Weird and Wonderful: Jesika von Rabbit takes over AZ stages

Joshua Tree’s Jesika von Rabbit has her sights set on Arizona stages. She will perform in three cities across the state next month — Tempe’s Yucca Tap Room on Sept. 5, Tucson’s Club Congress on Sept. 6, and Bisbee’s Grand Hotel on Sept. 7. She’ll be joined by Sturdy Ladies, Basside and Brea Burns, respectively.

The former frontwoman and songwriter of Gram Rabbit, von Rabbit’s foray into “solodom” has included the release of two albums, as well as a bevy of singles. Her love of music, however, began early. 

“My mom started me on piano lessons,” von Rabbit said. “So, I took piano growing up, and I was in choir.”

Performing also ran in the family for the Green Bay, Wisconsin, native. Her mom was in a rock ‘n’ roll cover band when she was growing up.

“That was pretty cool for a kid,” von Rabbit said.

She later moved to Minneapolis “as soon as (she) was old enough” and that’s when she started playing in bands. Her career eventually brought her out west to California. She formed Gram Rabbit in 2000 alongside Todd Rutherfod, Jason Gilbert and Ethan Allen. The band later went on hiatus in 2013. 

Von Rabbit went on to release “Journey Mitchell” in 2015 and “Dessert Rock” in 2018. In addition to performing with her own backing act — currently composed of backup dancers known as the Grundles and bassist Lee Joseph of Tucson — she’s toured with other bands, including the likes of Eagles of Death Metal. 

When it comes to describing her solo work, the first adjective von Rabbit landed on was “eclectic.” Others included “avant garde,” “psychedelic” and “electro pop.” 

“It’s everything I’ve been influenced by over the years,” she said. 

With a career spanning over 25 years, that’s a lot of material to pull from. It’s no surprise that when asked about the artists who inspire her, von Rabbit pointed to the titan of genre itself — The Beatles. 

She’ll be bringing that genre-bending attitude to her shows in Arizona. In addition to Joseph’s local ties, von Rabbit just loves the area. 

“The Southwest is such a cool atmosphere,” she said. 

She described Bisbee as “such a cool little town” and is a longtime frequenter of Club Congress. 

“That place just has such a cool history, and it feels haunted,” von Rabbit said. “You just feel like you’re somewhere very special.”

The fans are also “really enthusiastic and happy that we’re coming around,” she added. 

But just what can concertgoers expect when von Rabbit brings her “crazy little act” to the stage? As it turns out, the answer is a complicated one. The atmosphere is wacky. 

“I might have some dancers on stage,” von Rabbit said. “Sometimes they’re an alien mask. Sometimes I have another dancer who’s wearing a Mikhail Gorbachev mask with a pink vinyl jumpsuit to my industrial cover of ‘Friends in Low Places,’ which is really fun.”

However, it’s never without intention. 

“I like to make people think and scratch their heads, but it’s not all just frivolous,” she said.

In short, it’s a spectacle, but a spectacle taken seriously. 

While the entire show promises to be an explosion of color, sound and performance, von Rabbit has favorites she likes to perform. Right now, one of those is 2024 release “Dog at a Human Party” — featuring her backup dancers decked out in poodle masks. Described as more “silly and fun-loving,” von Rabbit explained it’s one fans have a lot of fun with. 

“Everyone’s smiling when you look out in the audience,” she said. “That makes me happy to see everyone else getting so happy.” 

She pointed to her recent release, “Gotta Keep My Buzz Going,” which was about the death of her cat — named Buzz — several years ago. Granted, von Rabbit said, it’s difficult to tell that’s what the song’s about just by listening to it. 

As far as future projects are concerned, she has a pretty big one on deck.

“(I’m) just trying to finish up on an album that I’ve been working on for the last couple of years,” von Rabbit said. 

That’s slated for release sometime in 2025. 

For now, fans have her shows to look forward to. Tickets can be purchased for each venue on her website, jesikavonrabbit.com, by clicking on the “events” tab. 

“At the end of the day, I want people to be entertained and have fun,” von Rabbit said. “Life is very serious and there’s a lot of problems in the world. I do want people to step away from the intensity of whatever’s going on in their life.”