Alpha Rabbit is set to release their latest album, "Let it Grow," on February 23, 2024, marking their sophomore LP under Mint 400 Records. The album continues seamlessly from their previous record, featuring beautiful arrangements, harmonies, and an eclectic selection of instruments. "Let it Grow" explores themes of love and conflict, emphasizing overcoming obstacles. The band's music, influenced by genres ranging from 60s psychedelic to 90s alternative, creates a modernized spin on the concept album, delivering a rocking yet intimate collection. Comprising Joseph Wolstenholme, Jaime Parker, and Jake Foy, Alpha Rabbit's multi-instrumental talents shine as they regularly perform live in Central Jersey and the Jersey Shore.
How did the band form and what does the band name mean?
Alpha Rabbit formed in April 2016 as a songwriting project with three multi instrumentalists. The name was originally a nom de guerre for Jaime Parker’s solo material however when we formed and needed a band name, Alpha Rabbit was the perfect moniker for us. There were no other considerations.
Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?
Dim was in Honah Lee, Jake was a multi instrumentalist and producer, Jaime was in The Timid Roosevelts. We all got together through the Trenton punk and art scene.
First concert that you ever went to?
Dim’s first concert was KISS, Jaime’s was Horde Festival 1997 featuring Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and Jake’s was the Rolling Stones.
What's your writing process like?
Separately we come up with the bare bones of something and bring it to the other two Rabbits to arrange, rewrite and cowrite. Occasionally, the three of us will write a song out of thin air whilst in a room together. At times we will write each other’s parts or lyrics which adds to the melding effect. It’s gradually become more difficult to discern who wrote or played what. We dig seeing our styles merge in that way.
What other artists or songs inspire your music?
We have our collective influences like Animal Collective, The Front Bottoms, The Tough Sh*ts, Pink Floyd, The Thermals, Pixies, Springsteen, and the Ronettes. Some local influences have come from our Mint 400 label mates like Those Looks, The Extensions, Reese Van Riper and Renee Maskin. Some other local sounds we digging are Joy on Fire, Pissed!, the Amorphous Blob Orchestra, and The Cryptkeeper Five.
What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be its own thing?
When we started out in 2016 it wasn’t supposed to be live. It was a songwriting thing aside from our bands and lives during collective downtime. We wanted to record something and maybe play a live show locally. When that local show did occur, we had to figure out who would play what instrument for each of our songs. We had all rotated being the drummer, guitarist, or bass player in our rehearsals up to that point. With that first show approaching, we decided to simply switch instruments in between songs as part of the live act. That’s where us switching instruments came from. Now it’s an iconic thing for Alpha Rabbit and part of what we’re known for but it started out as a necessary way to play what we wrote live. For our live shows, we try to stay true to the recorded version. However, as we have added more sounds and layers to our recorded arrangements, we have to adjust for our live set. If it’s a good song it’ll translate and if you’re a good band y’all can handle it.
Has the band toured? What has the touring experience been, best shows?worst shows?
Alpha Rabbit has toured multiple times and are grateful to have played multiple shows along the east coast, Nashville, and much of the midwest. We love it and love playing live. We also dig meeting new friends, new fans and new bands.
What's up next for the band?
We are continuing writing and wood shedding the newest batch of songs, playing a ton in our area, and releasing our newest LP Let it Grow on Mint 400 Records February 2024.