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Grant Hutchison

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Grant Hutchison
Hutchison in 2007
Hutchison in 2007
Background information
Born (1984-06-13) 13 June 1984 (age 40)
Selkirk, Scotland
GenresIndie rock, indie folk
OccupationDrummer
Instrument(s)Drums, percussion, vocals
Years active2004–present
LabelsAtlantic, Fat Cat
Websitefrightenedrabbit.com

Grant Hutchison (born 13 June 1984) is a Scottish drummer and percussionist. He is best known as the drummer of the indie rock band Frightened Rabbit, with whom he recorded five studio albums. In 2022, Hutchison joined The Twilight Sad after a four-year hiatus from performing, following the death of his brother and bandmate, Scott Hutchison.

Frightened Rabbit began as a solo project for Grant's brother Scott, him joining in 2004. The duo recorded the band's debut album, Sing the Greys (2006). Hutchison performed on each of the band's releases, and contributed to the songwriting process of the band's fourth studio album, Pedestrian Verse (2013).

In 2018, the Hutchison brothers formed the supergroup Mastersystem with James and Justin Lockey, releasing a studio album, Dance Music (2018).

Early life

Hutchison was raised in Selkirk, Scotland with his older brothers Scott and Neil. Reflecting upon his mother's nickname for Scott, "Frightened Rabbit", which ultimately became the namesake of their future band, he stated: "I'd just get called 'The Bairn' on account of me being the youngest. There'd have been no way that I'd have ever been compared to a frightened rabbit when I was growing up – I was something more akin to Warner Brothers’ Tasmanian Devil. I was the polar opposite to Scott."[1]

Career with Frightened Rabbit

Main article: Frightened Rabbit

In 2004, Hutchison, now living in Glasgow, joined his brother Scott in Frightened Rabbit, rendering them a two-piece band. Describing his entry into the band, Grant stated, "Scott started playing solo shows supporting friends' bands in Glasgow with just an acoustic guitar. I was the only drummer he knew, so I got the job of being the second member of Frightened Rabbit. Basically, I joined to make the whole thing a little bit noisier!"[2] Grant and Scott subsequently recorded the band's 2006 debut album, Sing the Greys, with producer Marcus MacKay on his own label, Hits the Fan.

Regarding his aspirations during the band's early days, Hutchison noted: "When we first started, my measure of success was selling out King Tut's in Glasgow, and then being signed to Fat Cat and, more recently, getting the top ten album. Hopefully, I never get to the stage where I can say “We’ve arrived” because I would never want to settle with what we have achieved."[3]

The band's two subsequent studio albums, The Midnight Organ Fight (2008) and The Winter of Mixed Drinks (2010), expanded the band's fanbase significantly. The album's tracks stemmed from Scott's fully formed songs, with Grant describing the writing process as "Scott [starting] the whole process off by writing the songs himself on an acoustic guitar, and then I chip in with some drum ideas, and then we sort of figure it out from there."[2]

During the writing and recording process for the band's fourth studio album, Pedestrian Verse (2013), Scott Hutchison opened up the songwriting process to include Grant and the other members of the band. Grant stated: "The writing process was different. We were all involved from the beginning. So, I had a lot more input with this one, helping shape songs and taking them in different directions. It's great to be a part of that, to have a real impact on the songs. In the past, I’ve mostly just played drums along with fully formed songs. This time, I was playing along with very basic minimal tracks that Scott would lay down, and many times, it wouldn't even have a melody yet. So that was new for me. It was great."[4] The band's fifth studio album, Painting of a Panic Attack, was released in 2016.

In 2018, Hutchison played alongside Scott and brothers Justin and James Lockey on the sole album from the project Mastersystem.

