White Rabbits is an American six-piece

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band based in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, originally from

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

. The band released its debut studio album, ''

Fort Nightly ''Fort Nightly'' is the debut studio album by American indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independ ...

'', on May 22, 2007. Their second album, '' It's Frightening'', was released on May 19, 2009. They released their third album, '' Milk Famous'', on March 6, 2012. The band is signed to

TBD Records TBD Records (previously Side One Recordings) was an American record label co-founded by Coran Capshaw and Phil Costello, and is a sublabel of ATO Records, distributed by RED Distribution. The label was founded in August 2007 and quickly announced ...

History

The band formed in Columbia, Missouri. The band's frontmen, Greg Roberts and Stephen Patterson, met at the college in 2004. Alex Even, Adam Russell and Greg had formerly played in the band ''Texas Chainsaw Mass Choir''. The original White Rabbits lineup consisted of five members, but after relocating to New York City the next year, the band expanded to six members. The sixth member, Jamie Levinson, had grown up on the same street as Roberts in

Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster University. Geography Webster Groves is located at ( ...

. Roberts and Levinson both played in a ska band (called The Hubcaps) while in high school. The White Rabbits recorded its first studio album, ''Fort Nightly'', and released it in 2007 to the public through

Say Hey Records Say Hey Records was an independent record label based in New York City active from 2003 to 2008, and was the brainchild of founder Aaron Romanello. The label has put out notable records by White Rabbits, Shy Child, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's ...

. The album was praised by critics. In addition to consistent touring, they have been featured on ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's World Cafe'', where the band members discussed how they met and formed in the college town of

. They also talked about their early sound and performed three songs. They have also performed on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

''. On May 12, 2009, the band released their second album, titled '' It's Frightening''. The album was produced by

Britt Daniel John Britt Daniel (born April 14, 1971) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Spoon, as well as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and singer of the band Divine Fits. Daniel also founded nume ...

, lead singer and guitarist of

Spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for ...

(whom they asked after meeting the band while on tour in Minneapolis). Retrieved on February 16, 2009 The album was released on

, which also hosts the bands

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

and

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

. The band also worked with Nicholas Vernhes at the Rare Book Room. Their third album, titled ''Milk Famous'', was released on March 6, 2012. The band entered a hiatus following the end of the tour in support of the album in December 2012. They reunited for a one-off show at Brooklyn's Cameo Gallery on June 15, 2014. Stephen Patterson and Greg Roberts played drums and bass guitar, respectively, in the touring band of former

The Walkmen The Walkmen is an American indie rock band. Active from 2000 to 2013, they are known as part of the 2000s-era post-punk revival in New York City, particularly for their critically acclaimed single "The Rat (song), The Rat." The band is made up o ...

frontman

Hamilton Leithauser James Hamilton Leithauser (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. From 2000 to 2014, he was the lead vocalist of the American indie rock band The Walkmen, with whom he recorded seven studio albums. Prior ...

in 2016 and 2017, with Patterson playing drums again for Leithauser in January 2020.

Live shows

White Rabbits are known for their energy onstage, their switching of instruments, and

cover song In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s, notably

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

Maggie's Farm "Maggie's Farm" is a song written by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 15, 1965, and released on the album '' Bringing It All Back Home'' on March 22 of that year. Like many other Dylan songs of the 1965–66 period, "Maggie's Farm" is based on elect ...

", which was also covered by one of the band's main influences,

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

. Typically they will put their own twist on cover songs by playing them in a style/genre that is different from the original. After playing a particularly energetic show at ''South By Southwest'' in 2008, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' named them one of the top three bands performing that year. They have toured with bands such as

, Richard Swift,

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

and

. In 2007, they began a national tour with the

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

in support of their album ''

''. This followed a tour through the United Kingdom. In 2010 the band went on tour with

. White Rabbits also performed at the 2010

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

on Saturday, April 17, 2010 on the main stage. The following day, Stephen Patterson, along with

Deerhunter Deerhunter is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2001. The band currently consists of Bradford Cox (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Moses Archuleta (drums, electronics, sound treatments), Lotus Plaza, Lockett Pundt (guitar, ...

frontman

Bradford Cox Bradford James Cox (born May 15, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Deerhunter. He also pursues a solo career under the moniker Atlas Sound. Cox formed Deerh ...

, joined

during their set for "Who Makes Your Money." White Rabbits played at the 2010

Austin City Limits Music Festival The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-base ...

and the 2010 Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans Halloween weekend, and opened for

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

at London's Wembley Stadium on September 10, 2010. On October 29, 2010 they were the opening act for Interpol at the Verizon Wireless Theatre in Houston, TX. They played on the BBC show '' Later... with Jools Holland'', where they performed "Percussion Gun" and "They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong". In 2012, they toured with

The Shins The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's cu ...

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

* "White Rabbits Daytrotter Sessions" (7/16/2007,

Daytrotter Daytrotter is a recording studio, music venue and subscription-based music discovery website located in Atlanta, United States. It hosts recording sessions with indie music acts. The original studio in Rock Island, Illinois, was founded in 2006 ...

) * "White Rabbits Daytrotter Sessions" (11/2/2009,

)

Singles

Live recordings

* "White Rabbits: Live n Spaceland - June 13, 2007/nowiki>" (2007, Spaceland Recordings) * "Live at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

2007: White Rabbits - EP" (2007)

Members

* Stephen Patterson – vocals, piano * Alexander Even – guitar, vocals * Matthew Clark – drums, additional percussion * Jamie Levinson – drums * Gregory Roberts – vocals, guitar * Rustine Bragaw - bass

Former members

* Adam Russell – bass * Brian Betancourt – bass

References

External links

Official website (snapshot)Daytrotter Sessions
- Downloadable MP3s
White Rabbits Interview
nthWORD Magazine
Video session for 'They Shoot Music - Don't They'
{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Missouri Musical groups from Columbia, Missouri Mute Records artists