On the Road with Chatham Rabbits

- [Narrator] "On The Road" is a production of PBS North Carolina, in association with Come Hear NC, a program of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

[crowd speaks faintly] [tranquil music] [crowd cheers] [gentle music] When I see a car in East Virginia - The amount of time we're on stage probably only accounts for like 2% of what we do as musicians.

- About whether it's the right time for us to get a booking agent.

- Big deal.

- This is the career changing deal right here.

Laying in the field [audience applauding] - [Announcer] Once again let's hear it for Chatham Rabbits, ladies and gentlemen, yeah.

[mellow music] - [Sarah] Austin and I have a goal to play all 100 counties in North Carolina.

- I just got an alert on my phone that said that it was an emergency flash flood warning.

Sarah and I are stepping into the role of band leader for the first time.

- People think we are out of our little rabbit noggins for having a farm and also being full-time musicians.

She's gonna get your bumper.

Aah, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[cow moos] [gentle music] We're Sarah and Austin, and together we're Chatham Rabbits.

A few years ago, we quit our nine to five jobs to become full-time musicians.

'Cause Roosevelt told me That I could get a job with - Y'all that was- - That was just the warmup.

- [Sarah] Just the soundcheck.

We've recorded multiple full length albums, and we play over 150 shows each year.

Oh, and we happen to own a farm.

- [Austin] Nice, got some eggs.

- Breakfast time.

We are going to take you on the road with us for all of it; the good, the bad, and the incredible people we meet along the way.

- Oh, no.

Sarah, give them their baby back.

- Okay.

[wind chime ringing] We're here at our farm in Chatham County, North Carolina.

It's such a special place to us because when we bought it a few years ago it was pretty much in disrepair but we've worked really hard to bring it back to life.

- We have 11 acres and it's pretty much all pasture and it's the perfect sanctuary for all different types of grazing animals.

[cow moos] [gentle music] - Look how handsome he is.

I got some sleep in my eyes.

I think people think we are out of our little rabbit noggins for having a farm and also being full-time musicians.

Oh, here's a chicken right now.

- Oh my gosh.

That's Beemer.

- This is just all part of the experience.

- [Austin] It's like a little zoo here.

- We have a lot of animals.

We weren't really super intentional about any of them.

They've all just kind of ended up here.

What are you doing?

- Oh, nothing.

- Okay.

Well maybe some of them were kind of intentional in the back of my mind a little bit, but we started with Ruby, our hound dog, Biscuit, who is our 18 pound cat, Cersei, Nugget, this cute little golden calf, Petunia, Puff, Legs, Beemer, Wayland, Wilder, and then we have WoJo.

- We're the retirement home for a lot of these farm animals.

All of our horses are old and we ride them, we love saddling 'em up and going for a ride.

We have to get 'em really warmed up with just some easy walking before we can take 'em but- - Yeah.

Wayland, don't get left behind.

- Songwriting.

I mean, when you boil all this down about our lives as musicians and the farm and all these things, at the end of the day songwriting is probably the most important thing.

Without the songs we have nothing.

- [Sarah] Okay.

[gentle music] Yeah, I'm seeing stuff in here that I remember from when you performed it the first time that I was like, "Let's massage that."

- [Austin] Yeah, I think the bones of it are really good.

- [Sarah] Yeah.

- Okay, here we go.

- One, two, three, four.

Something that people ask us a lot about, they always say, "Do you write the lyrics first or do you write the melody?"

A lot of times it just kind of happens all together and it's like this free flowing thing that we're figuring out as we go.

Now I sit Looking through the panes Thinking about What has changed We can go to outer space But in many ways, we're still the same - Yeah, it's not like making a sandwich.

- Right.

- Like it's like- - Right.

- Yeah.

- It's more of like a smoothie situation.

It's like dump and blend.

- Dump and blend, she says.

Sharing a song with somebody is extremely vulnerable the first time, because you don't know what people are gonna think about it.

You write it from your heart, you are convicted about the song and you feel like it's this creative thing that you've birthed.

Ourselves to everyone else Treating our neighbor like the opponent - [Austin] Oops.

- Oh, well.

It's hard when you really think you've got something interesting or cool, or like you've worked really hard on something and then you bring it to the table and you're like, "Okay, what did you think?"

And he's just not picking up what I'm putting down, you know?

And that is really, really hard to do.

All those years ago - Something like that?

- Yeah.

We just need to...

There needs to be something- - That's the weak verse.

But if we can fix that verse we're onto something.

- I think... Yeah.

I also think, but I'm not wild about, "I like that we can go to outer space but in many ways we're still the same."

I think that's like a cop out line.

Like I think we can do better there too.

There's so many more parts to playing music for a living that people I just don't think really understand.

The amount of time we're on stage probably only accounts for like 2% of what we do.

So tonight we are going back to our former hometown of Bynum, North Carolina to play a concert at Bynum Front Porch.

We used to live in this really, really cute little mill town in Chatham County called Bynum and lived there for four years?

- [Austin] Four years, yeah.

