Dermot and Kieran Mulroney might be most notable for their movie/TV careers — Dermot for roles in “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and more recently “Chicago Fire” and “The Hunting Wives,” and Kieran for “Gettysburg” and as writer of “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”
Yet the brothers could barely tamp down their excitement about their new musical project, Jackrabbit, and their national tour. This group seems a far cry from the explosive feuds (both physical and verbal) of other brother acts like Oasis. They were so enthusiastic, they were even trying to help craft a headline, even if it stretches the truth just a bit, for their June 9 show at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Warrendale.
“I guess the headline is: Come out to Jergel’s and see if we brawl,” Kieran joked. “That’s the pitch.”
Formed in 2024, the California band is more likely to inspire dancing than brawling with its blend of country rock, Americana and folk music.
“Well, because Kieran knows how eager I am as a person, and he’s known how little impulse control I’ve had his whole life, yes, I’m going to jump right in and say we’re bringing a hell of a show to town,” said Dermot, who thought his last time in Pittsburgh came in a role in John Singleton’s “Abduction” movie. “We are a real roots country act, where we come and we rattle the rafters a little bit, and people can’t help themselves and start country dancing in front of us. We love venues where people are right up with us. It’s a super hands-on type of experience, and you get to hear a great act where we’re a duo, front stage, harmony, country singers, old style.”
In a Zoom call from California before the tour started, Dermot and Kieran Mulroney spoke with TribLive about the band’s origins, acting vs. music, Kieran’s memorable “Seinfeld” guest spot and more. Find a transcript of the conversation, edited for clarity and length, below.
How would you describe the sound of the band for those who haven’t heard you before?
Kieran: It’s a little bit of a combination of things. All of our influences are our roots, country — it’s what we grew up on, but it pulls from the stuff from the ‘90s and 2000s. I always point out that there’s some early R.E.M. sounds in it that are super inspirational to me. But its heart really is in Everly Brothers world, going back to the ‘50s and ‘60s, what was then country pop music, storytelling songs, it’s “My Baby Done Me Wrong,” it’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” it’s drinking songs. It’s all that stuff that you expect from the country genre, but we’ve got a little bit of a twist on it.
Our guitar sound from our lead guitarist is not Nashville. It’s more rock ‘n’ roll than that. It’s kind of his own signature sound, which is such a great element in this. So the lyrics and the songs are bopping along in a sort of a traditional country sense, and then the guitarists come in and take it into a different sonic place. But we like people to be happy when we play, and we hope that we’re playing music that’ll make you smile. I would say the biggest compliment is when you get people to come up after you and say, what was that cover song you played? And we’re like, no, that’s actually our song. And it’s sort of something you feel like you maybe heard before, where the references are right on the sleeve.
As far as I could see, the band has only released four songs out there. What’s going to be on the plate here for these shows?
Kieran: We’ve got a full 90 minutes or so of music coming at you. We’ve got four brand new songs that we’re just doing final mixes on. There should be new music out by the time we get to you. And it might be four, it might be one, it might be two, but we got new stuff coming to you. Great songs. Again, if you like the ones that are out already, you’re gonna love these. But we’re originals. We do a couple of covers, some stuff you’ll recognize. You got to come in with an open heart and listen along and discover our music for yourselves. But we got new stuff coming anytime now. We’re really proud of it and really pleased to be getting some more music out in front of everybody.
Why was now the right time to do Jackrabbit?
Dermot: Kieran came to me with this as a fully formed idea. He’d already written four or five songs. I said it before, but he called me to the tennis net and said, OK,, this is how we’re going to do it now: country suits and hats and singing music that we’ve known our whole lives. He’s just pumped out song after song since then. So it’s been an amazing process. There’s almost no stopping this. Like I said, he saw the whole thing. It’s been great to be kind of on assignment. I mean, he’s not my teacher or my coach or my guitar guide. He’s my brother. It’s so fun to follow him in that way. That’s just the nature of this band. So I guess I lost my track to say that, other than it’s two singers together who’ve been together their whole lives. Come have a listen. It’s kind of a phenomenon, to be honest with you.
Kieran: And I’ll add to that, too, with a little bit of the history that may come in handy. Dermot and I have played in a bunch of bands together since we moved to L.A. and became adults. We were on Interscope Records with a band called The Low and Sweet Orchestra. We had a band after that called Cranky George that ran on the West Coast for quite a bit. The music that we played with those bands is sort of complicated in a way, especially Cranky George. We played a lot of minor key songs. We played a lot of Eastern European-influenced stuff, sea shanties, Irishy, like folky but loud, all that stuff.
And all right, I’m going to tell you the full story. I had somebody come up to me after a Cranky George show one time, and they were like, that was so amazing. The songs are incredible. You guys play a five-part harmony, multi-instrumentalist, all this stuff going on. And she paused and she looked at me with a big smile on her face, and she said, ‘You guys make it look so hard,’ like that was a good thing. And there was the moment where I was like, Oh my God, we’re doing this all wrong. We don’t want it to look like it’s hard.
Jackrabbit was a little bit of a response to that where we want it to be easy. We want it to be songs that are everything’s in a major key. They’ve all got the beats that you can tap your foot to or dance if you want to. So we made a sort of commitment to try and write and play songs out on the road that make people smile. And most of these, we hope, do. So you walk out having had a good time instead of having had to suffer through some dark periods of your soul. (laughs)
Like “Bastard Out of Carolina,” when I listened to that, that’s a good foot tapper there.