Scott's death in May 2018 effectively brought Frightened Rabbit to an end as a working band.[5] However, Hutchison appeared behind the drums as a Frightened Rabbit member later that year: with fellow band member Billy Kennedy at the Belladrum Festival as part of a tribute by The Charlatans, and with the band featuring guest vocalists as part of the Glasgow charity event Sleep in the Park, in December 2018.[6][7]

Solo work

In 2013, Hutchison mentioned the possibility of working on his own material, stating: "I'm hoping to maybe get something started with some friends back in Glasgow when I get home. I've spoken to someone about that recently. I've got some songs I've been working on. I think it'd be nice to do something else, not because I don't like [playing in Frightened Rabbit]. I absolutely love it, but it'd be nice to have something else, too".[4]

In 2018, Hutchison appeared on Let's Be Wilderness, the second album by Postdata.[8] In 2019 he and fellow Frightened Rabbit member Simon Liddell accompanied Australian musician Gretta Ray on her UK dates.[9]

Personal life

Hutchison has praised his and Scott's parents for their support with Frightened Rabbit, noting: "I will always be eternally in debt to my parents for being so supportive when things weren't so rosy with the band. Whenever I need them, they are there, and they're just as important in the band's progress as Scott and myself."[2]

Regarding potential career options were he not a member of Frightened Rabbit, Hutchison had noted: "I have no qualifications to do anything else, so I'd probably be working in a cheese shop or trying to make my own cider. It's difficult to think about that because everything I have managed to do because of Frightened Rabbit has made me who I am now, and I can't really say where I would be without it."[3] Following the end of the band, in 2019, Hutchison launched a cider import and distribution company, Re:stalk. He and wife Jaye married in 2018 and have two daughters, born in 2020 and 2023. In 2021, the couple opened Aeble, a cider bottle shop in Anstruther.[10][11][12]

Hutchison is a supporter of the Cystinosis Foundation UK and was a trustee of the mental health charity Tiny Changes, set up by his family in 2019 following the death of his brother Scott.[4][13] He has participated in several charity sports events, including The Great Big Cycle (2014) and the Great Scottish Run half-marathon in Glasgow (2018).[14][15]

Discography

Main article: Frightened Rabbit discography

with Frightened Rabbit

with Mastersystem

  • Dance Music (2018)

References

  1. ^ "[INTERVIEW] Grant Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit". cheeseontoast.co.nz. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Interview: Frightened Rabbit". drunkenwerewolf.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b Kate Scantleton. "Interview: Grant Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit". newsunlimited.com.au/. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Ryan Dembinsky (11 April 2013). "HT Interview: Grant Hutchison – Frightened Rabbit". glidemagazine.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  5. ^ Andrew Trendell (10 July 2019). ""We'll always miss him" – Frightened Rabbit, their closest friends and collaborators celebrate the beauty of Scott Hutchison". NME.
  6. ^ David Knox (4 August 2018). "Charlatans lead tribute to Selkirk singer at Belladrum". Border Telegraph.
  7. ^ "Frightened Rabbit star nervous over Sleep in the Park reunion". The Scotsman. 8 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Wintersleep's Paul Murphy Plots New Postdata LP, Premieres "Evil" and "Black Cloud"". Exclaim!. 26 March 2018.
  9. ^ Ryan Leas (9 July 2019). "Grant Hutchison On The Frightened Rabbit Tribute Compilation Tiny Changes". Stereogum.
  10. ^ Carla Jenkins (29 October 2019). "Frightened Rabbit's Grant Hutchison on life-changing loss of brother Scott and new cider future". Glasgow Times.
  11. ^ Sean Murphy (29 April 2021). "Frightened Rabbit drummer Grant Hutchison opens Scotland's first cider shop". Daily Record.
  12. ^ Ian Forsyth (6 August 2023). "Meet the East Neuk couple behind Scotland's first cider bottle shop". The Courier.
  13. ^ Trustee Blog #4 – Grant
  14. ^ Amanda Keenan (23 May 2014). "Frightened Rabbit singer Grant Hutchison insists he's in no hurry to get back on bike after exhausting charity cycle". Daily Record.
  15. ^ "Frightened Rabbit singer's brother joins Great Scottish Run in his memory". BBC. 28 September 2018.
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