Sick of seeing your kids patronised by the cutesy jingles of The Wiggles and Hi 5? Well Bunny Racket is rock’n’roll for kids
Because not all kids have shit taste in music. King Bunny is a guitar-wielding, skateboarding, nature-loving rabbit with a passion to share his love of rock’n’roll. Bunny Racket is born of King Bunny’s fierce love for rock music and a yearning for kid-friendly tunes that are relevant and positive. Just back from a four-month stint in California, where they filmed the first two episodes of the Bunny Racket series, Andy Walker (previously frontman of stoner rock band Fort).
Andy spoke with The Echo about upcoming northern rivers Bunny action.
Tell me about filming the first two episodes – how did it go?
We had a really productive few months working on the episodes. From the scriptwriting to the pre-production and through to the shoot days, it was a lot of fun. Screen NSW gave us an office space in Charlie Chaplin’s old building in Hollywood, which was an amazing base to get the wheels rolling. I was lucky enough to be working with an old friend and super-talented director called Richard Farmer. Our crew was great! Each shoot day was in a very different area. We shot mainly in the Mojave Desert and parts of LA. We tried to find locations with special meaning to this project. We spent two days filming in the neighbourhood where ET was shot. It was like stepping back into my childhood and living out a fantasy!
Anything much nuts happen in the filming that you decided to keep in?
We had scouted a really epic location in the desert for a scene where King Bunny runs out of rock’n’roll and is on the search for some coyotes to replenish his supply. We needed somewhere desolate and very quiet. After a two-day search, we thought that we had found the perfect place and put in all our paperwork to FilmLA. On the shoot day, however, there was a dune buggy race about a mile away and another crew was filming a gangster rap video out there too. Our plans and location changed a little, but we retained a nice dusty atmosphere from the dune buggies!
How is the show and the concept continuing to evolve?
It is a continuously evolving process and every step is run past our team of children to get the nod of approval. Bunny Racket is honestly on my mind at all times and is often my topic of conversation in my daily interactions. I love to bounce ideas off friends and their kids and I love to be inspired by others on creative missions as well. Every decision that I make with Bunny Racket has to appeal to me now, as an adult, but also to myself as a little kid. There are a lot of moving parts and many people involved the project as a whole, and I think that being open to ideas and change keeps it fresh.
What about your second record Bunny Racket in Space recorded in LA?
Robby Krieger was kind enough to let me use his studio to record the tracks for a follow-up album/series.
He plays lead on the first record, Rock’n’Roll Animals. Robby’s studio is the sort of place that dreams are made of! He still has all the old gear from his days playing in The Doors. It’s like a working museum. It is his private studio and not used commercially, so it was a real privilege to spend a couple of weeks there. I got to use a lot of amazing gear and invited some great musicians to come an help out on the sessions. I seriously had a grin on my face the whole time. The concept of Bunny Racket In Space is pretty self-explanatory – aliens, planets, rocket ships, black holes, you name it. It’s a fun record!
What has inspired you to take such a unique approach to making music?
I wanted to take every element that I loved from my childhood and bring it back to life for my kids and my friends’ kids and all the other kids out there who need a little rock’n’roll in their lives. I feel thats it’s really important to engage with our kids on an even level. To share a common passion with your kids is a really special thing. It’s too easy to keep them busy with a lot of the rubbish that is out there for them. And the thought of a long car trip listening to bad kids’ music makes me feel physically ill. This really is just the next stop on my rock’n’roll trip.
What should we expect for your upcoming shows at Brunswick Picture House and Splendour?
The Bunny Racket live show is in the early stages. We are having a lot of fun playing our songs and seeing what works on the stage. Come and be part of what we hope to be a far-reaching rock’n’roll extravaganza that makes a difference to the way children are entertained. I love the Ramones and I love Sesame Street Live. I hope that you will love Bunny Racket!
Brunswick Picture House on Saturday, 2pm. All $12 or $40 for a family of 4 and featuring at Splendour in the Grass later in July.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
