click to enlarge Crack Rabbit are from left to right Riley Macluskie (drums), Michael Andriano (lead guitar), Rozie Beth (vocals and guitar) and Chris Carpenter (bass). Mick Burtsfield Rozie Beth remembers the first time she saw Kurt Cobain on TV. She was 5 and her dad, who loved rock music, watched music videos on MTV. “The ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ video from Nirvana came and I remember looking at the TV in fascination,” recalls Beth. Related Stories I Support Local Community Journalism Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of the New Times clear. She says she had a crush on Cobain first. Then, in her early teens, she changed her mind: “I’d rather be him.” Today Beth is the singer and guitarist of Crack Rabbit, a young local punk band with a show on Thursday July 22nd in the Yucca Tap Room. She is accompanied on stage by Riley Macluskie (drums), Michael Andriano (lead guitar) and Chris Carpenter (bass). Crack Rabbit is a band with a range of musical influences; In their songs you can hear the ingredients of grunge, pop, metal and punk. Beth’s deep voice sails on a loud, rough wave of distorted guitar and tough drums; Her tone fluctuates with boredom in “Jailbait” and hurts in songs like “Rise Above”. Andriano’s guitar can crunch in songs like “Keep in Mind”, arguably her most punk song, and hold a fuzz-distorted riff like in “Jailbait”. But Macluskie’s drums are at the heart of every song, tight and passionate. While Crack Rabbit’s current line-up is solid, it took the band a while to get together. Beth spent five years looking for Crack Rabbit’s current line-up and her resolve never let up, despite the fact that there have been many failed attempts to start a band: passing by “creepy guys just trying to turn her on” and bandmates who just wanted to “go out and party”. One particularly disastrous show in 2019 turned out to be a fluke. A previous version of the band was playing in Tempes Palo Verde Lounge, and at the end of the show Beth asked the drummer and guitarist to go for a hike. Current drummer Riley Macluskie, who has known Beth since childhood, was in the audience that evening. At that time Macluskie was drumming for the band Love Child Melancholy. “I remember thinking that she had some really good songs,” says Macluskie. “But their drummer was terrible – one of the worst I’ve ever seen. I wanted to say, ‘You know, I’m not trying to push myself into your band, but you need better.’ ”When that Palo Verde show was over, Beth went to Macluskie. Before he could say anything, she asked if he would come over and play the drums at the band rehearsal. And just before that exercise – another happy occurrence – Macluskie happened upon a guitarist on a dating app who wanted to join a band. “I will meet this band for the first time,” Macluskie said in a message to Michael Andriano. “Maybe you want to check it out too?” Andriano came to rehearsals with his guitar case. It felt right to Beth. Then Andriano found bassist Chris Carpenter, and they were rock solid. From a dream Beth had at the age of 10, Crack Rabbit had finally become a full-fledged band in October 2020. “After the band was formed, we started looking for gigs ourselves,” says Beth, “and before we knew it, people started contacting us.” Crack Rabbit spent most of 2020 trying to writing new material despite releasing an EP, Cherry Pie, and playing a Halloween show in California. They are currently working on an LP with AR Studios to be released later this year. “I know that I still have a long way to go,” says Beth. “But even that, venues that contact us are so satisfying.” Rabbits crack. With The Nexxt, The Jena System and Headstrum. 8 p.m. Thursday, July 22. Yucca Tap Room, 29 West Southern Avenue, Tempe. Free admission.
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