Interview with Matthew Clark of White Rabbits

Brooklyn-based six-piece White Rabbits released its sophomore effort, It’s Frightening, earlier this year with the help of Spoon’s Britt Daniel who covered production duties for the album. Drummer Matthew Clark recently took some time to answer a few questions about the new album, the band’s new label, and what led the band to work with Daniel.

Kip Gasparick: It’s Frightening is the first full-length Spoon’s Britt Daniel produced. What influenced your decision to work with him?

Matthew Clark: While we were touring we were listening to a lot of albums that were produced by musicians that sound amazing and are subtle departures from what they had been doing previously. So we thought of who we knew that would be a good fit and bring some great ideas to the table. Which he did. We really wanted to make an interesting album with talented people, and not just get whoever wants to produce an album or who the label wants you to work with.

KG: How did having the seasoned vet mentor you in a sense change the way you approached recording your sophomore album?

MC: We really tried this time around to be prepared before going into the studio. Nothing is worse than wasting time in the studio. So we demoed the album and listened to it a lot and then made changes and then more changes and so on. But we really wanted to subtract as opposed to adding this time around. More than anything he listened a lot and some people don’t listen to the people making the music.

KG: It’s Frightening was the band’s first release on TBD Records. How has being on a new label helped the band?

MC: It’s just nice to have a small group of people that support what you are doing and are there to help you and care about their jobs and what they do. The whole time we were writing this album they never bothered us about progress or told us to write “better” songs or any of that stuff you hear in the music horror stories. Say Hey was similar but it was just one man. One very tired man.

KG: Have there been any talks of supporting labelmates Radiohead on a future tour?

MC: Nope.

KG: Was the entire band on board when approached by Ralph Lauren to license “Percussion Gun” as the soundtrack for their fal collection? Any concerns the word “sellout” would surface as a result?

MC: You stop worrying about “selling out” after you don’t eat for a while.

KG: Is Andrew Droz Palermo’s documentary about the band an afterthought at this point? I haven’t seen anything mentioned about it recently.

MC: He lived with some of us while we were recording and one night we got robbed. Everything he had worked on was stolen. All the edits and what not. He still has the tapes but he lost all of his work. He’s working on some other projects right now, so we will see. As far as I’m concerned he has all the time in the world.

KG: While there are still a few months of 2009 left to experience… what are some of your fondest memories of the year that was, looking back?

MC: We’ve done some great things, but I’m not into “looking back”.

KG: What’s next for White Rabbits?

MC: Getting into “looking back”?

[Interview by guest contributor Kip Gasparick.]

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Also: White Rabbits, the Digs & Glass Ghost @ Cedar Cultural Center