Bunny Hop

CAROUSING, barn-storming rabble-rousing jazz-jive monsters, few bands harness the energy of The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band.

Playing music that wouldn’t have sounded out of place in a 1920s Chicago speakeasy, the brassy, suited and booted seven-piece jazz-jive monsters are every inch the embodiment of turn of the (last) century American style.

So it may come as a surprise to find out that rather than hailing from the the Windy City, they are pure Oxfordshire.

Over the past three years ‘Baron’ Stuart Macbeth, ‘Bunny’ Eros, John ‘Muggsy’ West, John ‘Skippy’ Gannon, Paul ‘Buzz’ Booker, Michael ‘Red’ Wilkins; and Carlo Matassa have become one of the city’s best-loved acts – appealing as much to rock & roll and jazz fans as festival-goers and clubbers.

They have won over crowds from Glastonbury and Bestival to Truck festival and Cowley Road Carnival. They’ve even been booked to play the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall.

“Bill Haley sang ‘you take a rock, you take a beat, you take a boogie... you make it sweet’, which sums us up nicely,” says bandleader and pianist Stuart.

“We combine the spirit of 50s rock and roll with pre-war American boogie-woogie and British music hall. It’s an explosive combination.

“I gave vintage jazz a shelf life of about 15 years when I formed the band,” he adds. “But we’ve taken it to clubs and festivals and brought in huge crowds for a music that might otherwise remain neglected.”

But while the songs sound familiar, much of it is original, penned by Stuart over long dark nights with just his piano and a bottle of whisky for company.

“It’s important to write about things that matter to you and your audience,” he says. “So instead of singing about New Orleans we sing about Oxford. Our boat trips are on the Thames, not the Mississippi. Instead of Route 66 we take the A40 to London. And we don’t go to the jazz band ball... we go down the pub!”

Indeed they are proud of their reputations as dapper, yet fast-living party animals.

“It’s been estimated that the band have consumed over 10,000 bottles of wine at gigs during our career,” says Stuart. “And when you consider that two of us are teetotal, that’s really going some.

On Saturday the band play the most eagerly-awaited show of the autumn – headlining the Oxford Mail’s Fireworks Night Goes Pop extravaganza. The gig, at Oxford’s Jericho Tavern, sees them playing alongside singer-songwriter Matt Winkworth & the Winkworther’s Originals, and The Dreaming Spires, featuring brothers Robin and Joe Bennett, of Truck fame, and Loz Colbert, drummer with one of Oxford’s most legendary bands, Ride.

The show will see them playing old favourites and songs from their critically acclaimed album Year of the Rabbit. And it’s no exageration to say the band are excited.

“In the 80s the Oxford Mail had a music supplement called Spin! I used to look forward to every Thursday when it would arrive through our letterbox. It’s thanks to the Mail that I discovered artists like Kid Creole and the Coconuts, who have been very influential on this band, so I’m delighted that the paper has decided to put on this concert.

“The Jericho is also special to us because it’s where we'd sneak in to watch bands when we were teenagers,” he adds.

“As a band we’ve shunned traditional jazz venues in favour of lively clubs like the Jericho where we can play to a wider audience. For us, it’s all about the audience. We’re all self-taught musicians and we don’t have any high-brow ideas about music. We’re here to entertain people, make them laugh, dance and go home with warm memories of the show.

“As for my dancing, what can I say? I’m not James Brown but that doesn’t stop me from giving it my all.”

* Fireworks Night Goes Pop takes place at The Jericho Tavern, Walton Street, Oxford, on November 5. Early bird tickets are £7 (£6.50 NUS). Go to wegottickets.com/ event/137279 Doors open at 7.30pm.