IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: A version of article was originally published by ThoroldToday on August 8.
With three of its four original members still making music, it only seemed natural for Fat Rabbit to hit the stage once again.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for years,” Paul Muelli told ThoroldToday. “But with COVID, suddenly everything for me was on hold.”
But now, the timing is just right, even if there is a restaurant in St. Catharines that goes by the same.
Muelli chuckled at the coincidence.
“I wrote them an email and I didn’t get a response,” he said.
The various members from the Thorold-based group have since scattered – Muelli currently calls Oakville home – but after some effort by the keyboard player and vocalist, a reunion is in the works. The band, featuring original members Paul Muelli, Paul Lauzon and Griegg Fraser will be playing a show to celebrate 50 years of the band at Club Capri in Thorold on Aug. 24 from 6 to 11:30 p.m.
Fat Rabbit sprung from a music scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s that spawned bands like Hush and J.R. Flood. Neil Peart, who went on to reach legendary status with Canadian icons Rush, was beating the skins for Hush at the time he got the call to hook up with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson.
“We were a high school band,” Muelli said. “It was a great time. The first band was a four-piece, and all the guys were from Thorold.”
Fat Rabbit benefited from some good timing when, in 1971, the provincial government lowered the minimum drinking age to 18. With all members of Fat Rabbit hitting that age while still in high school, it meant they could play the bars while its members were still attending classes.
“We were actually the first rock band [in Thorold] to play in the bars back in the spring of 1972,” Muelli said. “We were a cover band, but we had around 10 to 12 original songs.”
Members came and went over the years and eventually Fat Rabbit became a thing of the past – at least until now. Not only are Muelli and company getting back together for the show, but they have also been working – thanks to the wonders of modern recording techniques – on tracks for a new EP, which will be on sale at the show.
Muelli and Fraser, in particular, had stayed in touch over the years and the pair wound up working together on an album Fraser was recording.
“I wound up playing [keyboards] on nine of the 10 songs,” Muelli said.
And, in a strange twist of fate, the album is to be released a week before the Fat Rabbit EP and copies of Fraser’s album will also be available at Club Capri.
Admittedly, Muelli doesn’t get back to his old stomping grounds that often these days. It’s nothing against his hometown but rather an issue many trying to get from one place to another in the GTA know all too well.
“The traffic is just crazy,” he said. “But Thorold is my hometown. It’s still one of my favourite places.”
But he is all too happy to take on the traffic for what will be a big trip down memory lane – and a chance to reconnect with everyone who were fans of the band.
"It’s a chance to celebrate old friendships,” Muelli said.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at Eventbrite.ca or by contacting Muelli at [email protected]. Tickets will also be available at the door the day of the show.