- And that's where we started Chatham Rabbits, and it's just a really cool artistic community that was just like fueling our music as we were getting started.

It just holds a super special place in our heart.

It is really weird to see our house with someone else living in it.

- Yeah.

- There's just a lot happened here, in four years.

- I remember sitting at the table and making the decision to play music for a living.

We quit our day jobs three and a half years ago now and we hit the road.

It has been quite a journey.

- Woo, it's been a doozy.

We've learned so much.

We've met so many interesting characters out there on the road.

- Hi, girl.

- Hi.

I love when you said, "Chatham Rabbits."

- That's my news.

That's gonna be a t-shirt.

- So many like pockets of friends across the country.

It's just been a completely wild ride.

[upbeat music] Wedding dress was blue And we married in the home - I will get out the way and give you Sarah and Austin, our Chatham Rabbits.

[audience applauding] - We have been working really hard to get people to stop saying The Chatham Rabbits.

But, no one's ever said our Chatham Rabbits.

That was really special.

- That was special.

- [Austin] That's better than just plan Chatham Rabbits.

- That made me feel all the feels.

We started our band right here, like through the woods right there, where we used to live.

And this stage right here, and inside the general store, were our very first shows.

And so it is really wonderful that we're able to be back here tonight.

[upbeat music] Driving in your car in the summer days We write our names in the windows of the fog we made Down Highway 62 with those cotton candy skies It all came crashing down with those two little lines A baby at 15 and I was anything but grown My wedding dress was blue and we married in the home Family, that I tried to please While the call of my youth was tugging at my sleeve 'Cause time is turning soon Old houses burning And I'll be old and blue I'll be old and blue And I'll be old and blue And I'll be old and blue [audience applauding] - Thank you.

Thank you so much.

- Sarah and I met, or I guess we didn't meet, but I saw Sarah the first time at Cat's Cradle.

I was going to a Mandolin Orange show, Sarah's band, The South Carolina Broadcasters, were opening for them and I had never heard of them before.

And so when she walked out on stage with her banjo was the first time I ever saw her.

I was there with my roommate, Harrison.

Aww, there's our boys.

- Hey, boys.

- They know what's about to happen.

What are these big, scary things?

That's a good boy.

- Hey, Wilder Wilder does not like to be caught, but we're gonna be a good boy today.

It's amazing, the one decision... Like you didn't have to come to that show, you didn't have to come early enough to watch the opening band.

- I almost didn't come to the show.

- Right?

- I mean, imagine if you had not gone.

I mean, we would not have met.

We didn't have any mutual friends.

- Yeah, we literally would not be sitting here.

That's a good boy.

My boy right here.

- [Sarah] You always wanna brush your horses before you ride so you don't put a saddle on top of a thorn, or a dust clump.

- I can always tell when the seasons are changing by how thick the horses' coat gets.

- [Sarah] Hey, that's actually a great song lyric.

- I was very intimidated to go on our first date together because I was like, last time I saw her, she was on stage and she's this really cool, banjo playing- - She's so put together, and polished.

- Oh, yeah.

- I remember walking up and you were like this.

- Yeah, I was really nervous.

So she parks her car and gets out and she looks at me and goes.

- Boo.

- And I was like, "Wow, this girl's silly."

And we just are both weird and it worked.

I don't know.

- Horses are so resilient and trusting, they just want to be loved.

They're like...

They just, they wanna be appreciated and they wanna have a job.

[gentle music] - [Austin] Good boy.

- It's okay.

Like talk about creativity and peace, it is my greatest joy to spend quiet time with the animals.

- He's a good one.

I love my Wayland.

- He's my best boy.

[gentle music continues] Chick, chick, chick.

- [Austin] Chick, chick, chick, chick, chick.

- One night, I guess about a year ago, I got pretty tipsy and I ended up ordering a chicken diaper online, so the chicken could come in the house.

- I was out of town.

- That was the worst 17.99 I've ever spent.

It did not work.

[upbeat music] - Acoustic banjo, mandolin.

For the first time in a long time we are gonna be traveling with more than just me and old Sarah over here.

- I know.

- And we're gonna bring our full band.

- Dude, beautiful.

- This is so exciting.

- Dylan!

This is happening!

I'm so excited.

I know!

Gabe!

Hey, how are you?

We have a big show tonight in Sanford, North Carolina, and then tomorrow we are playing MerleFest for the very first time.

- For those of y'all who don't know too, MerleFest is a big deal in North Carolina.

It's a festival that honors Merle Watson, which was Doc Watson's son.

For roots musicians like us it's just awesome to have that opportunity.

[gentle music] - Okay.

- All right.

- Alex is coming, but his address also took him to the wrong place today.

- Dylan, this is his first round with us.

So let's give him plenty of feedback if we need something.

- Is that fun?

- Open with this one and can we just hang on this riff for a while until I step up?

- Yep.

- Let's try that.

First full dress rehearsal with everybody.

This is awesome.

We got pizza coming.

- Pizza's here.

Spencer picked it up.

- Oh, thanks, Spencer.

- Pizza?

