RCRD LBL

EXCLUSIVE STREAM: White Rabbits - Cotillion Blues/DOWNLOAD - The Plot/INTERVIEW

Posted 2/15/2008 11:09 AM by rcrd lbl

Tags: world, rcrd lbl exclusive, new york, indie, soul, rock

When we all came together to start RCRD LBL, the one band I knew we had to work with (before we had a BETA or even a name) was White Rabbits, who I heard shortly after they all moved to New York from Missouri in the summer of 2006. They won me over the first time I saw them play—something about the way their music thumped and swung and dangerously careened between being a perfect little soulful rock and roll maelstrom and falling apart under its own propulsive energy really got to me. They had that angry young man swagger of the Jam and Specials, matched with the pop precision of black American music from the ’60s. They also had great shoes—mostly Clarks desert boots and loafers. I guess you could say whatever image I had of  dudes being a "real band", they were it.

Since then, they've released a fantastic debut album Fort Nightly, played Letterman, toured non-stop and at some point, found time to record a new single that pays tasteful homage to the vibe of  Bob Dylan's classic "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35"—you know that whole Salvation Army band sound. It's called "Cotillion Blues" and we're premiering it here exclusively on RCRD LBL today and for a little after that too.

Singer/guitarist Gregory Roberts was kind enough to take some time to do a quick email interview with us about how the song came to be and fill us in on various other Rabbit-relevant things. 

RCRD LBL: Describe, as best as you can, how "Cotillion Blues" came about—from conception in your brains to recording it.
 
Gregory Roberts: This is actually a really old song for us. We were playing this while we were still in college, before we moved to the city. Initially, we wanted it to sound like a Ronettes song or something with a big four-on-the-floor kind of stomp. We recorded a version of it back then with handclaps and castanets, the whole deal. It was probably a little heavy-handed, to be honest. We dusted it off about a year ago and decided to rework the feel a little, so we gave it kind of a sleazy, New Orleans shuffle. Our good friend Jon Natchez (of Beirut - ed) and another girl named Elizabeth came in to play horns and we pretty much just let them loose on it. I did the vocals at about three in the morning one night with about two-thirds of a bottle of whiskey in me. It was stupid, but it seemed like a funny idea at the time. Everyone decided early on it was probably better if this one was a little loose and sloppy so I think it'll be okay. This is a perfect 7 inch song for us because it doesn't really fit in with a lot of the other songs in our set so I'm glad we got a chance to record it.
 
RCRD LBL: Catch us up on what you guys have been up to lately. Lots of touring obvs...

GR: Yeah, we  spent a lot of 2007 on the road in support of the record.  We kept telling ourselves that as soon as the new year rolled around we were going to lock ourselves away and not come out until we had a whole crop of new songs, but so far we haven't had much time to write. We did a tour with the Walkmen in January which was a lot of fun despite being the coldest week I can remember in a long time. It looks like we'll be going down to Austin for sxsw even though we thought we wouldn't and there are other dates lined up in March, April and May. So, the songwriting is going slower than expected, but there are a few new ones that we're all really excited about. We took a new one out in January called "Foxhunting" that I like playing a lot. We'll most likely spend the summer writing now.

RCRD LBL: Where can the Rabbits be found in NYC when they are not on tour? What are some of your favorite spots/elements in the city?

GR: My favorite place in New York would have to be the American Museum of Natural History, although I haven't been in a while. I like most of the museums here, but I'd be lying if I said I frequented them a lot. I wish I had more time to do stuff like that. It's rough when you have so much stuff like that right under your nose and not enough hours in the day to go. I also like brunch at Freeman's and drinking at an old sailor bar called Sunny's in Red Hook, which I also haven't been to in a while. My girlfriend and I have been piecing together our new apartment so we spend a lot of time in antique stores. I like old wooden stuff.

RCRD LBL: Obligatory chance to shout out bands you think people need to be checking out. Can be new or old. Tell us who you dig.

GR: The Harlem Shakes and The Subjects are a couple bands we've become pretty close with since we've moved here. They're stand up guys and we enjoy sharing the stage with them very much. We just met a few guys from Dr. Dog at our last Philly show because we share a sound man with them. They were really nice and we're big fans of theirs. We're also old friends the guys in Mahjongg from our school days, and I'm glad to see they finally put out a new record.

RCRD LBL:  Anything else you'd like to add?

GR: No, that's good for me. Thanks for sending these over.

Premiere Stream: White Rabbits - Cotillion Blues

Download: The Plot

White Rabbits FREE show at BAM in Brooklyn

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