THE GRID...Welcome to the Who Fan Forum!

[Ann]

Below are your questions and Rabbit's answers. Thank you for participating in this Q&A session. Lynne & I are hoping to have more in the future. Special thanks goes out to Rabbit for taking time out of his busy schedule to be part of the Grid. Please check out his website and buy some of Rab's CDs. You won't be disappointed in what your ears will be treated to. Make sure you add the John Entwistle Tribute CD to your collection, it's a wonderful, touching tribute to John.

~Ann & Lynne~


Hi everyone. Thanks for inviting me to sit in on this question and answer thing. It's a real pleasure, and I hope I have answered all your questions to your liking. Thanks for all the kind comments, and thanks for being so loyal to us all. It's really appreciated, so ya'll keep in touch, ok?
OK, here we go: John Rabbit Bundrick

1) Here's my question for Rabbit;

Do The Who still employ some version of the original Pete Townshend synth recordings for Baba O Riley and WGFA on stage now which you suppliment with your (amazing) live work, or are you recreating it all live, or doing a combination of that and new sequenced stuff? I've always wondered.

RAB: It's cool Colin. It's a well know fact that the who have always throughout their career used Pete's original backing tracks for some of their songs onstage, but yes I do mess around and play along with them as well, just for experimenting, fun, and a way not to get bored during the lengthy sections where no one is doing anything. I can't sit still, so I'll play to anything and everything moving mate. Pete once told me backstage at the Albert Hall, "Rabbit, do you realise that everything you're playing, the audience think it's all me on my backing tapes, and not you at all?" I said, "Thanks Pete, I never knew you could play Hammond as good as I can, NOT!".......ha...ha...we had a laugh.

If this falls under stage magician's rules for not revealing too much of the trick, I totally understand and respectfully withdraw the question.
You're the best, Rabbit.
Colin

2) Hello John~
Thanks for making yourself available to all of us!
My main concern at the moment is for Pete . I would like to know how things are progressing with his case and most importantly how he, himself is coping. Please "relay" my very best wishes to him along with my endless love and support.
Yours Sincerely,
Elizabeth Andersen

RAB: Hi Elizabeth, it's like any legal situation that is in the hands of the court. I'm not at liberty to say anything about it at all, so my comment to you is, 'no comment'. I will say that we all support Pete 100%, and just want the authorities to get on with it, clear his name, give the man back his life and his credibilty, and get the fuck out of his Life, and let us get on with making the music all you people love to hear, and that we love to play. He knows we are all thinking about him and wish him the very best. A man like Pete knows who you all are, and he counts on your support tremendously.

3) Question to Rabbit: I believe I read somewhere that it was you who came up with the new arrangement to I Can't Explain that was performed during the '79/'80 tour. Can you talk about how that came about? (by the way, I thought that it was great and that The Who should have cut a studio version using this the arrangement - did they?)
Cheers,
Mike Griffiths

RAB: Hi Mike, sorry, I remember no such thing, because I was very, very drunk. I've never seen the Who give me credit for anything. It's not their way. I certainly don't remember anyone saying, "Well done Rab." If you find the original source that said that, I'd love to see it.

4) Hey Rabbit
What's Up. How do you feel the sound of the band as changed since John's untimely death?
Peace,
Gary

RAB: Hi Gary, I'm a gardener, and I plant food and flowers etc. Life is death, and death breathes 'new' life. Everytime I harvest my crops, they are dead until the next years sowing, although
it's the same carrot seed I plant every year, they never come up
the same each year. Some times they are bigger, sometimes
smaller, but they are always carrots and they are always fresh,
and bring new 'healthy' Life to my dinner table. The stage we play on is our dinner table. We sleep, eat, grow, tend, and share our musical crops with you all. John and his bass have died, last chapters crops. It's sad, but it's true. If my carrots don't make one year, I don't pull up my healthy
spuds, onions, beans, and cabbages, and call it a day, just because
the carrots didn't make it. I plant something else. The Who have planted Pino Paladino this year, he let's the band live again, as any new bass player that suits us would, so let him grow with the rest of the crop, and make a new season of goddies to bring to the dinner table. The new addition will take time to find it's roots in the newly dug ground, but once his roots are firmly attached to the soil of this band, the rewards from the main crop will be fantastic! If the Who do indeed still have a career at the end of all this rubbish we're all going through right now, then watch
out. It's gonna be big onions, giant baking spuds, monster cabbages,
fat string beans,and loads of earthy, dirty carrots. Get the table ready.

