Matt Rabbit

Well... I guess this is about 3 months overdue.


Now, claims of nepotism, or whatever it may be called when it's between friends, aside, Matt Rabbit, a band consisting of four hip characters, Jon Stelman, Darren DeFranco, Matt Johnson, and Alex Grippo, can stand up to any band, be it Bon Jovi or the Boss, to claim to be the best thing to happen to New Jersey since rec soccer gave suburban grade schoolers a purpose in life.

Entirely recorded, mixed, and otherwise produced in the summer of '05 in Darren's basement, Matt Rabbit's debut album, taking its name from the first track and presumable single, "What I Did On My Summer Vacation," is just what it says it is. The album itself, housed with a primary colored sleeve, was distributed somewhat unexpectedly to friends at the conclusion of their Last Show Ever Party Show, which was documented and now lies in DVD format. The aforementioned show saw the police showing up, and the last four songs of the set being turned into a medley so as to finish the entire set without getting shut down forcibly.

The album itself is as clever as it is a well rounded depiction of MR's sound. The album, set up as a traditional album as it would be on vinyl, includes the noises of putting a needle on a record, the noise of flipping the album, and finally taking the needle off at the end; the tracklisting is even set up as A- and B-Side. The A-Side, as mentioned before, starts off with the title track's hallmark drum intro, followed by the successive layering of all of the other instruments, Darren's bass, Jon and Alex's guitar, and crescendos to the inclusion of Alex's vocals. This song transitions into a much more funk oriented song "Extremist Static Dancehall." This is then followed by a slow, jazz influenced number "Historical Fiction," which was cowritten by Alex and Jon. "My Sweetie", which comes as an adaptation from Alex's solo project, Picture Perfect, changes the mood once more, as the teenage anthem softly lulls you in, until those drums kick in and the song takes off. The B-Side is, on the whole, has a much more rockin' selection ("Cream Filling," "Don't Miss Me," etc.), although it gets it's share of jazz in "The Sex Mime."

The wonderful thing about Matt Rabbit is that they're always changing it up, but it's always something spectacular. This is thanks, in part, to the fact that they have two unique songwriters. Darren, who pens the more jazz influenced songs, has an uncanny ability to still make them accessible and catchy. Where Darren's song crafting skills come from his head, Alex, the other brain behind MR songs, writes his contributions more from feel. It's this inimitable blend of styles that takes the band one step above the rest. But the devil is in the details, as they say. Jon and Matt are assuredly well aware of this, and complement each song accordingly. Jon is a guitar virtuoso, adding jazz chords and solos, occasionally over a CryBaby pedal for the funkier songs, and switching it up effortlessly to straight up awe inspiring guitar solos for others. And ever at ease, Matt keeps the whole shebang rolling with his laid back rhythms with no sign of strain whatsoever. To see the group operate is unforgettable.

But I'm sure you've had just about enough of my banter. You want to get to the heart of the matter. Well, you're well in luck. Matt Rabbit is planning on touring through the Northeast this summer, most likely July. Although no dates are yet set (you can help out by emailing me here), the group has produced a promotional EP of sorts, which is here for the taking. If you like what you hear, leave a comment, or check them out at MySpace.

Matt Rabbit Promo EP:

01 What I Did On My Summer Vacation
02 Cream Filling
03 My Sweetie
04 Don't Miss Me
05 The Sex Mime

Matt Rabbit MySpace
Picture Perfect MySpace

EDIT: Photo courtesy of Maya Wadya.