White Denim (band)
Encyclopedia
White Denim is a four-piece rock band from Austin, Texas
. Their music draws influence from dub
, psychedelic rock
, blues
, punk rock
, progressive rock
, soul
, jazz
, experimental rock
with home-based recording, jamming
approach, intense looping
work and unusual song structures
.
s Byshop Massive (Lucas), Bop English (James), Nicholas Mallard (Josh), and Terry Beckins (Steve); however, in February 2006, Lucas moved to Russia and the resulting power trio
changed its name to White Denim. The new line-up began playing the local Austin circuit while recording punk-infused, psychedelic blues-rock in Block's 1940s Spartan
trailer.
In 2007, the band self-released its first EP
entitled Let's Talk About It
on 7" only, but later these tracks became available on iTunes
. While on tour in 2007, the band recorded its second album and sold copies as a nine-song "tour EP" entitled Workout Holiday
, which was only sold at shows. Workout Holiday caught the ear of new record label RCRD LBL
(an online record label), and the band signed on to re-record three of the songs from Workout Holiday. These songs were exclusively released as the RCRD LBL EP
, one MP3
track at a time over the course of the first few months of 2008.
Since these releases, the band has toured extensively, playing shows including SXSW
and CMJ Music Marathon, and also received the award of "Best New Band" at the 2008 Austin Music Awards. In order to reach European listeners, the band signed to UK record label Full Time Hobby (home to The Hold Steady
and Viva Voce
) for an overseas release. The first release on Full Time Hobby was the single "Let's Talk About It" b/w "Darksided Computer Mouth". On June 23, 2008, the band released its debut album, the Workout Holiday
LP, which consists of re-recorded songs from the band's first two self-released EPs along with some new tracks. The band has since released two more singles in Europe off of Workout Holiday: "All You Really Have To Do" b/w "DCWYW" and "Shake Shake Shake" b/w "All Truckers Roll".
Back in the U.S., White Denim released their debut U.S. full-length LP, entitled Exposion
in late 2008. Originally sold during their Spring 2008 tour as a CDR
with the title 11 Songs
, the album was made available in digital format from their official website on October 19, 2008. The band teamed up with Austin's Transmission Entertainment for the distribution of Exposion in the US; however, the two parted ways in mid-2009.
White Denim's third full-length album, Fits
, was released via Full Time Hobby on June 22, 2009. The record was initially released in Europe only, but after signing their first US record deal with Downtown Records
on July 10, the band release Fits on October 20, 2009. This album was also packaged with Exposion as a bonus disc, giving the band's second LP a proper US release.
In September 2010 White Denim announced the addition of second guitarist Austin Jenkins to the band's line-up. On September 23, 2010 the band self-released a collection of 12 tracks under the title Last Day of Summer. The release notes state "This record is something we made as a little summer retreat from our ongoing work on the third full length. Many of these tunes have been bouncing around since the formation of the band back in 06. We were super pumped to utilize a few fresh and casual musical approaches on this record.". It is available to download for free (with an option to make a donation) from the bands official website.
On May 24, 2011, White Denim released their fourth studio album D
on Downtown Records
. The first leg of White Denim's For D tour started on May 23 in Sail Inn, Tempe.
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Their music draws influence from dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
, psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
with home-based recording, jamming
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
approach, intense looping
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
work and unusual song structures
Song structure (popular music)
The structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional, repeating forms, such as strophic form. Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, verse-chorus form, and the twelve bar blues...
.
History
In March 2005, two bands, Parque Touch (Josh Block, James Petralli, Lucas Anderson) and Peach Train (Steve Terebecki), played a show together at Beerland in Austin, Texas. After the show Steve was asked to play bass for Parque Touch and the band became four, playing under the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s Byshop Massive (Lucas), Bop English (James), Nicholas Mallard (Josh), and Terry Beckins (Steve); however, in February 2006, Lucas moved to Russia and the resulting power trio
Power trio
A power trio is a rock and roll band format where the traditional power trio has a lineup of guitar, bass and drums, leaving out the rhythm guitar or keyboard that are used in other rock music to fill out the sound with chords...
changed its name to White Denim. The new line-up began playing the local Austin circuit while recording punk-infused, psychedelic blues-rock in Block's 1940s Spartan
Spartan Aircraft Company
The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company formerly known as Mid-Continent Aircraft Company and reorganized under the Spartan name in 1928 by oil baron William G. Skelly in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The manufacturing plant was on Sheridan Avenue near the Tulsa Municipal...
trailer.