5) I would ask Rabbit if he can see any future for the Who as far as touring. If not, would he continue with Roger if Roger decides to go solo. Another question would be many years ago I saw Roger solo at Poplar Creek in Hoffman Estates, IL. I did notice (now I know who they are) Zak, Simon T., John E. (of course) and I am a bit curious was Rabbit with Rog & company at the time? Roger, etc., put on a great concert. Not only strong vocals as usual, but magnificent musicians. Now I know why!!! I loved it.....

Missing Pete though but damn good entertainment.

Patty W.

RAB: Hi Patty, It all depends on how Pete feels when the shit blows over. If Pete wanted to tour, we would be there right behind him. We love Pete, and will always be at his side, if he chooses us to be there. I never have control over whether we tour or not, I just get drug out like an old suitcase when the decide to hit the road. "Somebody tell Rabbit to pack a bag"......this is usually 2 weeks max before I even
know there's a your coming....I would definitely work with Roger
on his solo work, but of course it depends on what the project is at the
time. I'm not into 'all' things Roger does, but many, many, things he does
I am into, so a great deal of it is whether he wants me there too.
These kind of guys call the shots, and if they don't want you for a
particular project, you just don't get the call. That tour you're on about,
yes I did several dates on it, but it was too much for me, couldn't
handle it at the time, so I came home half way through it. Don't remember if I was at Poplar Creek or not. I was...very...very....drunk.
We all love and miss Pete. God Bless Pete!

6) Hi Rabbit!
Were you a big Who fan before you started playing for them?

Love and Peace,
Erin

RAB: Hi Erin, no, not really, When they hit big in the 60's I was still a Redneck Texan playing Cowboy Music, Soul Music, and wasn't very keen on the top 40 circuit. Of course I had heard their songs, as well as all the other bands songs of the day, including the Hollies. Bus Stop was a favorite song of mine, so when I auditioned for the job, and we started running through some songs, I asked if we were gonna play Bus Stop. The guys sort of chuckled as if I told a joke to break the ice, but they didn't know I was serious. So I asked again and Pete said, "Listen Rabbit, we're the Who. We didn't do Bus stop. That was the Hollies." I thought for a minute and replied, "Oh, I thought that was a Who song. I get the Who and the Hollies mixed up.(redneck texan..see?) So Pete said let's run through Substitute. I popped up and said, "How does it go?" Then they put their guitars and stuff down and said, "You never heard of Substitue?"....with their mouths open. I said, "Nope."! Does it have very many chords? Play it and I'll busk along." This floored them, and I thought for a minute that the job I had just aquired was going straight out the window due to my stupidity about a band I joined
who I never really heard before. But I guess they'd couldn't believe
their ears, and said Let's get on with it. They just started playing,
I joined in after a couple of bars, and it all went fantastic. Once we did a full days work, they weren't sure about the idiot they just hired, but they knew they liked the way he played keyboards, so I was 'in there'. Job secure....nice one.

7) Hi, I´m Rubén, from Spain, and I want to ask you: How can you keep your passion for music after playing with Barry(another member of The Grid) last august? Do you think there is any link between his voice and the storms that followed? Thanks a lot even if you don´t ask me. I love your work with The Who, and we all expect to see you all playing together again as soon as possible.

RAB: Sorry Ruben, no comment on this one. Don't know why, just nothin to say on it.

