easier here for us here than in the UK by an absolute mile. There is a real thirst for Scottish music in the US. Its wonderful.
