I BELIEVE W.'.R.'.C.'. IS NOT ONLY ABOUT MUSIC. WHAT IS A GENERAL 'PHILOSOPHY' BEHIND THE BAND?
I am not sure if 'philosophy' is the right term... Perhaps the question is: why are we here? Why do we do what we do?

Well... We are all here to contribute to each other's wellbeing and spiritual growth. The particular purpose for the existence of the WHITE RABBIT CULT is to put the values where they belong. We live in an age in which all our idols, or 'role models' -- if you will -- are 'villains', the 'bad guys'. What happened to the 'good guys', or have they all been labeled 'losers' nowadays...? And in an age in which presidents and priests lie under oath and murderers are heroes it is

very easy to get confused. Before you know it, you are all mixed up, but so is everybody else, so it's OK, you think.
Our current mission to put the music back on its feet. You see, a rock concert is nothing more than a modern-day ritual where people come together to experience the (temporary) loss of ego, loss of personal identity. In a ritual, one experiences the sense of belonging, that oneness with the tribe, with the Universe. And we live in a strange world. Often, we find more connection with people who like the same bands, than with people in our families, isn't that right? Music has the power, music is sacred, music is something that should be treated with reverence and respect, while -- in turn -- MTV (being a perfect instrument of the oppressive government) is telling us that we should stay dumb and ignorant, that sex and money is all that matters, that being lost and confused is cool, etc... Thereby, only those bands that support this MTV philosophy can make it on TV these days.

They talk about the values that have no real impact on anyone any more: hot chicks in mini skirts and heavy make-ups, well-dressed-muscle-bulging guys in expensive cars. Pop(ular) music celebrates our weaknesses, such as greed, selfishness, stupidity... That's sad. Is "mo' money" all there is to it? I don't think so?  It wasn't always this way. Rock used to be music of the revolution, music of the rebellion. And it still is. It is just that the authorities have twisted it around (just like they did with religion) and made it seem like it is something which it is not. I remember when they were pushing "Green Day" on MTV. They said it was punk. Yeah, right! Anyone who's ever been into punk knows a fake when they see one. Green Day was just another pop band with a fake attitude. And MTV presented it as punk, while the real punk

values will never make it anywhere close to MTV.
The same happens when they portrait the 60's: the hippies look like bunch of dumb bunnies screwed up on some bad weed.

And that's where we come in. The music of the WHITE RABBIT CULT is not preconceived in such a way to make anyone rich or famous, or anything. When you are in a deep, transcendental state of consciousness, you tap into that ancient pool of Knowledge, and it surfaces as rhythm and sound, and the lyrics are also very spontaneous, (even though they come from a different energy center). We experiment a lot, we experiment on various levels: on deeper levels we experiment using different meditation techniques, yoga, breath control; while on the more superficial levels the Knowledge manifests itself as music in variety of sounds, styles, beats, etc... We combine different styles, different sounds, we use electronics -- we love computers -- together with dirty, distorted guitars.  So, we are into bringing people together, we are into establishing

unity on a deeper level. We bring out the Tribal Consciousness in you. We are the wake-up call. And the key word to unite all of us is 'LOVE'. And not the MTV kind of love -- which often spells 'lust' or 'sex' -- I mean the real love, that unconditional Love for the Universe and all the people, animals, trees, stones and everything else in it.
Also, there is a lot of talk on 'individuality' these days. Like 'be an individual and shop in our store' and crap like that. Individuality is very important. We are all equal, but we are not identical. Differences should also be celebrated, in a healthy way. You don't need to wear this or that in order to be an individual, you don't need to visit anybody's store to be respected as an individual. Be creative, wear what you like, do what you like. That's the only way to be an individual, be creative, be brave...
On an Arrested Development album, there's a song that goes like this:

YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A SHELL UNTIL YOU DECIDE TO REBEL...  and that's perfectly true, but you don't need to rebel against the government, or anything. First, you need to rebel against yourself, against your small self, and see who you really are, open up your Big Self, your Higher Power, and see your Self like you never did before... Don't be afraid, it is fun...!!!  Well, so much for the WHITE RABBIT CULT 'philosophy'. Let's move on to the next question...  WHEN AND HOW WAS THE WHITE RABBIT CULT FORMED?  It is hard to tell. In the past I have worked with different masters, and I've had a chance to go through several of my former

incarnations, and I know this is not the first time that the members of W.'.R.'.C.'. are working together. In a former lifetime we all took part in a rebellion against the church oppression in Italy organized jointly by the military and the monks... Many of us were caught and executed. (Unfortunately, I did not 'see' the mode of execution...)
So, this is not the first incarnation of this clan, either... Perhaps, we've never used this exact name before. For centuries we had to hide identities, because of the church and the authorities, and then -- again -- in this century because of Communism, etc..., but as of lately we came to realize that the World might be ready for us the way we are, so we decided to come out in the 'open' and just do our thing.

HOW LONG DID YOU WORK ON THE ALBUM?
I started writing some of the tracks in Logic Audio at the White Rabbit Sound Studio back in the fall of 1998... So, I guess -- with interruptions, and everything -- over a year, actually...

WHAT EQUIPMENT DID YOU USE FOR RECORDINGS?  The whole thing was recorded on MacIntosh technology using Logic Audio software. Everything was digital. Not a single tape was used in the recording process.  We also used Jackson guitars, Fender strats and Martin acoustics, Mesa-Boogie amps, Rhode microphones, and numerous processors, keyboards, basses, samples, samples, samples, and more samples...  W.'.R.'.C.'. SONGS HAVE A FAIRLY DISTINCT STYLE, YET THEY  ARE QUITE DIFFERENT. WAS THAT DIVERSITY DELIBERATE?  Everything we do is part deliberate, and part fate. (Even those

who claim everything is fate, it is their own conscious decision to think like that, isn't it? And those who say everything is deliberate, it is their fate for them to think so, right?) The same is the case with the WHITE RABBIT CULT, too. You see, when I started writing music for this CD, back in 1998, my original intent was to make a collection of spiritual love songs. That was my intention, however fate had it its own way.
So, we decided to let things happen. We kept our ears open and we simply facilitated the birth of the songs. We watched them grow. It was fascinating. We never knew in advance which direction particular tracks were going to take. Originally, we were going to record just a demo CD, with no more than three or four songs, but the CD just kept on growing and growing...
And the diversity in style reflects our own diversity of interests and understanding. So many CD's are boring these days. You listen to a couple of tracks, sounds good, but then they play those same songs in different forms for the rest of the CD. And then they come up with the next CD, and it is exactly the same like the one before. "Rules of the genre!', they say... Does all metal need to sound the same, does all punk need to be "One-two-three-fuck-you!" I hope not. If you're into punk, or anything else, be original. You don't need to imitate what other people are doing. Just be yourself and you'll do fine.

That's why I have a lot of respect for people like David Bowie, for instance, you never knew what his next CD was gonna be like. It takes a brave man to be able to do that.  It was hard for us to stick to a particular style, to a particular tradition. We just put everything in the mix and this is what came out.  The 'danger' part is deliberate to a certain extent. Good rock is always 'dangerous' (to the authorities). As a matter of fact, when rock loses that 'danger' element, it becomes pop, doesn't it? Elvis and Chuck Berry were considered dangerous at one point, remember? The authorities were concerned over a growing number of white kids listening to 'black' music. That was dangerous then. Then, the Beatles were dangerous in the 60's. I can't remember what it was that made them 'dangerous', but there was a lot of commotion over them at that time. Must be

because they had 'long' hair, or something. Then, the Stones were dangerous. They did drugs openly and engaged in sex orgies, they said... Punk was dangerous in the Communist countries in the 80's. It was a reflection of the very beginning of huge social changes taking root...
And so on... And all those people did was, they were honest with themselves, they were in touch with the times, and they weren't afraid to come out with it. And (if you ask the authorities) -- hey! -- that's dangerous.

