Some bands are carefully constructed, forged by combining years of experience, planning and development. Others are formed on a whim: instant band, just add water. Or alcohol, as the case may be. Rabbit Rabbit is a testament to the latter template.
It began at a house party, with a simple conversation about the desire to collaborate musically. There were a few immediate issues: for starters, they didn't own any instruments. Perhaps more importantly, they didn't know how to play anything.
"I met Louise [Chicoine] at a party on South Street in Northampton, and we really hit it off," says Rabbit Rabbit bassist Lynelle Lefferts. "We quickly discovered that we both had a serious love for music and many similar tastes."
Overcome by the enthusiasm of the moment, the two came up with an instantaneous plan of action, according to Lefferts: "There was equipment in the basement, so we stumbled down there and played around. I was floored by her voice, and told her that we needed to make some real music together. We weren't really inspired by anything other than each other at that point, and that was all it took."
Like all parties, that fateful one ended. But their determination to team up did not end with it. "It certainly could have been chalked up to nothing other than drunk talk at that point," recalls Lefferts. "But the next morning I still had her voice in my head, and knew I had to make a move."
The two met for a beer later that next day, intent on making a concerted effort to form a band. There was still one lingering problem. "We had no equipment," Lefferts says. "I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a bass from [local musician] Matt Silberstein, and Louise and I walked across town, back to the house we had been at the night before, where we held our first guerrilla practice."
Buoyed by their initial session, the two persevered, jamming anywhere. "We continued to practice for weeks after that, wherever we could find a place to plug in. It was a little messy at first, but somehow extremely satisfying as we made progress each day," says Lefferts. "We just showed up, plugged in, and taught ourselves."
Eventually the pair was joined by other members, settling into the current lineup with drummer Jacob Lagerstrom and guitarist Jason Lavoie. Rabbit Rabbit practices sound just as entertaining as that South Street party that birthed the band. "We all get together as friends, have fun, and whatever comes out of it is what comes out of it," Lefferts explains. "There is no formula; we all just play what we feel."
The band's sound eventually developed into a m?lange of atmospheric new wave, punk simplicity and danceable grooves. Their songs can be upbeat and eerie at once. Rabbit Rabbit's music can still tend to be a bit messy, but it is the sound of organized chaos, as if the noise could all come crashing to a halt at any moment. There is exuberance in their sound, which Lefferts describes as "full of huge bags of fun, like putting your finger in your belly button. Pretty much like love sounds—like making love in the alley of your soul."
"Our mission is to create music that comes straight from our guts and soul," she continues. "We love life and being alive."
Rabbit Rabbit has taken its tenacity and energy to local stages the last couple of years. Singer Chicoine leads the proceedings, alternately cooing and belting out tunes about eyeballs, booze and gummy bears.
Jason Bourgeois—whose band The Novels has shared a few stages and audiences with Rabbit Rabbit—offers his take on his fellow musicians: "They combine an element of spookiness with a pop sensibility, and remind me of what I like about the best bits from 1980s music without sounding derivative. They are a band with a massive amount of presence who understand that audiences actually yearn to be entertained."
The band took its name from an old superstition, popular among children: if someone says "rabbit, rabbit" upon waking the first day of each month, they will receive good luck for the entire month. "Some people believe that it represents a jumping into the future and moving ahead with life and happiness," says Lefferts. "That's what we want people to feel."
Rabbit Rabbit's DIY, go-for-it-now ethos applies to its recorded output as well. When it came time to put together an album, its members didn't need a drawn-out process or fancy studio. That would have taken time and resources better spent on creating and performing new music. "Jason, our guitar player, recorded everything in his bedroom in one weekend," says Lefferts. The result is an EP, Touch the Winter Wino. According to Lefferts, the same modus operandi applied to the album's packaging: "We all sat down on the kitchen floor and made art on our 100 CD cases. Hope you all enjoyed."
Lefferts looks back proudly on Rabbit Rabbit's hasty genesis. "A lot of people thought we were just messing around and that nothing would really come of it, especially since neither of us had attempted anything like this before—I had never even held a guitar until this point," she says. "But we were determined to make it happen and we did, with the help of our friends and musicians around us. The scene here is amazing and we are happy to be a contributing part of it all."
Rabbit Rabbit appear Nov. 7 at Pearl Street with World/Inferno Friendship Society. Visit www.myspace.com/rabbitrabbitband.
