If you regularly attend EDM events in Seattle, you’ve probably heard of White Rabbit Group, “An EDM experience company specializing in nightclubs, concerts, and festivals in California and Washington.” Almost four years ago we spoke with them as they were just getting started in the Seattle electronic scene. Recently, we had the chance to interview White Rabbit Group once again.
We spoke with Mr. Rabbit, an anonymous member of WRG, to catch up on their latest endeavors and hear what they have in store for the future.
Credit: @slaterhirst
DMNW: Mr. Rabbit, what are some changes that White Rabbit Group has made since we last spoke?
I think before, we were just focusing on our plans for the future. We were just beginning to bring events to Seattle and it was basically all hard work and dreaming. We took our experiences from Southern California and then saw how we can bring them into Seattle and find a good space for us. Now we’re actually getting to enjoy the fruits of our labor with two weekly nightclub shows and getting to play in larger event spaces and be more creative and have more color to paint with on a larger canvas.
What was one of the biggest challenges for White Rabbit over the last few years?
Well, the pandemic hit us pretty hard. It took a while to get our footing after that all happened. It was really a tough year to have no work and [have] to rebuild. But I think we’ve been rewarded since all of that and now it’s just getting fun again.
How do you feel like WRG’s attitude about putting on shows has changed over time? Has it been consistent?
I think we’ve been consistent. We’ve always just wanted to raise the bar for ourselves and surprise guests with cool shows, cool lineups, and cool productions. We don’t ever want to be in a place where we get comfortable and feel like we’re resting on our laurels. We always want to push the boundaries and see what we can do and where we can innovate.
You now have multiple weekly shows across Seattle and have recently expanded to some larger places. Can we expect even more branching out from you in the near future?
Definitely! We want to be able to entertain as many people as we can. As the audience grows, the more they push us forward and give us more motivation towards putting on bigger and better shows. The larger we get, the more creative we can be. We’re from Orange County originally, and we were there for nine years before we came up to Seattle. Now we’re going back to our old stomping grounds with some shows at the Yost. It’s great to be expanding back there as well.
Credit: @slaterhirst
This will be your third year of working with Bass Canyon, one of the biggest electronic festivals in Washington. What differences are there between working with festivals versus local nightclubs?
There is a big difference between working with a festival and working with local nightclubs or parks. The fact that Bass Canyon sees the value in something like a local stage is huge for us. It’s an opportunity for us to work with Excision’s team and create an avenue for local talent.
It’s nice that with festivals we don’t have to worry about selling tickets and we just get to put on a show for tens of thousands of excited fans. The curation process for finding artists for Bass Canyon is so fun too. Getting to hear so much new music being sent to us and sorting through all of it is really cool.
Earlier, you mentioned the value of a festival promoting smaller talent with a local focus. Can you elaborate on that?
Well, this year’s locals are next year’s headliners. Many times in White Rabbits’ career, people play our events whether in a side room or at our local stage at Bass Canyon, and end up blowing up in popularity. It’s really cool professionally to be part of that journey for artists as well as the fans and the community as a whole.
It’s so important to have those platforms and spotlights. We’re just happy to be a part of that. The fun part about being a little indie company like White Rabbit is a lot of what we do is in service to the music scene. [We want to] make sure there’s a good scene in the future by investing in these artists and giving them a chance while working with larger companies to make sure they’ve got these platforms to use.
It seems like White Rabbit has set up a pretty good pathway of access for new and upcoming DJs to propel them into a big career.
Oh yeah. Artists go from playing in a side room at a club to somewhere on the main stage lineup. Then from there, they can play on the main stage lineup or be direct support for a headliner and get opportunities on the larger shows that produce.
Recently we had Ferrari, which is a combination of the local artists Faraday and Rory opening up for our Tchami show at Magnuson Park. Everyone’s got a shot to play. You just have to bring people in and play good music and be cool to work with. When opportunities arise, we’re always happy to hand them out and work with new people.
Credit: @slaterhirst
What motivated you to feel so strongly about supporting and promoting local artists?
I’ve been in the industry since I was 19 years old, and I have had some good experiences with club owners and promotion groups, but also some horrific ones. When we started White Rabbit, it was important to have a company that was honest and good to work with.
So, we do our best in that practice. It would be a bummer to have the next big talent get discouraged because they had a bad business experience that could even lead them to stop making music. Our promoters, event producers, and whole team just want to be solid business partners for all these people while selling out shows.
Has there been a key to success in growing WRG into the company that it is today?
That’s tricky. I don’t think there is a silver bullet for that, especially in something that’s got as many variables as music and events. I think as long as you’re trying new things and learning from experiences you’ll be one step closer to where you want to be. But if you quit, that is a 100% guarantee of failure.
I can’t really give people a great road map to success, but I definitely know how you fail, and that’s by quitting. [Whether it’s] by externalizing why things go wrong (like the weather), or getting screwed over on something. I’ve been screwed over a lot of times, but you have to get back up and work a new deal with a new venue or find new people to work with. You have to persevere.
We live in a place where the weather is a factor and not only that, but there are competing and larger companies, and it all affects what we have going on. You have to take care of people, and take care of yourself by taking care of your reputation. [It’s important] to think long-term when it comes to your relationship with artists, labels, venues, and with everybody.
You don’t want to be the company that people feel like they have to work with only because you’re powerful. That’s not how we want White Rabbit to be. We’re super lucky that everyone on the WRG staff is so committed and amazing to work with.
Do you have any big things going on in the future you would like to talk about?
Yes! We’ve got a show on July 1st with Bear Grillz. It’s the first really thematic party we’ve thrown called Circus Electronica. It’s got a great lineup and we are going to be doing some really fun stuff with it. Like I was saying before, we want to be imaginative and creative. This one’s at Magnuson Park at Hangar 30 and we’re definitely investing a lot into the creative aspects. We’re all really excited for people to see it.
Credit: @slaterhirst
Check out White Rabbit Group for more
White Rabbit Group has persevered through its past challenges and made huge strides. Since they came to the PNW from Southern California four years ago they’ve become one of the premier production and promotion groups in Seattle. We’re looking forward to another interview with the White Rabbit Group team in another four years to see where they go from here.
To see their future shows, contact info, or employment opportunities, you can follow along on the WRG website.
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