THERE HAVE BEEN RUMORS ABOUT YOUR INCLINATIONS
TOWARD SERBIAN NATIONALISM. WOULD YOU CARE TO COMMENT
ON THAT?
Yeah. We've been getting a lot of that lately. Normally, the WHITE RABBIT CULT does not take sides with nor against anyone. However, in the case of the NATO assault against Serbia

in 1999, the WHITE RABBIT CULT did choose to stand up for the Serbian people who got caught up in between bad politics of the governments of the NATO countries as well as their own government. (In fact, it seemed like it was a personal war between Madeleine Albright and Slobodan Milosevic.) And it was the Serbian people who paid the bill, and they paid with their lives, and with the lives of their children and future generations who will suffer because of the environmental damage done to their country due to three months of continuous bombing of civilian targets, using cluster bombs, forbidden by international conventions...

You may find more detailed explanations on this subject by going to the
White Rabbit Temple at http://whiterabbitcult.com/ and visiting the 'Library'.

IS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN 'WHITE RABBIT BAND' AND THE 'WHITE RABBIT CULT'?
Yeah. Like I said before, for a long while we did not feel safe with being very open with coming out who we really are, so we appeared like we were just a band, nothing else. However, a few years ago, the cycles had changed, so we felt it was time to unveil more, to go to the next level, so to speak.

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH HIDING YOUR IDENTITIES? WILL WE EVER BE TOLD WHO IS IN THE BAND?
Hm... Hiding identities, huh...? That's a tough one. I don't think we are 'hiding identities', and -- if we are -- I don't think we are doing it for the sake of 'hiding identities'. It is just that these days there is so much emphasis on trivial things, the unimportant shit. Like, in every single interview we get asked for our bios and pictures.

Every time we send a CD to a magazine for review purposes, they ask for bios and pictures. I mean, Jesus, don't they get it? That's one of the reasons why I don't work in a corporate world: I don't want to deal with resumes, bios, and all that shit. And now they expect us to do the same... Forget it!  That's why we came up with this policy that says "No personal information about any of the W.'.R.'.C.'. members will be distributed." The same goes for pictures, too. I mean, do you really care to find out where I was born and who I played with? It is our work that matters, and if that's not good enough for them, tough luck.  I am also sick and tired of seeing pictures of musicians either holding their instruments, or posing like they are the sexiest guys in the Universe. Give me a break. For the CD we chose the picture of a church burning. That picture has a lot more meaning than a picture of me looking 'mean' in front of a microphone, or shit like that...

 
ARE THERE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES AND DO YOU THINK IT'S POSSIBLE TO PLAY MATERIAL FROM THE ALBUM ALIVE?
Yes. Yes. Yes. We are working on it as we speak. It is not easy to play all the CD tracks live, but not impossible, either. I am telling you, 'AnandaShiva' and 'AnandaShiva Extention' sound awesome. They are somewhat different than the CD version, but totally cool. We rearranged the trumpet samples on 'Heart Like a Hammer', so it sounds totally wild now.
Another challenge is the visual aspect of our work. But, we are working on that end, too...

HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON A NEW MATERIAL YET?
Yup. Several new songs will be included in the live material. It is important for us to promote the CD, but we don't want to be stuck with it for the rest of our lives. As I said, we just facilitate the music to happen. We try to interfere as little as possible. And new tracks do happen.

WHAT FUTURE DO YOU SEE FOR W.'.R.'.C.'.?  Well, these days, the Wheel of Fortune is still spinning so fast, that it is unwise to give any definite projections of the future. It is practically impossible to make any reasonable plans, and stick with them. I can only talk about the immediate future for the W.'.R.'.C.'. and the immediate future is to keep pushing forward. Strange things are happening. The CD is being played on the radio stations across the United States and Canada, 'AnandaShiva Extention' is Numero Uno on Radio 3 in Madrid, Spain. Personally, I look forward to live gigs, to real interaction with the audience. Eventually, the WHITE RABBIT CULT is going to evolve into a new religion for the new millennium, but --

ooouuuupsssss!!! -- I am jumping ahead of the script here. We'll talk more later, OK?
In the meanwhile check with the White Rabbit Temple at http://whiterabbitcult.com every once in a while for new textual contributions and new information on the WHITE RABBIT CULT.
Thanks for the interview.
Peace.

For a review of "...and the Gods made wars" CD check the New Reviews section!