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If you haven't heard of Pepper Rabbit you've probably been living in a hole and need to immediately check out the bands debut album, Beauregard. Xander Singh and Luc Laurent make-up the folk pop duo and are coming to town May 3 at The Loft with The Submarines. I got a chance to talk with vocalist Xander, and find out what Pepper Rabbit has been up to.
SubEx: Where did the name Pepper Rabbit come from?
Xander Singh: It came from a rabbit I had while I was living in Boston a few years back. Growing up, I could never have pets because I always wanted a dog but my sister was allergic to dogs and I was really allergic to cats so we couldn't get a cat. So when I got my first apartment outside the house I grew up in, I decided to start off small and get a rabbit and named him Dr.Pepper. He actually died two weeks after I got him, so it was kind of a tribute to him.
SE: The Ukulele is featured a lot in your songs. How did you get interested in playing that instrument?
XS: I used to work at a music store. When I started my job there, it was a small independent specialized in vintage instruments store. They told me I can work there and they can either pay me $6 an hour in cash or $10 an hour in-store credit and so I took the store credit. Every week I would bring home something different from the store. And one day I brought home the ukulele and I just really liked the sound of it, and it was super easy to play. So I picked it up pretty quick and learned a few chords. I guess you can say it's one of the main instruments in the band.
SE: Is that your favorite instrument?
XS: Probably not my favorite, manly because you have to string them kind of funny, definitely different from the electric guitar and I’m not very good at it. So whenever I break a string it is always quite a struggle.
SE: You are coming to Dallas in May. On tour do you guys have any before show rituals you do to get warmed up?
XS: None other than very hastily setting up all our equipment in an organized manner before the show which makes it easier when you get on stage. Being in a touring band you don’t really start a very productive day until 5 or 6 when you show up at the venue, so our only rituals is getting there, figuring out where we need to load in, and how many drink tickets we have. And since we do have a lot of equipment on stage, we try to set up as much as we can backstage. But yeah in terms of rituals, we don’t say a prayer or anything like that. But I would say that a few minutes before we play, we get a good head space and focus a little bit and give the best show we can.
Read the full Q&A here.