Something in the hare tonight

>> Prick up your ears for Rabbit in the Moon

by KRISTA

In Oriental folklore, the rabbit in the moon is a symbol of fertility, wisdom and life. When the ancient Mayans looked up into the night sky and saw a hare leaping across the moon, they took it as a symbol of good fortune. North American natives have a fable or two involving rabbits and moons as well.

Here in modern America, however, the Rabbit in the Moon has long symbolized rave. Now it also means a spine-tingling Sarah McLachlan remix, a performance artist who wears a suit made of glo-sticks and calls himself Bunny and a couple of DJs/electronic musicians named Confucius and the Monk. The times they are a-changin'. My question is, where's the connection between underground breakbeat anthems and spiritual symbolism, and why did these three friends from Tampa, Florida call their electronic band Rabbit in the Moon?

"The legend of the rabbit in the moon is one that originated in various parts of the world in different civilizations, but has basically the same meaning to all of them," RITM frontman David Christophere (aka Confucius) tells me over the phone from his hotel room in New York. "We chose that name because, as a group we're not limited by the boundaries of tempo and style or instruments. We're saying something with music--the universal language, which transcends cultural differences."

Pioneers of PLUR

Now that's a pretty deep, if not also bold, statement. But then, you would have to consider that three guys who call themselves Confucius, the Monk and Bunny are going to be a tad eccentric. Factor in that they're artists, and depth with a dash of pretension and spirituality is expected. The tricky part is figuring out how much of Rabbit in the Moon is contrived for the fans and how much of it is the real deal.

Not necessarily an easy task, since Confucius and the gang don't generally do interviews for fear of being portrayed as "too self-absorbed or cheesy." That and they just don't have much to say. They're more interested in maintaining the underground vibe--ergo Christophere and Monk's Hallucination Recordings imprint slogan, "one nation underground, invisible."

"We're spiritual people, but we've got our feet on the ground," Christophere explains. "We just don't want to give it all away."

As per his Confucius moniker, Christophere says that, like the Chinese philosopher, he is very concerned with perfection and order and relates that to the music he makes. Christophere and the Monk, who also DJs, handle the production end of the group and the two met up with performance artist Bunny when they were hanging around the underground club scene in Tampa in the early '90s.

They formed Rabbit in the Moon in 1992, started putting on live shows in late '93 and within a year they had released a tune that will go down in history as the one that defined the PLUR sentiment for first-generation ravers. Say the words "anthem," "emotional" and "breakbeat" and I'd bet Rabbit in the Moon's "Phases of an Out of Body Experience" and the Hardkiss brothers' "Raincry" are probably the first two songs most old-time ravers think of.

"'Out of Body Experience' was really a blueprint of where we wanted to go," says David. "When those two songs came out it turned out, as if by happy accident, that they were in the same key. It was really cool back then because you could see that we were influencing people and they were influencing us. Great artists run into great artists, like Picasso, Dali and Warhol. We were gravitating towards other people in similar fields who were making a difference."

Hare on the air?

Back to the future, eight years later, Rabbit in the Moon are still going strong. And still holding fast to the underground, despite a string of remixes for big-time pop artists like Sarah McLachlan, Garbage and the Smashing Pumpkins, as well as White Zombie and the Stone Roses.

"RITM's audience has grown because of our live shows, not because of press," Christophere opines. "We've done big remixes, but we barely get any radio play and we still have a pretty large following. We like the fact that we're a successful underground act. I think that because of that what we do stays more true." It goes without saying that the group's live acts are unique, and to describe one would likely conjure up images of circus-style antics in the minds of those not familiar with RITM's interactive format and energetic "host." I admit that the idea of a man named Bunny wearing a reflective jumpsuit blowing fire and running around a stage sounds ridiculous. But this is rave. It works.

"We wanted to produce a live show that we would enjoy doing as much as the audience would enjoy watching. We wanted to take our music and present it in a visual way," explains Christophere. "Bunny is the link between us and the audience. He's the catalyst between the virtual reality of the machines and the organic reality of the crowd. The purists might care more about the guy with machines, but the majority of the audience doesn't, so we try to bridge that gap."

So how much longer will Rabbit in the Moon's underground cred last? I guess that would really depend on just how you define selling out. Sure, they're playing all the big parties and making the big bucks, but they haven't been on MTV and they weren't on the cover of Mixer surrounded by a throng of chicks in thongs. They are currently trying to get a syndicated radio show, which will be aptly named Rabbit Radio, the test market for which is Denver, the epicentre of rave in America. Other than that, Confucius and the Monk are working steadfastly in studio on a full-length which they hope will be ready early next year.

"Our favorite quote is, 'Evolve with the underground,'" says Christophere. "We try to influence the scene by doing and not talking. To pull off something new and different wherever we go and to make music that's timeless--that's what we want to keep doing." :

At the Arrival, Friday to Sunday, Aug. 11-13, 9009 Boul. Arthur-Sauvé in Mirabel. Prices vary. Info: 850-0501 or go to www.arrival2000.com

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