Published: July 6, 2010 2:43 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight July 2010 Edition
Rabbits in Raincoats
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Rabbits in Raincoats
When the band original formed back in September 2009, the group consisted of a French horn/acoustic guitar folk duo (Alex Wilhelm/Matt Montelione). Today, the music of Rabbits in Raincoats has evolved with the addition of a new member and a sound that is uniquely creative and fun to listen to. Here is a recent spotlight that our Webzine completed with Rabbits in Raincoats who gave us a little taste of their musical world. Enjoy!
Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music?
Rabbits in Raincoats: My interest in music began with my father: when he would play The Beatles and other 60s music in the car or in the house when I was a child. I’ve been playing guitar for about 6 years now. Alex started playing French horn when he was in fourth grade, and I believe Jim has been playing for over 9 years at this point.
Isaac: Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?
Rabbits in Raincoats: Our biggest influence is undoubtedly The Beatles, and specifically for me, John Lennon. We’re also huge fans of Radiohead, The Decemberists, Neutral Milk Hotel, Bob Dylan, Fleet Foxes, and the like. All of these artists wrote or write music that is governed by emotions and passions rather than mechanical technicality, which we all favor.
Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?
Rabbits in Raincoats: I don’t know if we’ve really had one, but at this point it would probably be this one review that was written about us, saying that our song “Groundhogs” might be the first French horn hook ever recorded. I don’t even know if it’s true. But it’s cool anyway.
Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?
Rabbits in Raincoats: I’m not really sure we’ve had any. I guess it would be the fact that since we are still a new band, we do not have the resources to get on a major festival bill.
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
Rabbits in Raincoats: Feelings and the need to communicate, I guess. We all communicate well enough verbally, but through music certain emotions are conveyed that can’t be communicated in verbal conversation, at least in my opinion.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
Rabbits in Raincoats: Just have fun!
Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?
Rabbits in Raincoats: I really don’t know, but I think the fact that we utilize French horn as a lead instrument is something that will help us stand out.
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
Rabbits in Raincoats: We do plenty of covers. Mainly Beatles covers like “Misery,” “Cry Baby Cry,” “I’m So Tired,” amongst others. We also cover Neutral Milk Hotel, MGMT, etc. and a bunch of 50s covers like “Everyday” by Buddy Holly. We love covering songs because it gives us an opportunity to put a French horn spin on the song – it’s such a free canvas in that sense because we can take the, say, piano part and transcribe it into horn, or the bass part, or make a blend of all of them, or just make it up. It’s fun to do.
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
Rabbits in Raincoats: I don’t know; I’m in no position to judge what a good songwriter is.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
Rabbits in Raincoats: It’s really hard to convince people that music is something you can actually work with while making it mean something, rather than just a dingy hobby. I’m in a great position because my father loves the whole music thing. I know that we’re all dedicated to music, so if an opportunity ever came along to say, record another EP in the right setting, we would somehow become free of our obligations and take the path that needs to be traveled.
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
Rabbits in Raincoats: I don’t know, I guess it means that you represent yourself?
Isaac: Where can fans access your music online?
Rabbits in Raincoats: You can check out our first EP “Sylvan Infantry” at our MySpace page:
