If you live in New Jersey and have gone to shows at Trenton’s Mill Hill Basement it’s possible you caught one of the central Jersey’s best kept secrets of the scene, Alpha Rabbit. A three-piece band that is like The Beatles of punk rock for NJ, with vocals from both the female and male perspective along with songwriting that is tough to pin down as just punk. But for sure it has that punk vibe, ethic and grit. The band is announcing with this article that they are signing to New Jersey label Mint 400 Records, and we’d like to introduce them to you with this interview!
What previous bands to Alpha Rabbit was everyone in?
Dim: I’ve played in Honah Lee since 2009 and before that was Too Much Too Fast Too Soon.
Jaime: The Timid Roosevelts, Piper Maru, Physical Thing, Meeko Brando.
Jake: The Shallow.
What year did Alpha Rabbit form, what were the first shows you played and what are the first recordings you released?
Dim: Alpha Rabbit formed in April 2016 when the three of us came together and started woodshedding our songs with each other. Our very first show was at Mill Hill Basement in Trenton, NJ, August 13, 2016, opening for Carm and then a day or so later at the now-defunct Buddy’s Tavern in Parlin, NJ supporting our dear mate Scruff Cardinale. We released an eponymous four song demo recorded in January 2017 at Exit 7A Studios in Trenton, NJ. All in all, we pressed about 100 copies and sold out.
What is the Trenton punk rock scene that you guys are a part of like? What other notable bands have you played with from there?
Dim: Trenton has a deep relationship with the local art community quite unlike your normal “punk rock” scene. You can go to Philly or NYC and get three of the same bands or you can go down to Mill Hill Basement and get three completely different and awesome bands you haven’t heard and will not forget the next morning. There’s a tight-knit community of visual artists, painters, poets, skateboarders, activists, community leaders and of course the music.
Jaime: The Trenton punk rock scene has a lot of heart. Like the City of Trenton itself, it’s a scene that will show you more love than you’ve ever known and also try to fight you in the parking lot. It’s a scene that values honesty, bravery, sincerity and conviction, all while taking itself with a grain of salt.
Dim: We all share a community where we do our own thing within the sphere of the arts in Trenton and as a result some truly awesome music has been coming out of the Mill Hill Basement and Champs for years. The Cryptkeeper Five, Doc Rotten, Joy On Fire, Pissed!.…
Jaime: MegaNow, Meeko Brando, Party Show, Ray Strife, Ill Omega, Shaboize, Take Today, Real Rude Dude Girl, Paper Jets, The Extensions, 19DRT, Dirty Merlins, Underground Rats, Cyclone Static, The Warhawks, White Cactus, Data Wolf…
Jake: Dentist, Honah Lee, Molly Rhythm.
Jaime: Those are some of our Central Jersey favorites. We are definitely forgetting some.
Dim: Beyond punk however, there is the Candlelight Lounge which is a legendary jazz venue. The Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market, Art All Day, and Art All Night Festivals are established traditions now in Trenton which are completely successful. Trenton has a long line of musical legends such as Sara Dash and Micheal Ray the latter of whom who was kind enough to lay horns on a Honah Lee track in 2018. I think that crossover between genres and arts also influences the DIY music scene in Trenton at the moment.
Jake: Trenton is really fun.
What are your musical influences of the members individually and as a group?
Dim: Alpha Rabbit has shared influences including the Front Bottoms, Pixies, the Thermals, Saif Abu Bakr and the Scorpions, the Mohawks, the Ronettes, the Four Seasons, The Beach Boys, the Replacements, Lemonheads, Bruce Springsteen & the E. Street Band, Alex Chilton and Big Star, Against Me!, Jonathan Richman, The Cars, anything from Swami Jon Reis’ playlists.
Personally, I am fond of the New York Dolls, The Rolling Stones, King Tubby, Muddy Waters, the Band, Chuck Berry, George Jones, Miles Davis, Gram Parsons, Motörhead and Foo Fighters, but I could go on and on. Right now I am listening to a lot of instrumental funk, Lee Scratch Perry, John Coltrane, Habibi Jazz and rounding out with Stooges and Hanoi Rocks.
Jake: Bob Dylan, Animal Collective, Pink Floyd.
Jaime: To that list, I’ll add Rilo Kiley, The Breeders, Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band, Regina Spektor, Kate Bush, Arcade Fire, B52s, The Beths, Billie Holiday, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Trick & The Heartstrings, Les Vinyl, The Killers, Meat Wave, Mirah, Modest Mouse, OkGo, Pavement, Shannon & The Clams, Speedy Ortiz, Talking Heads, and Typhoon.
What are your bands as a whole favorite movies or books that you would consider an influence on the music?
Jake: Movies: There’s something about Mary; Books: Wheel of Time, 1984, Civil Disobedience, The Age of Faith, Living Buddha/Living Christ.
Jaime: Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. You are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh. When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
Tell us about how you heard of Mint 400 Records and ended up signing with them?
Dim: I had heard of Mint 400 as it was ubiquitous in the NJ indie scene and we were already fond of Yawnmower, the Clydes, Lowlight, and the Extensions seeing as we shared a stage with all of them in our travels and travails.
Jake: Brian Erickson of The Extensions recruited us.
Jaime: I’ve known Brian for more than 20 years. He was my housemate when the pandemic began. We’re all cloistered in the house, all live performances canceled due to COVID. Amaury Perez had sent us remastered tracks of Follow the Northern Light and I was blasting them in the kitchen, dancing around and remembering what it felt like to play shows. Brian came out of his room and asked if he could share the tracks with Neil of Mint 400.
Dim: Neil saw potential in the record and that enthusiasm is shared wholeheartedly by Alpha Rabbit. It felt right. Talking with Neil felt right and it felt like they cared about us, like they cared what we had to say. It felt like they supported what we wanted to create. They want to reach as many people as possible and so do we.
Tell us about your new album from production to content?
Dim: Our newest album due out after the re-release of Northern Light will be our debut full length LP Eternity. The album was recorded in Hamilton, NJ at SRG Studios with Sean Glonek as our producer. This was our first time working with Sean and we were sold immediately when we started to get to work as not only was Sean a true professional but also a gentleman and businessman of the highest caliber. Sean’s gotta good track record and is also an accomplished musician without any bias. He’ll make you sound great and tell you what you need in order to do it; no messing around. He’s also one of the best producers in the area. We gelled well with him and recommend SRG highly. Alpha Rabbit plans on going back for our follow up to Eternity.
Pre-production involved us with a metronome getting down the BPM of the song in the practice space. Then we would rehearse an instrumental version of the song and refine parts which needed to be cohesive with intensive practice until we got it the way we wanted it to sound. That was a process of about a month for pre-production and rehearsal. After recoding rough demos with Sean at our rehearsal space, we then decamped to SRG and a couple days later we laid down the basic tracks live in the studio Feb ‘20. After a substantial pause due to the pandemic, we reconvened to over dub guitars, vocals, and auxiliary instruments in Oct of ‘20. Overall, this record is Alpha Rabbit’s best sounding album, with our strongest and most accessible content thus far. All the stars lined up on this one. We’re excited for everyone to hear what we’ve been up to because we certainly haven’t been idle, I’ll tell ya that.
Jaime: A lot of our songs have to do with paradoxes, wanting connection, and trying to tap into something greater. A lot of consideration about the impermanence of everything. It’s important to live fully and appreciate what you have while you have it because nothing is forever. I’d say that’s a running theme in this record.
What has been the challenges of keeping a band going through the Covid era?
Jake: Lack of shows.
Dim: Live music, independent bands, and venues have all been affected by the pandemic. Notably around the NJ and PA areas and beyond there have been multiple venues that have shuttered or closed permanently.
As a band ourselves, we’re able to stand behind our recordings and thrive in our ability to adapt to whatever the situation presents, especially when the ability to play live was taken away for a year and change. We actually recorded a video on our Insta from mid-March 2020 during the beginning of lockdown where we synched up a video of Jake playing “This Place” (from Eternity) while Jaime plays drums on another screen, and I am playing along on my screen while being filmed ala Modern Family! It was fun, but that being said, one of our favorite spots is right on that stage, however.
Jaime: We definitely feed off the energy of the audience, so remote performances don’t quite hit the spot. There’s something special about sharing a time and space with someone and being able to look them in the eye. We’re very lucky we got most of our recording done before things really locked down. We’re excited to share the finished product with the world, and while shows are still scarce, we have been focusing on writing new material.
Dim: We love connecting with our fans in person and anyone who took the time to watch us and buy a shirt or a record is a gem. We take them seriously and appreciate their support. Not being able to connect with some people who come to see us is heartbreaking, however we try to remain as safe as much as we are hopeful at this point.
Anything else you'd like to add or plug?
Dim: You can find our content on Apple Music, Spotify, BandCamp, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram all by searching Alpha Rabbit. Keep your eyes out for the remastered Follow the Northern Light and keep your ears out for Eternity. We will also be releasing a single from the new LP along with a brand new music video shot by none other than DIWhy? Films. You don’t wanna miss it!
CHECK OUT ALPHA RABBIT’S 2018 EP HERE: