By Marcie Garcia

White Rabbits bunkered down in a Brooklyn studio for just four weeks recording their sophomore album, It’s Frightening (TBD Records), under the guidance of none other than Spoon’s cryptic crooner-turned-producer, Britt Daniel. Armed with their staple piano-thuds and dueling drumlines, “Percussion Gun” shot off the shelf as the record’s segue to new material and the band soon began touring behind the record which vocalist Stephen Patterson describes as their most “spontaneous” effort yet.

But White Rabbits wants you to know they’re not just a two-skins gimmick. The Missouri sextet, of Patterson, Gregory Roberts, Alex Even, Brian Bettancourt, Matt Clark, and Jamie Levinson, known for their heavy reliance of physical instruments, including a two-drummer lineup (Clark and Levinson), has much more to offer with its intricate compositions, lush textures, and most interesting arrangements, that has allowed some breathing room between all the would-be clutter. A stand-out: “Midnight and I”, showcases double-tracked baritone vocals and spacious guitar phasing that gives fans a taste of their newfound lyrical growth and musical artillery. See for yourself tonight, July 1st,  as White Rabbits play at The Empty Bottle: 1035 N. Western Ave. / $12 / 9:30 p.m. And check out my Q&A with White Rabbits' frontman, Stephen Patterson below.



MG: Is it frightening (ta ha!) playing new music at first – how long before tracks off of It's Frightening start to feel like part of the family?

SP: It's been a lot better then we thought it would be at first, I think. We never really played these songs as a band before we recorded them. We kind of recorded as we wrote, I suppose. It feels natural now but it took about a month to get to that point, but we’re still kind of figuring the songs out.  

MG: How was the recording process? As a well-journeyed band, I bet you were all itching for new material.

SP: We were all pretty comfortable from the get go, even from the demoing process. I think we were all really excited about how everything was turning out. Mainly a lot of that is because we had toured for Fort Nightly for so long and it was incessant touring, so we found it really hard for us to find time to write new material. We were just beyond ready to have some new songs.

MG: How did Britt Daniel get behind the knobs? I hear it all started from a sloppy text message!

SP: Ha Ha, yeah. We were in Portland hanging out with him a night after a show. So we were deciding on which producer to use, and after hanging out with him, we thought it would be a cool experience to work with Britt. Jamie sent his friend, who’s name also began with a “B” a text message saying we were thinking about working with Britt Daniel for the album and what do you think? It turns out he texted Britt instead and he responded with “who is this?”, and the rest is history.  

MG: What was your relationship like before that – was he a good friend?

SP: I got to be pretty close friends with him before we went into the studio just by sending demos back and forth and we knew each other from touring.  

MG: So, were you at ease sending over those demos because he was a friend, or did he suddenly turn into Britt Daniel from Spoon?

SP: I was - we were all pretty nervous the first time we sent him stuff, moreso then that first time around, probably because we were wet behind the ears and had no idea what we were doing, but it was really nerve racking, at least at first. We had sent him a couple of demos before we dove full on into recording the albums to test the waters and see if it was working out. But he was extremely enthusiastic from the get go. Once we kind of got that behind us, it was extremely comfortable. We were never intimidated in the studio at all. He made it really inviting and a comfortable environment mainly because he understood deeply some of the difficulties of making an album from a musician’s side. He was just really friendly and nice and warm and welcoming towards us and that was very helpful whenever we were feeling lost.  

MG: It's obvious that there is some Spoon-ish influence in the record, like in songs “The Salesman” and “Done Wrong/We Done Wrong” - was it hard to not lose your own style with such a heavy influence behind the console?

SP: I don't know. It's a hard question to answer because when you're doing it, it's just happening. We just did what we do, you know what I mean? It just comes to you. So, I don't think so.  

MG: Having listened to both Fort Nightly and It's Frightening, to me - Fort Nightly was a more spontaneous record. It's Frightening sounds more refined and calculated. In your own words, describe the differences between both records.

SP: I kind of feel the opposite about that. This one was recorded in just four weeks and recorded on tape which makes it a lot more unyielding. We wanted to keep the energy up and reflect the energy of the six of us playing together on stage – that’s what we were excited about grasping this time around. I feel like this one’s a lot more spontaneous.

The first record was just done and redone for over the course a year. It was detrimental, I think. With this one [It's Frightening], if we liked what we were hearing at that very moment,  we would decide – yes - that’s the right move and not think twice or look back. Though I'm very proud of Fort Nightly, it was a conscious decision not to make a record that same way again.

MG: I meant the music-side seems less coarse, more precise this time around.

SP: Oh, I see. Well, yeah, fidelity-wise I think it sounds a lot better so maybe that’s why it sounds more refined.



MG: I heard you spent time in The Walkmen's old practice studio recording demos. How did that influence this new record?

SP: That changed everything for us, actually. I would say that's probably the number one, most influential thing in the sound of this record. There was a lot of stuff that we used in the final recording that was recorded in our practice space while we were writing new songs. We didn't have that same capability on the first record. A lot of times, the first time we would be hearing these songs was when we were in the studio recording them and that made the writing process a lot easier. Whenever we had an idea we were excited about we'd immediately put it down and if you ask any band what they would prefer to do, it's to be able to record a song the moment it was written, and everybody was really pumped about it. Britt was ecstatic about the way the demos turned out and he wanted to use one of the demos as one of the final recordings on the album. So, yeah, that changed everything by just understanding and learning how to record a good record on our own, before we even got to the studio.

MG: Did a good amount of the demos recorded make the LP?

SP: We didn't do a complete track, but there is almost something from the demos in every song on the album. The drums in “Percussion Gun” were recorded in our practice space.

MG: I noticed that you're doing most of the vocals on this record instead of switching off with Gregory Roberts. How did you guys make that decision?

SP: Honestly, that's kind of how the songs shaped up. It wasn't a conscious decision, really.

MG: Electro-pop is booming, especially in Brooklyn. Do you find it trickling down and influencing White Rabbits?

SP: Yeah, we're not opposed to electronic sounds, and there's a lot more of them on this record than there was on the first one. It's stuff that we've been experimenting with while we've been on the road, actually. But it's just about six friends playing together and that's how we've always written and that's how we've always performed. And not that you can't have that same sort of chemistry with electronic music and electronic sounds, but that's just never been how we've approached this, to this point, you know? Who knows – maybe the next record.

MG: I ask this question to every vocalist because it's like asking a parent who their favorite child is, and the answers are always interesting and surprising. What is your favorite track off of It's Frightening at this very moment?

SP: I'm a really big fan of “Company I Keep” and “Midnight and I” because both turned out really, really great. I'm really proud of those and those were really hard songs to write and record and it was kind of an emotional experience getting those done. Those two were new territory for us, but I think they turned out the best.

MG: Why was it so emotional for you?

SP: It can be frustrating playing in this band sometimes because everybody wants you to come out guns blazing and just be the band that bangs the shit out of the drums all the time. It's just not interesting to me if the song doesn't call for it. We just don't feel like doing that this time. The songs don't sound like the plot!

MG: Do you get tired of that expectation due to having two drummers?

SP: It's fine. I don't like it and it's frustrating when it's approached as a gimmick because it's not a gimmick. It's a reflection of what we're interested in and I think it's pretty obvious. It's just not the main thing going and not every song has to be a fist-pumper.

MG:You'll be touring overseas soon to the UK and then back to North America again over the next year. What will you miss the most?

SP: Right now I really miss having a closet – haha – because we have to repack everyday. And I miss my dog.