Thanks, Pizza.

- Thanks, Pizza.

Pizza!

- It's gonna stick.

- Pizza?

- Okay, cool.

So we have a set list for everybody but we're gonna start things with "Oxen."

I think we should just give it a try and see what happens.

One, two, three, four.

- Just make it obvious when you step up.

[gentle music] - Going into MerleFest, one thing that could potentially strike my nerves is Sarah and I are stepping into the role of band leader for the first time.

It's easier in some ways when it's just the two of us as a married couple to kind of bicker back and forth.

But when we're responsible for other individuals it can definitely be a challenge.

I have a question, did we have the bass and the drums sneaking in too at the start?

- Yeah, then we do that stop and then- - Oh, okay.

Yeah, drop in's on the first verse, after like the first line.

Ride into the dusty town and find yourself a pair - Yeah.

Yeah.

Let's run it all the way again.

[gentle music] Ride into the dusty town and find yourself a pair Of oxen that will take you where I have called you to go on down the line If you tire take some fruit from the vine [upbeat music] - [Austin] You gotta look at Gabe- - I was just in my zone.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

Great job.

Sarah, the banjo sounds awesome.

- Yeah, it does.

It sounds really good.

- Also it was awesome the way that you move while you play it.

- Okay.

- It's very contagious and people are going to absolutely love it.

This whole game side of Sarah has really developed as well.

- It's... Alex, you really... You encouraging it and saying that it's a good thing is helpful.

[upbeat music] Okay, all right.

Pizza.

[upbeat music continues] [upbeat music] - All right, on three.

Saman is the band leader.

- [Sarah] Okay, ready?

One, two, three.

- [All] Saman is the band leader.

- [Sarah] Austin and I have a goal, to play all 100 counties in North Carolina.

And tonight we are checking off Lee County.

So this is exciting.

- Anybody seen us before?

The Rabbits have multiplied, ladies and gentlemen.

As they do.

Okay.

Sarah and I spent a lot of time during quarantine writing new material and we've never brought a ticket to an audience before with a full band.

So we're gonna try some of that new material on y'all, if that's cool?

If that's cool?

There we go, that's what I'm talking about.

Sarah and I typically do not write together, although people wanna think that we do.

It leads to a lot of arguments and...

But during COVID we really spent time in our relationship figuring out how to write together.

- We were forced to.

- That's right.

And so this next tune is one that we worked on together and truly co-wrote.

And it's just about how easy it is in relationships, after a while, to just stop doing the little things that made you want to be in that relationship in the first place.

And sometimes we gotta get off the high horse and just remember those little things.

That's what this tune's all about.

It's called, "If You See Me Riding By."

[gentle music] - [Sarah] Being with your spouse all the time and playing music full-time and like 24/7, it is really fun but it is the best thing and it is the hardest thing.

- [Austin] Yeah.

If you see me riding by On a horse 16 hands high Take me down, pull me aside And tell me to check my pride Don't you know that Jesus rode On a horse so low he drug his toes As long as the red river flows I will tie my horse and walk below - It's become more and more important for Austin and I to have separate... To be our own people.

Thanks, Ruby.

I'll give you a leg and lift you up Find balance in the stirrup - But I could not be in a full-time touring band if I wasn't doing it with you.

And I will hold the reins while you dismount You can see the riverbed It's clear now what lies ahead The trip is where we'll fix the hurt - Oh, I have to do something.

I have to do something, which is...

I wait, you know, about halfway through the set and I watch the audience and I try to find who is the most encouraging person.

Who has like the biggest smile and is making me feel good when I mess up?

And I found her, and it's you in the blue shirt.

Yes.

You look so happy and you look so pleasant.

- So happy that we got to see y'all.

I have been following y'all.

- Y'all were here early.

Don't you know that Jesus rode On a horse so low he drug his toes So long as the red river flows - Thanks so much for coming.

I will tie my horse and walk below - Thank you.

Austin, can you sign that real quick?

- I'd be happy to.

Yes I will tie my horse and walk below - Thank y'all so much.

- Thanks y'all, we're Chatham Rabbit.

[audience applauding] [audience cheering] Yay, that's kind of awesome.

Yay.

Yay.

[audience cheering] [audience applauding] Join us next time on the road as we head to the North Carolina mountains to play at MerleFest, one of the most iconic bluegrass festivals in the world.

My lips - [Austin] And find out what we've been up to for the last two years.

- And it was going great guns for them until the plague hit.

- Join me on a fly fishing adventure with Woody Platt from the Steep Canyon Rangers and catch Sarah's impromptu jam session by the river.

The weeping willow trees [gentle music] When I see a car in East Virginia I wanna know who's behind the wheel When I pass a cemetery I wanna know who's laying in the field I wanna meet you after the show There is so much that I wanna know Has your garden been good this year Does the word of God bring you fear Oh, I have changed so much This year Well I start to turn around The middle of the road Holding up someone from where they have to go I know my progress aint always clear I have changed so much this year When I see a car in East Virginia I wanna know who's behind the wheel - [Austin] Nice.