Hi Rabbit!

I saw you here in Toronto on Sept 28 2002 and was just amazed at how
good you guys were on this tour even with the sad passing of John.
What i want to know was how did the jamming on Relay come about? Did it start in rehearsals or happened on stage? Loved your playing for
years but the Toronto 2002 show was like a re-birth!

Guitar Wizard
PS-Tell Alan Rogan to get his butt on line too.

RAB: Howdy Guitar Wizard, Alan says his butt is on-the-line...Hangin' out to dry...ha. Thanks for the comments. The Relay Jam was pure accident, which is the way we used to play back in 1979. I'm the new boy, there's the old boys. They wrote the songs, and I am really jamming the whole thing anyway. I'm in a very lucky position. I could easily be one of you out in the audience, and on a gig, Pete might have said, "anyone want to jam?"......I would have got up there in a shot
and did exactly what I do up there now....jammed. Whatever they are
playing, no matter, I am just jamming.....So one night we did Relay, I had some new fx pedals hooked up to my Hammond Organ, and wanted to give them a spin. One nite during Pete's solo I got fired up and turned all my gear up full blast, distorted wah-wah organm with delay fx, and a guitar POD, and some other gear all hooked up to the organ, it sounded like a Monster Truck, so I decided to risk it, I was fired up by Pete's solo, and want to put my 2 cents worth in, so I just stole his solo off him. He was playing away, and when I turned my hammond full up, he heard it and he knew I wanted some of it too, so he kindly looked at me and said, "Go ahead man." So off I went and me and Pete had a sexy jam going on between the guitar and the Hammon, and after the show we were all buzzed at the new Life we brought to Relay, so it stuck for awhile.
That's really what we like to do.....do the song, then let's Jam for a long time and get it out of our systems. Brilliant!


9) What album(s) would you recomend for those of us who like your
work with The Who, but have not heard any of your solo work and
would like to be introduced to it?

Thanks,
Bob

RAB: Hi Bob, that's an easy one. I only ever did one studio album with the Who......'Face Dances', but I did many solo albums with Pete, and many Live Who gig releases. All of them since 1979.
So anything live from 1979 to now, except 1982, when I got fired, but that's another story, and Face Dances. If you look on my website
www.thewho-rabbit.com I have a whole CV list of people and albums I've done. Have a look. You'll be amazed.

10) Hi Rabbit -

Out of all of the shows you've played
with the Who live - so far , which one stands out as your most memorable and favorite night?

Thanks and best wishes!

Sue Schaffer
Grand Rapids, MI

RAB: It has to be Frejus in France, 1979. It's an open air amphitheatre of beautiful stone, out in the country. And on that partiuclar nite the Moon was full. I was in my glory, newly joined member of the Who, my dream come true. And we all jammed our asses off, and it was a beautiful experience. It was like playing with Jimmy Hendrix, the buzz was astounding. There have been many many gigs highlites to me, but I'll never forget that night. Some nights I do want to forget, but not that one.

11) So kewl to hear about Rabbit visiting the site! I decided to ask the nickname question afterall-- > First I'd like to say you make a great addition to The Who and your playing adds so much to the music. I'm sure most of the people on this site already know this... but I can't seem to figure out why everybody calls you "Rabbit!" What's the story behind that? Thanks for sharing!

