Shooting Lead Rabbits is a musical outlet for artist and singer/songwriter Christopher Jenkins. As such, different collaborators tend to come and go. The self titled debut album was written and produced (and predominantly performed) by Jenkins before he and the name were signed to Thirdlight Records in 2010. Shooting Lead Rabbits has been described as Retro, Alternative, Folk Rock, Arthouse, Rock, Indy, Lounge, 60s, Eclectic, European, Chamber Pop and more… This much is however certainly true: Jenkins is a masterful, genuine and heartfelt songwriter and SLR has a unique sound that celebrates music in all it’s forms and genres, that enjoys constant collaboration with like minded weirdos from all over the world.
ABOUT THE ARTIST – Chris Jenkins’ father died on his mother’s birthday, two months before he was born. Terminal fatherlessness and the pursuit of restoration have generated themes of both hope and longing in Jenkins work. He found his voice on the troubadour circuit and thousands of hours on stages all over the world taught him his craft. Not content with this, Chris returned to England to study a degree in music production in which he excelled, giving him the tools to produce and engineer his own recorded work. Jenkins is as much the ‘real deal’ in singer/songwriter terms as can possibly be, his work is playful, clever and at times heartbreaking.
ABOUT THE NAME – “Shooting Lead Rabbits” (lead as in ‘led’, not ‘leed’!) is a tradesman’s term that describes a particular technique in roofing. It’s an odd name that is often confused with representing the mass slaughter of helpless little bunnies, but really it is significant for other reasons entirely… We were at the Wield and Downland outdoor museum a while back, and in one of the barns there was a display of iron works and masonry. On the wall there were examples of tools and sketches of techniques, and above a brief description of some very old technique in thatch roofing was the heading “Shooting Lead Rabbits”. My sister spotted it and said what a great selection of words it was and that it should mean something really cool. A year later we were in the pub and it was time to come up with a band name. I said to Bianca, “what was that thing Katie saw on the wall at the outdoor museum?” B said “Shooting Lead Rabbits”.
PRAISE FOR SHOOTING LEAD RABBITS -
“…thoughtful, clever… demand you listen”- Smooth Radio London
“…the beginning of something really good”- What’s On Magazine
“Immaculate.”- Chris Wild, How to be a Retronaut