Hi! My name is Rence. These days I spend a great deal of time on the roads and in the skies. But when I get back home, I enjoy listening to old records and cassettes of great artists such as Guided By Voices, Harry Nilsson, Attic Abasement, XTC, Kate Bush, Prince, Sparklehorse, j. sherri, The Kinks, etc. In addition to their amazing songs, I’m inspired by friendships, communities, places, mountains, beers, coffees, and nice doggies across these lands. And YOU!
The photo below was taken by my good friend Net Hua last Wednesday night after the big show.
Dear Rabbit is the band name for the musician Rence Liam from the southern Colorado town of Colorado Springs, CO. Rence’s performance are electric, sensational and full of catchy lines meant to provoke the audience to sing along. His style is mostly idiosyncratic and only understood by experiencing him live.
Written by Matthew Donovan
SELECT PRESS FOR DEAR RABBIT
“Sparse, ragged and poetic, Dear Rabbit is endearing as the name implies, and rife with quirky stories of landscapes and lovers from across the universe. His latest release, They’re Not Like You, was recorded with a full band and has all the charm of an off-kilter, ’50s sci-fi movie soundtrack in glorious rock ‘n’ roll. Think Roky Erickson and the 5-52s with some good ole American grit.” BeatRoute, Calgary, Alberta, B. Simm
“While there’s traces of Jonathan Richman and Leonard Cohen, stylistically he’s his own bohemian armed with a six-string nylon guitar, fuzz-box, digital delay pedal, a cheap plastic keyboard and sometimes a trumpet.” BeatRoute, Calgary, Alberta, B. Simm
“He may or may not be touring with the band, but he’ll certainly be bringing the songs and adventure he’s true to and the Dear Rabbit, diamond in the rough, experience.” BeatRoute, Calgary, Alberta, B. Simm (hard copy)
“Dear Rabbit is a true original and a bit of an enigmatic, eccentric songwriting minstrel, a misfit troubadour on a road to nowhere and everywhere.” Mahala Culture Website, Matt Vend
“Yet, despite directional differences, [Rence] still gets those Jonathan Richman comparisons, which aren’t necessarily unwarranted. Both musicians project a guileless innocence that’s too often abandoned in adulthood. There’s also a striking similarity in their sing-songy vocals, which, while clearly untrained, are endearingly expressive. Also, both have a knack for cute animal songs, although Dear Rabbit’s ‘What Kinds of Doggies Do You Like?’ lacks the narrative arc of Richman’s ‘I’m a Little Dinosaur.'” CS Indy, Bill Forman
“[Rence] ranks Guided by Voices as his favorite band, with Sparklehorse following close behind.’Oh, and Daniel Johnston, too,’ he adds enthusiastically. ‘I was listening to him the other day, and I really like his whole attitude. It’s like ‘I don’t care, here’s my songs.'” CS Indy, Bill Forman
“The album remains true to the raw energy of a Dear Rabbit live performance, but with added drums, piano and a horn section it has a full sound. That, in a way, makes up for the intense, sweaty performance [Rence] Liam gives live with a beat-up nylon string guitar plugged into a fuzzy sounding vintage amplifier.” Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, John Molseed
“But tracks like ‘When the Well Dries Out’ convey an unexpected musical and lyrical subtlety: ‘You see me standing here with 600 friends, 700 friends, what a team,’ he sings in tones that suggest a less willfully guileless Jonathan Richman.” CS Indy, Bill Forman
“Dear Rabbit is a singular talent—a rarity we often forget exists in the post-everything world.” Tucson Weekly, Joshua Levine
“Dear Rabbit killed it tonight. He live looped layers of acoustic guitar and mellow trumpet, a la Andrew Bird, and then sang into his guitar pickups for yet another layer. . . he unplugged and walked off stage-right into the intimate foyer where an old out-of-tune piano sat waiting. . .” I’m With the Band Blog, Patti Schreiber
