Winter break is over, and all we have to show for it is a stack of books to read, memories of sleep, and stale Christmas cookies. This depressing state of affairs led me to listen to almost exclusively slow, quiet Paul Simon songs. Fortunately, there are only so many days I can roll out of bed cursing the world and every class before 2:35. At the end of this dark, sleepy tunnel there is a light, and that light is Bunnygrunt.
At the beginning, my main attraction to Bunnygrunt was based on the fact that we were both from good ol’ St. Louis, Missouri. Not too many musicians make that claim, other than Nelly and Tina Turner. The band was formed in 1993 by Matt Harnish and Karen Ried, and has included many other members over it’s 17-year career (11 years, if you take out a six-year break between 1998 and 2004). Right now that have a full time drummer ever so cooly named Eric Von Damage, and rotation of other guitar players depending on the night.
Through that whole period of 17 years, Bunnygrunt has remained based in St. Louis, and have included references to their hometown city in several songs, like “S. Kingshighway Bubblegum Factory” and “Southtown FamousÛ. Really though, I don’t love Bunnygrunt just because we both call the Gateway City our home. I love Bunnygrunt because it’s impossible to not love them. Bunnygrunt perfectly straddles the line between twee pop and punk rock in that they are adorable with an edge. The band reportedly hates the twee label, even after they were call the World’s Cutest Band by Allmusic.
Bunnygrunt made plenty of 7Ûs and EPs in their first two years, and finally released their first full length album in 1995 on No Life Records called Action Pants! The album is was only about twenty minutes long, but it was a start. After a few more years of 7Ûs and EPs, Bunnygrunt came out with Jen-Fi and actually got a good amount of press for it. It seemed that once the band got in the spotlight, the first thing they wanted was to get out. After Jen-Fi, the band went on a semi-unexplained six year hiatus, occasionally performing as The See-Thrus.
For five years, no one heard from Bunnygrunt. Then in 2003, one of the songs from an early, Christmas themed 7” was featured in the movie Bad Santa. The song, Season Freaklings, perfectly captures the enthusiastic garage band sound that is Bunnygrunt. The band experienced a surge in popularity after the movie, which prompted Harnish to release a collection of old and rare tracks called In the Valley of Lonesome Phil on his own label, The Bert Dax Cavalcade of Stars. After the band played a show at a house party to celebrate the release of Bad Santa, they decided to reform. They released their album in 2005 Karen Haters Club on Happy Birthday To Me Records, and played the Athens PopFest (which they have continued to do every year).
Most recently, Bunnygrunt released Matt Harnish & Other Delights, which is perhaps their furthest move away from twee yet. It’s harder, faster, tougher, and grittier than before. The songs are steeped in guitar solos and bass riffs, and even Ried’s sweet voice doesn’t sugarcoat the album into something that could be called cuddlerock. The very last song on the album “Southtown Famous” is unmistakably rock and roll, complete with heavy drum beats and a guitar solo that lets you know that Bunnygrunt isn’t going to ever really go away. They might change their style or go on hiatus, but Bunnygrunt might just outlive us all.