-Sari

RAB: Kids....you know how they are. When I was a small boy I had big bucked teeth. The bullies in the school decided to give me a hard time, so they called me Bugs, bunny, Praying Mantis, all sorts. I soon got tired of getting beat up, so I just ignored it. Later in my high school years I joined a band from Ft. Worth, called the Sundown Collection. Again an audition was in order, so I drove from Houston to Ft' Worth, at night, saw a cigar shaped Space Ship on the way...well hell, I was a hippie then, a very...very....stoned one....but I still saw it. I've seen them more than once. I also saw crab shell shaped ones in Hampstead, London one Easter night. I swear I did...c'mon....ain't any of ya'll ever seen a flying saucer? They are out there.....anyway.....this audition.....I walked into the room, and the drummer stood up and yelled, "Hey guys, look. A rabbit just walked into the room. This was in 1968. I thought here we go again, I got this in kid school, now I'm getting it from a band.
I said to the guys, "What's ya'lls names?" The drummer said, "Turtle."
The guitarist said, "Grizzly Bear."...The bass player said, "monster."....and the singer said, "Hi man, my name is Johnny." Well, for starters, that's my name too, so we can't have 2 Johnny's in the same band, so I'll be 'Rabbit' then. We hit it straight off and got on great. From that day my real name was wiped clean from the slate, and the guys would only ever introduce me to their friends as Rabbit. So it Grew and grew until I started calling myself that too. When I first came to England in 1971, the first person I met who asked me my name, I just naturally said, "Rabbit..howdy." And that's how it got passed on around the World. "Hey, have you heard of that guy 'Rabbit'?.......never 'this is Johnny'. So John Bundrick could never get a session, but Rabbit had no probs.........

12) My question for Rabbit is:

In December Pete seemed very optimistic about recording, and the future of The Who. What are your thoughts or feelings on the The Who's future? Or if that's been asked, my back up question is: Are there any musicians that you would like to work with that you have not already?

Thanks,
Sniff

RAB: Hi Sniff, yeah I did answer that question for Patty W. 2nd question...OH YEAH....plenty......Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Stevie Winwood, Paul Rodgers again, too many to mention really. I need to think about this one some more, cause I'm very versatile, and my background covers many styles of music, so there are
certainly many others.

13) What is your input into Who decisions? Do you help determine song lists and arrangements when touring, etc., or is it all Pete and Roger?

Chris Frate

RAB: Hi Chris........NOPE.......it's all down to Rog and Pete. It's their band mate, their songs, and as I said somewhere
else. I'm easy, I'll play along with anything moving. Jam time......


14) Hi Rabbit!

How did you find those two nights with Pete & friends? For me, the latter night was a larger-than-life-experience: 100%-professional ( I even loved the way you handle the mistake with WGFA...), funny, moving, unique, memorable - oh boy, it really was worth of quitting my job at the time and spending all my money for a trip to London.

Thank You.
Yours,
Late
Helsinki, Finland

RAB: Hi Late, did you mean the cut-down band with Pete and he did a talk session during the show in between numbers. If so, it was great for me. Who music without the noise. It made a nice impromtu change, and to be honest, I would enjoy being on stage with Pete even if all he did was get onstage and Fart. I'd soon pick it up and jam along with him farting. He's so cool, it's just great to be with him onstage whatever he's doing. Yeah mate, I enjoyed it alright.....glad you did too....

15) Hi! Here is a question for Rabbit (I'll bet others have thought of this, too) Which show (or shows) was your favorite from last summer's tour and why?
Thanks,
Blossom

RAB: Trying to remember last Summers tour. Let's see, I don't know. I like them all, but maybe had the best time in L.A
this last trip. The bowl was fun and I got to see a whole bunch of my old muso buddies there. Even did a recording session for some of my old band members while I was there. I did enjoy it, so I guess I have to say L.A.

16) I’d like to ask Rabbit why he threw all that tip money in the air after the Rihga sing-along. He could have pocketed a cool 12 bucks! Rabbit was the soul of the 2002 tour, he is an amazing
person, and all my love goes out to him.

ozzie

RAB: Thank you Ozzie. I threw the money in the air cause I was embarassed. I just did a gig at Madison Square and walked into the Hotel bar to such a great reception, that I was having more fun than you guys were. I didn't need paying for it. I counted my blessings when you guys gave me that standing ovation when I walked in. That was enough for me. Thank you all, thank you all for partying with the Rab.

17) How did you originally meet up with Pete and start playing with The Who?

