interview with Rabbit Jaw
Have any of you played in other band?
John G. Brady and Jim Palys have played in numerous bands.
Mike has played bassoon in various orchestras.
Mike Reville and I have played together in a band put together for an arts benefit called Octane.
How is it that you started playing music?
I guess we all are inspired by music.... we wish to be a part of it and so we create it.
Rabbit Jaw is a Buffalo New York based band. It had its premiere performance on April 14, 2018 at one of Buffalo’s most exciting art festivals, Trimania. The band of four presents a powerfully sensitive and developed lean musical force which is joined by a theatrical sense of song development through dance, visceral emotion and costumes. Each song represents a metamorphosis of sound and experience which draws an audience in. The band shares an energetic kinesthetic joy for music. Together they are a force. John G. Brady is a professional guitarist/songwriter/composer. He is a prolific songwriter and generous musician who gives of himself always for the greatness of music. He contributed the song “Hooked On You” on Albert Collins’ Grammy nominated album Cold Snap on Alligator Records. Mike Reville studied classical bassoon while attending SUNY Buffalo and at Crane School of Music, Potsdam (summer study) performing in orchestras, and as a string musician, jazz ensembles and rock bands leading recently up to Rabbit Jaw. Jim Palys is a professional drummer who has contributed to many recordings and live performances across NY State. He shares our common appreciation for fearless music and revolutionary art. Erin Bahn is a dancer, singer/songwriter and immigration lawyer. She is the lead singer of the art rock band Rabbit Jaw. Ms. Bahn attended New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, where she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. Prior to attending Tisch, Erin apprenticed with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. She completed Merce Cunningham’s Professional Training Program. For the Fall Semester of 1990 she studied at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. She was the first American ballerina to be admitted as a full-time student to the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Ms. Bahn currently practices law and performs in Buffalo, New York.
What are your names? / Who plays what?
John G. Brady plays guitar
Mike Reville plays bass
Jim Palys plays drums
Erin Bahn sings and dances
Did you make music even when you were young? Yes
Where are you from? Western New York State
What year did the band form? 2018
What's your style of genre? Art Rock
What inspires you? Art of different types. People. Animals.
How often and where do you reherse? We try to rehearse once a week at John’s house/studio.
How have you developed since you started with the music? We began doing cover music. Then we began writing originals for the band. The transition and development has been really exciting.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? All aspects of life inform our art and our art informs our life.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We do our own booking. We like to be the face of our band when working with venues.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? It would be interesting to have a label.... we can make music on our own too. We hope that we are able to share our music with as many people as possible.
What made you decide to make this music? The joy we have making music creates a need to keep making it.
What are your songs about? Our songs have different worlds to them. I suppose our songs deal with existential questions within the poetry of life.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics?
John G. Brady and Erin Bahn write the lyrics and melodies.
John G. Brady does the composition.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? It varies.
Do you compose in a certain inviroment? I like to write in my car.
Have you done any covers live? Yes we have quite a bit of covers. We love the Pretenders, Talking Heads, the Clash, Red Hot Chili Peppers.... so much beautiful music to perform. We are honored to be able to perform these songs by such great artists!
What language do you sing in? English. We would like to sing in more languages. Rock n’ Roll is universal passion personified! Any language brings human emotion into the light. It’s a pleasure to live the arts in any language and in any dance we can.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs?
Fewest: Three
Most: Don’t know for sure. Are we counting the ghosts and the mice?
What ages are most of your concert attendants? Varies from 5 to 80 depending on where we are playing.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We vary the songs we play based upon the room and the people In the room.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? We have a number of usual spots.
What was your first gig like? Our first gig was Trimania. It was wonderful because Trimania is an art festival in Buffalo, New York and it happens every three years. We were thrilled to be part of it!
What was your latest gig? We opened for the Ridley Scott movie Alien on the 40th year anniversary of the premiere of the movie.
Have you had to cancel a gig? Yes we had to because there was a death in a band member’s family.
Where have you played live this year? All over Buffalo, NY.
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? We plan on playing all over Western New York State and we hope to play in Cleveland, Ohio. We would love to play all over the world. Maybe even Sweden:)!
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We have T-shirt’s. They are awesome. These T-Shirts give you magical powers and street cred.
Where can people buy your merchandise? At our shows or you can email Erin Bahn our lead singer at [email protected]
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? It’s always been difficult for musicians to make a living. It would be great if musicians were not exploited for their work and received fair pay for the joy they bring humanity.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Perhaps it’s given more avenues for independent creators.... where do we find each other?
What do you think of my work? I think it’s cool.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? Maybe someone else who makes music or likes music can hear about us and check us out.
Do you have any role models or idols? I appreciate the members of the band.
Why do you think that they exist? Idols exist because our creative energy is attracted to people who inspire us to be excited about life.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? All periods of time on earth have had revolutionary artists... I am attracted to people who had the courage to live authentically through their art and fearlessly revealed something dynamic within their finite life which transcended mortality.
What have been your biggest obstacles? Time has been my biggest obstacle and my biggest liberation from obstacles.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Don’t fear obstacles and/or time.
How do you get psyched for a gig? I feel like a gladiator preparing for battle- only I wear a tutu. I like to listen to certain songs to get me ready for battle: Three Days by Jane’s Addiction, Underwater by Metric, Let’s Go Crazy by Prince.... Music prepares me for the unknown.
Do you have any new material? We are working on 9 originals... we are developing them always. We have music we have not yet played at gigs as well.
What are your web sites? Our website is: Rabbit Jaw
How can people be reached?
Email: [email protected]
Facebook at Rabbit Jaw site.
What are your plans for the future? We would like to continue to develop our original material. Additionally, we seek to collaborate with artists from various mediums to create something wild for people. We also enjoy sharing the art that our fans create. We utilize theatre, dance and costumes in our performances- these aspects continue to shape shift through time. We are always dreaming.
Do you have something to add?
Bands have an opportunity to collaborate within their small group to create music... beyond this smaller collaboration with band members, bands also have the opportunity to collaborate with other artists locally and internationally- let’s reach out to one another! Hello we are Rabbit Jaw- let’s collaborate!
Further, bands have the opportunity to collaborate with their audience in the ultimate experience of life which is live music. Together we create this moment. The band is not passive- but importantly neither is the audience. Let’s not take any member of our creative ecosystem for granted! Thanks to all of the bands, the artists, the workers at the venues that hold live music, the journalists that write about live music, and the audiences of people who love live music. Without all of us where would we be?