Kieran: Yeah, and it’s got a little bit of humor behind it, and hopefully, again, the goal is to spread some joy in times that are a little bit more complex than maybe we want them.
Dermot: We usually put that song near the front of our set or even open with it, and it blows the roof off. It’s such a fun bar song to open a set with. People are instantly aboard. It’s such a great moment when we’re part of the way through that song in particular, it really brings the set to a level that’s so fun to be a part of.
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For this project, does acting have to go on the back burner for a little bit? I know you guys are on the road for two or three weeks.
Dermot: It’s the first time in 40 years of being an actor with an agent — I’m so blessed to have all the opportunities I’ve had — and yeah, it’s the first time I ever called my agent and said, block out no acting jobs for three weeks in May and June. And it’s all held, which means I haven’t gotten a really good job.
Both: (laugh)
Dermot: So I can go on the road and do what I love. Either way, the cookie just crumbled the right way this time. Believe me, Kieran knows as a family member, our parents all rolled with changing schedules in a way that showed how much they were committed and supported my career path and all it took to raise a family while I’m chasing around jobs. So the fact that this worked this way is really deep for me and that the schedule is clear and I can go out and relax and let the bus driver drive and just bring music and share time with my brother and this great group of guys that we play with. We have a purpose for ourselves to do it. But as Kieran said, we just want to bring joyful music to people. It’s great country music. These venues we’re playing are great country venues. People are there just waiting for songs like this.
What do you find to be the biggest differences between what you get out of acting versus what you get out of performing music?
Dermot: Well, there’s just nothing like being on stage playing, trying to remember the song, singing your best is really important for us. It’s truly a song-singing, performance-based band. It’s a nail biter, it’s a heart thumper, it’s an adrenaline shot that you can’t find. There are certain scenes in films where you know you’ve been anticipating it for weeks. It’s a difficult scene. It’s either emotional or there’s some stunt thing or something physical where you had to prepare to whatever, kickbox or something. Thank God I never had to prepare to kickbox. Boxing, yeah, but not kickboxing. Anyway, that can have moments of it fleeting, but it’s a guarantee every time you’re playing slamming country music in front of people, it’s such a trip to the moon. It’s incredible.
Kieran: It’s a one-take job, too, baby. You get one shot at it.
Dermot: Yeah. (laughs) And I told you, maybe it’s a mistake, but we have high standards. So when we mess up, it means something. Where literally it’s true, Kieran, like it’s true in a scene, even if it’s an intense scene, if you flub something, you blow through it like you have to in a song. But you know you can either fix it or they’ll cut to her side of the scene and they won’t use your part or something. There’s always an out. There’s always a little pressure release valve. With this, no such thing.
Kieran: Like every brother band, you should tell your people that like the Gallaghers (brothers Noah and Liam of Oasis), if Dermot (messes) up, there’s a chance it could go. You know, we could go. I mean, there’s a chance. It hasn’t happened yet, but I’ve been holding a lot of anger for 50-plus years here.
Dermont: He could.
Kieran: And if he messes up on stage in front of the good people at Jergel’s, I might just (expletive) take him out. Fair warning, bro.
Dermot: Hey, it’s true. You’re gonna want to be there.
Kieran: (laughs)
Dermot: The other night at rehearsal, we had kind of a reverse moment like this. Absolutely unique and rare experience: Kieran jumped to the wrong part of the song.
Kieran: Yeah, I did.
Dermot: The band came to a halt. Everything stopped. In fact, nobody could believe what was happening. There was a silence in the room. Anyway, you get my point. He’s just got them in his system, and we have such a good time pulling these songs off.
That’s a good one. I just have one last question, and that’s for you, Kieran. Did you have any idea with your guest spot on “Seinfeld” that it would resonate so well and this long, the whole double-dipping thing.
Kieran: It’s like the most impactful 90 seconds of my life. I mean, if you look at that bit, it doesn’t last very long, it’s just one little cutaway scene there. I tell you, if you were an actor in Los Angeles at the time that “Seinfeld” was running, because they’re famous for their guest star roles, right? I mean, obviously, the main cast, but they had so many great guest star roles. I’d probably auditioned for “Seinfeld” 15 times before I got the one that I got. I guess it’s a long way of saying, I did know that that was going to be funny. I didn’t know it was going to be sort of last forever, but the writing on that show was so good. I always say every time. it’s like all I did was say the words. The credit goes to the writers on that show and that bit. I got to say the words out loud that the writers had identified as being something that we all know and all hate, and it had never been named. So I was just lucky to be the guy that stood there and did it.
Dermot: It’s like putting your whole mouth in the bowl!
So you have to be careful and make sure you’re not double-dipping backstage.
Kieran: Here’s the thing . I’ll tell you this. I get a lifetime pass. I can double-dip as many times as I want. I’ve lived on double dipping ever since. Nobody comes at me. I’m like, yeah, dude, I invented this (expletive). Don’t you tell me what I can do? So I’m good. I get a pass.
If you go
Who: Jackrabbit, Van Gilder
When: 8 p.m. June 9
Where: Jergel’s Rhythm Grille, Warrendale
Tickets: Starting at $25.65, etix.com