Elizabeth

RAB: Elizabeth, I 1st met Pete in 1976 while I was recording an album called 'Show Some Emotion' with ..oh what's her name? Joan Armatrading, that's it, at Olympic Studios, produced by an
old friend of Pete's, Glynn Johns. Well, Pete and Ronnie Lane were to do a duet album together with Glynn producing it. Pete apparently was asking Glynn if he could recommend any good keyboards to work on the album.
Glynn said something to the effect of, "I'm working with one right now
in Olympic Studios this very minute. His name is Rabbit..(see?) Glynn asked Pete to pop down to the studio and say hello to me and check me out. Well, when Pete walked into the studio, and Glynn introduce us, I walked over to him and gave him a big old Texas handshake, y'know, the bone crunching type, and the man stood there and took it. His grip was stronger than mine, and a good handshake is always a good sign. I've shaken hands with some guitarists and it's like shaking hands with a 8 day old fish...clamy man. But Pete was solid as a rock, and we liked each other right away. I got the git to play on Pete and Ronnie's "Rough Mix" album, and it just went on from there, and I'm still here....touch wood...
Pete's a real musician, and being onstage doesn't do his musicianship justice. It's a show, but when he's not 'on-show', he's a mighty fine musician......

1 Hi Rabbit,
Could you share with us some of your musical influences? Who inspired you to play the keyboards? Do you feel it's ever too late to learn how to play?

Best wishes,

Lynne

RAB: Hi Lynne, I have had several influences over the years and since I began learning to play. Let's see, for piano there's Jerry Lee Lewis, Floyd Cramer, Stevie Winwood in the main, but I did study Classical music in College, and started taking lessons when I was
7 years old. For the Hammond Organ there's Jimmy Smith, Billy Preston,
Stevie Winwood again, but there's one trick on the Hammond that I
didn't learn from any keyboardist. I am a frustrated guitarists, in other
words can't play one, but it's my favorite instrument, so I listen to
guitarists like Eric, Pete, Hendrix, Paul Kossoff, and any body good, and I hear the phrased they play, how they bend the notes, when they go up the neck, when they come down the neck, how they twiddle the strings, and just how they play their instrument in general. I can read their hands on their guitar neck, so I have taken a style of organ playing that sort of mimics the licks that a guitarist would play. If a guitarist plays a standard sort of blues riff, I will break it down in my head what notes he's using, what order they come in,etc, and apply that to the way I play the organ. It really works and that's what makes me sound different to other organ players. I'm actuall playing guitar style on a keyboard. It's great fun, and educational to watch guitarist and their hands and fingers. Some nights on stage I'll listen to a chunky rhythm riff that Pete is doing, sort it out in my
head for the organ, then when I've got what he's doing, I'll start
copying what he's doing, and play it on the Hammond. It's real cool,
so if he wants to get off that riff and do a high solo, I can support him
by playing his rythm chunky riff on the organ. Nice way to think about it.
Learning how each muso plays their instrumentm, so you can back then up to give it a fuller sound.

19) Rab:

Could you tell us more about your American Indian CDs and where your
interest in Native Americans comes from? Thanks!

Ann

RAB: Hi Ann, From a kid I have always been interested in the underdog. I just have this thing about having to be the winner all the time. Who's winning what? The cowboys always beat the Indians in the old film, but think about it, the Indians were already there. It was their land. The settlers basically came and stole what wasn't theirs.
And I don't like burlgars and thiefs. Get the rope out I say.....It's just that they are so in tune with the Earth, nature, animals, birds, plants, all things not man-made, but that were given to us from our Maker. I've always had this affinity with all downtrodden peoples, and I particularly love the Indian charm and way of Life. I say more about this on my website in my handcrafted by Dave Van Staveren American Indian section. Check it out on www.thewho-rabbit.com My cd's are probably not to everyone's tastes, but they give you an idea of how you can relax and creat your own 'visuals' by listening to them.
_________________
Peace,
Ann

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"Music sets the soul free" ~Pete