Foreward by Myles Crawley
Remainder of article and live video provided compliments of revision3
A couple of months ago my friend Alan Sanderson and I were out for a beer. After a few pints we strolled over to the Casbah, which is a great little underground club in San Diego. Everybody who is anybody has played there. It’s a requisite hole in the wall along the road to success. On this particular night we were surprised to hear that there was a band from Selkirk, Scotland playing named Frightened Rabbit. Alan and I are both from Scotland. I grew up in Glasgow, where Frightened Rabbit now reside. Alan grew up in Galashiels, which is right next door to Selkirk. So we were understandably curious to hear and see more.

Before the band came on we were standing talking to a fellow with a very strong Scottish accent. I personally thought he was maybe a roadie for the band. He was completely unassuming. We were chatting about this and that for a while before he says to me and Alan – “Are you guys gonna be around for a while? I think it’s time for me to go and do my thing.” As it turns out this fellow was Scott Hutchison, the singer/songwriter/frontman of Frightened Rabbit. Alan and I stood at the side of the stage and watched the band’s show, which was amazing! The audience was eating out of Scott’s hand by the end of the show. No fire pots, no explosions, no million dollar light show. Just a bunch of guys playing the shit out of their instruments to a crowd of true believers. You’ve gotta love that! So here is a bit more information on who exactly Frightened Rabbit are. The video below was shot at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco the night before the band played The Fillmore. If you get the chance, go and see this band. Their new album, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, is out now. You can buy it here. Thanks to revision3 for sharing.

Cheers,

MC

Frightened Rabbit began in 2003, when Selkirk, Scotland-born Scott Hutchison began playing solo shows under the name, with his brother Grant eventually joining him on drums and backing vocals. Adding Billy Kennedy on additional guitars and keyboards in 2006, the band remained a power trio through their first two releases, 2007′s Sing The Greys and 2008′s The Midnight Organ Fight; Andy Monaghan (bass, keys, guitar) joined the fray as the band toured to support The Midnight Organ Fight.

Now, in order to facilitate the new material and flesh out the older tunes live, the band has expanded to a five-piece with the addition of new member Gordon Skene (formerly of Make Model). Scott explains: “We want to do the recordings justice when we play them live. Gordon will be playing a bundle of instruments – we just bought a tasty wee mandolin for him to fiddle.”

Scott acknowledges that 2010 is poised to be a pivotal year for the band. “I’ve never been in a position of being aware of an audience of any size that was waiting for our music until now. You have to be aware of it or else it’s totally selfish. Pressure sounds like a negative thing, but it’s quite positive actually.”

This show was recorded at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco, one night before their sold-out show at the historic Fillmore Auditorium.

Frightened Rabbit will be touring North America widely, including festival appearances, in support of The Winter Of Mixed Drinks.