Music to Start a Cult To

Gram Rabbit

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 17, 2004)
• Original Release Date: August 17, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Stinky
• ASIN: B0002NY8F8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #104,343 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Los Angeles Times 8/14/04

from the Old West-dusted "Dirty Horse" to the twangy, tribal, Jefferson Airplane-style freak-out of "Disco #2" to gentle Radiohead/Byrds hybrid

Product Description

Gram Rabbit emerged from the high desert of Joshua Tree, California armed with a repertoire partaking of reverberant space rock, electro-pop glitz, shadowy spaghetti-Western twang, and the low-down sexiness of the seemlier Las Vegas lounge in equal measures. This trio was born from the muso-spiritual melding of diverse, extraordinary souls: singer/keyboardist/guitarist Jesika von Rabbit; guitarist/singer Todd Rutherford; and Travis Cline, their sample-guru and bassist.

Gram Rabbit’s debut album, Music To Start a Cult To, was recorded with Ethan Allen producing (Tricky, Kristin Hersh and Luscious Jackson, etc.) Echoing the musical and personal odysseys that led to the band members creating this album, each track takes the listener on a unique journey shepherded by the stirring, soulful, and seductive vocal stylings of bewitching front woman, Jesika von Rabbit.

Music To Start a Cult To kicks off with the leather-chapped sing-a-long "Dirty Horse," a fanciful recounting of a rapprochement between Jesus and the Devil. "Witness" is an ode to self-actualization, set to a sinuous beat and Space Invaders synth stylings. "Kill A Man" sets a deceptively winsome commentary on the culture of gratuitous violence to gentle guitar strumming, interwoven with electronic cirrus clouds. "Devil's Playground" is somber tumbleweed-choked country-folk depicting the common struggle of everyday life.

Imagine walking into a honkytonk, deep in the heart of desert country. The clientele includes devil worshippers, witches, hippies, rock climbers, military men, and the random soul-searching tourist, all gathered to hear alien frequencies channeled by Morse code keyboards, slithering reverb-laden guitars, tick-tocking drum machines and samplers that yield a shocking surprise every 40 odd seconds. All eyes, however, are focused on the singer; she's wearing bunny ears. Oh-so-sexily, she deadpans, "Sometimes all it takes is a little smile or some chocolate cake; to put a spring in the step of the bi-polar fool."

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bizzare High Desert Band, September 3, 2004

By	tom1970 (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

We all see the hype the record companies foster on us, 98% of the time it is nothing but hype. It must have been early August when I read a story about this band in the LA Times. I pride myself on knowing most of the new bands playing but I had never heard of this one. The story on this band was totally compelling, the writer Richard Cromelin (sp?) clearly loved the band but was having a difficult time putting his finger on exactly what they were. Gram Rabbit was beyond conventional description. I had to know more, so at first chance I check out the band live. This is it. The real deal. No pomp and circumstance and no desire to fit into a "scene" they are pure. Rarely does a band come along that has nothing but its own identity. I imagine it would be like seeing the first couple of shows from bands like Devo, B-52s, Sex Pistols, etc. The audience just stares at the stage in a sort of "is this for real" look. Needless to say I bought the record from the band for $10 at the show (slightly better price then Amazon). This is what art in music is all about. Pure creativity. Down with generic music, I am joining this cult. I have never written a review for Amazon, but this record moved me enough to demand it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twilight ZOne, March 20, 2005

By	Shannon B. Paul "shannon-belinda" (La Mesa, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's got to be destiny that I would happen upon this band playing on a live local t.v. show one night at the same time that I've started reading The Dark Tower series and watched Mars Attacks(could have been on the sound track) twice in a week! I couldn't have found a more perfect fitting of music to my mood or choices for tv and reading...I was so excited, I ordered the cd the next day...I love it!

This music has this dark undertone to go with the western twang/electronic sampling...and when you are emerged in it's sound and von Rabbits' voice and the lyrics, and you close your eyes...you FEEL the nights' stars above you...the dry desert wind on your skin...your mind opens and you think maybe aliens do exist... ;)

The tunes are very much their own and I cannot honestly say there are any obvious influences of anyone else's music, which is how 99.9% of the bands sound these days.

My father-in law lives in the desert and has seen Gram Rabbit play many times at the Beatnik and says they are excellent live(I'm still upset that he didn't tell me about them!), so I hope I get to catch their show in a smaller venue before they have too many followers in their Royal Order of Rabbits!

At the same time that I'd like to be selfish and keep them all to myself, I can't help but spread the word of the Rabbit with the World! GET IT!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kinky Sex, September 15, 2005

By	G. Okada (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love this album...like I love kinky sex. Fun, creative, usually in dimly lit places...this album sucks you in, transporting you to a desert oasis inhabited by cowboys and aliens and psychedelic drugs. All the right ingredients for good old-fashioned fun.