Bunny 12

• Track Listing

EE - The band that takes you down the rabbit hole... In 2012, according to the hype, all of humankind might be flushed down the crapper with apocalyptic fury or launch into some spiritual utopian love fest. And accompanying it all is Environmental Encroachment (EE) with their first full-length album "Bunny 12". As founder and band leader Mike Smith puts it, "If all the lights go out this year, who's gonna be playing your party? EE!!" This unplugged optimistic doomsday spirit pervades "Bunny 12" as the 18-member brass and drum band blast their way with rock-and-roll fervor through a mélange of Dixieland, Rock, Jazz, Latin, North African, and Caribbean hootenanny styles. With pure jubilee, the band sets the stage for "Bunny 12" with original EE songs like "Rock Anthem", turning a simple musical phrase into a howling, bombastic number that concludes with a nuclear explosion. It's this tongue-in-cheek attitude that pervades the rest of the album as the band bounces from New Orleans style numbers ("Mardi PartEE") to psychedelic tribal escapades ("Hashia"); drunkenly enlightened spirituals ("Just a Closer Walk with EE") to in-your-face rock punches ("National Anthrax", inspired by Radiohead's "National Anthem"). Also included are EE interpretations of songs by current American brass bands. The eleven tracks are a mashup of musical genres that celebrates American roots music with 21st Century gusto. The cover and CD artwork, designed by Chicago artist Rob Soller, features a contemporary spin on the ancient Mayan calendar, mixing 1,300 year-old runes with pop-culture symbols. Inside the packaging is an original interactive EE Ouija Board, designed by Kevin O'Rourke, that encroaches on the spiritual world and invites listeners to "Freak Out!" What began as guerrilla-style interactive installation art project in 1994 evolved into an outrageous bunny-ear-wearing marching band with colorful costumes and circus antics, retaining EE's initial goal - to encroach environments. "EE has always used surprise tactics," says Smith. "Spontaneously appearing, taking over an environment and involving the audience is our forte." In the early days EE hung a net and swing from the 18th Street Bridge of the Chicago River. As the installations and performances grew more elaborate, they began to incorporate street puppetry, African percussion and horns. Now, Environmental Encroachment is a roving marching band that performs nationwide.