Freshly Pressed – Mister Rabbit “High”

On October 10th, Hamilton-based four-piece Mister Rabbit is set to release a new EP, The Era of Good Feelings. Ahead of the EP, the band recently unveiled a brand new single, “High”–a track that sonically bridges the gap between the acoustic sound of their first record, and the louder approach on the new EP. We caught up with singer/guitarist Jeff van Helvoort to chat about the new music, what he’s listening to lately, highlights from his longtime music career, and where the name Mister Rabbit came from.

From The Strait: Tell us about the latest single, “High”.

Jeff van Helvoort: Back in the fall of 2022, my best friend called to let me know that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.  Given that we are both in our mid-30s, this was pretty devastating to hear.  He had an operation to remove it in February of 2023, but unfortunately it didn’t go as well as doctors had hoped so as he was recovering, I took a day off of work to be with my thoughts and started writing on my acoustic with my dogs nearby.  I finished the verses & choruses within a half hour & wrote the bridge a few months later in a hotel on the road for work.

Fast forward to February of 2024 – we were on our last day of pre-production for these songs and I was not thinking this song would fit the bill, but decided to throw it into the mix anyway.  The guys killed it and we had the basic structure recorded within a few takes, with Ryan (Mickeloff, drums) bringing in the cool beat at the start, Mitch (Clark, guitar) suggesting an interesting chord change in the chorus & Sean (Smith, bass) bringing in some tasteful bass lines.

Stylistically, I think it does a good job of bridging the gap between our first record, End Of History Illusion, and the more acoustic songs on that, with the louder, more aggressive songs on this EP.  Lyrically, it’s a song about grief before someone is actually gone, hope that they’ll make it through whatever they’re facing and immense love for someone you can’t imagine living without.  Like a lot of my songs, it also confronts the idea of a higher power and where we look in our times of need.

From The Strait: What can fans expect from the upcoming EP, The Era Of Good Feelings?

Jeff van Helvoort: I think fans can expect something a little different from this EP – we don’t want to become stagnant and rest on our laurels, so we wanted to bring more excitement to this VS EOHI.  We also wanted to make it feel and sound more like our live show, so we recorded all the instruments in the room together and I mixed it to sound comparable to a live show.  At the same time, I can’t help but want to keep a bit of softness and sensitivity in our music, so the last track, Hue & Cry, was recorded solo and reflects that sentiment.

From The Strait: What’s one album or artist/band you can’t get enough of right now?

Jeff van Helvoort:  According to my Tidal stats, I’ve listened to MJ Lenderman 63 times this month, so I think I’d have to go with him.  His new album, Manning Fireworks, is fantastic across the board but songs 2-5 (Joker Lips, Rudolph, Wristwatch, She’s Leaving You) are some of the best songs I’ve heard in years.  I love how simple they are in structure & instrumentation, that his lyrics are so sharp/sad/funny and his voice feels like a warm hug.  I’ve been following him for a few years now, and he put out a fantastic & a bit unhinged live record (MJ Lenderman And The Wind – Live And Loose) last year, so I’m very excited to hear how these songs translate with the live band.

Sidebar – he also plays in a band called Wednesday and their album Rat Saw God from 2023 is also incredible.

From The Strait: What are some of your non-musical hobbies?

Jeff van Helvoort :  At this point, outside of playing music, I only have hobbies related to music.  I’ve learned how to mix, shoot & edit videos, do graphic design, take photos etc.. to lessen the overall costs of being in a band.  If I’m not doing that, I’m hanging with my wife & the dogs and we’re probably playing a video game or watching shows/movies.

From The Strait: Where did the band name come from?

Jeff van Helvoort:  The band name comes from a song off of a Paul Westerberg solo record called Stereo – it’s actually an old American folk song.  Paul Westerberg sings it in a way that only he can and it just connected with me.  When we were trying to figure out a band name, we put a bunch on a list and reached out to an amazing artist/musician friend of mine (Ryan Kennedy) and he essentially put together a case of why he thought the name worked for us & our music.  He also created our logo for us.

From The Strait: What has been the highlight of your music career thus far?

Jeff van Helvoort:  I mean.. the fact that I still wake up every day and can only really think about playing & creating & figuring out what’s next is amazing to me.  The fact that some people still care is incredible as well as there’s a lot of music & media in general out there to consume and I am appreciative of the fact that people decide to consume some of ours.

If I’m speaking literally rather than figuratively, I don’t think anything will beat the feeling of going to Los Angeles to make Spoils of Youth with Teenage Kicks.  At that time, we were only really focused on the band and we were all aligned in the purpose of making that record.  We were there on someone else’s dime trying to do the thing we all dreamed of doing.  But we all know how that ended so… don’t dream too big, kids!!

From The Strait: Imagine you were touring the world and selling out stadiums – what would you put on your rider?

Jeff van Helvoort:  Jeez – 10 years ago my answer probably would have been different, but just something light.  I have to watch what I eat & drink before and after gigs because I get bad indigestion when I sing.  I know I should say something cooler than that, but I’m an honest guy!!!

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Listen to “High,” the new single from Mister Rabbit!

Follow Mister Rabbit on Instagram

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