In 2007, the band self-released its first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
entitled Let's Talk About It
Let's Talk About It EP
Let's Talk About It is the first release for Austin, Texas-based indie/blues rockers, White Denim. Written and recorded in drummer Joshua Block's vintage 1940s Spartan trailer, the EP was released May 12, 2007...
on 7" only, but later these tracks became available on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. While on tour in 2007, the band recorded its second album and sold copies as a nine-song "tour EP" entitled Workout Holiday
Workout Holiday
Workout Holiday is the second release for Austin, Texas-based rock trio White Denim, consisting of nine self-recorded songs. Also known as the "Tour EP", Workout Holiday was sold exclusively on tour in 2007....
, which was only sold at shows. Workout Holiday caught the ear of new record label RCRD LBL
RCRD LBL
RCRD LBL is the premier online destination for free, curated, legal MP3 downloads from the hottest marquee and emergent artists. RCRD LBL delivers free music downloads and more directly to readers with multiple personalized email properties, including the RCRD of the Day email newsletter, RCRD...
(an online record label), and the band signed on to re-record three of the songs from Workout Holiday. These songs were exclusively released as the RCRD LBL EP
Workout Holiday
Workout Holiday is the second release for Austin, Texas-based rock trio White Denim, consisting of nine self-recorded songs. Also known as the "Tour EP", Workout Holiday was sold exclusively on tour in 2007....
, one MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
track at a time over the course of the first few months of 2008.
Since these releases, the band has toured extensively, playing shows including SXSW
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
and CMJ Music Marathon, and also received the award of "Best New Band" at the 2008 Austin Music Awards. In order to reach European listeners, the band signed to UK record label Full Time Hobby (home to The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. The band consists of Craig Finn , Tad Kubler , Galen Polivka , Bobby Drake , and Steve Selvidge...
and Viva Voce
Viva voce
Viva voce is a Latin phrase literally meaning "with living voice," but most often translated as "by word of mouth."It may also refer to:*Italian for "live voice."*Voice vote in a deliberative assembly...
) for an overseas release. The first release on Full Time Hobby was the single "Let's Talk About It" b/w "Darksided Computer Mouth". On June 23, 2008, the band released its debut album, the Workout Holiday
Workout Holiday LP
After signing to the band's first record label, Full Time Hobby, in early 2008, White Denim first released the single "Let's Talk About It" on April 28 in Europe. The band followed the single with the release of its first full length album entitled Workout Holiday to European listeners on June 23,...
LP, which consists of re-recorded songs from the band's first two self-released EPs along with some new tracks. The band has since released two more singles in Europe off of Workout Holiday: "All You Really Have To Do" b/w "DCWYW" and "Shake Shake Shake" b/w "All Truckers Roll".
Back in the U.S., White Denim released their debut U.S. full-length LP, entitled Exposion
Exposion
Exposion is the title of White Denim's first full length U.S. studio album. The debut record was first sold at live shows during their spring 2008 tour with Tapes 'n Tapes. The LP was distributed as an unlabeled CD-R in a paper wrapping, along with the title 11 Songs printed on the front...
in late 2008. Originally sold during their Spring 2008 tour as a CDR
CDR
- Medicine and health care :*Clinical data repository, a medical database system designed to provide a realtime summary of a patient's condition*Clinical Dementia Rating...
with the title 11 Songs
Exposion
Exposion is the title of White Denim's first full length U.S. studio album. The debut record was first sold at live shows during their spring 2008 tour with Tapes 'n Tapes. The LP was distributed as an unlabeled CD-R in a paper wrapping, along with the title 11 Songs printed on the front...
, the album was made available in digital format from their official website on October 19, 2008. The band teamed up with Austin's Transmission Entertainment for the distribution of Exposion in the US; however, the two parted ways in mid-2009.
White Denim's third full-length album, Fits
Fits (album)
-Videos:* Official video posted by Full Time Hobby Records, directed by Tom Haines.-Personnel:*James Petralli – vocals, guitar*Joshua Block – drums*Steve Terebecki – vocals, bass-External links:*: RCRD LBL EP is available for free download....
, was released via Full Time Hobby on June 22, 2009. The record was initially released in Europe only, but after signing their first US record deal with Downtown Records
Downtown Records
Downtown Records is a record label owned and operated by Downtown Music LLC. Music on the Downtown label is distributed by Universal Music's Fontana Distribution and, for certain releases, as a joint venture with Atlantic Records and also for select releases, by Alternative Distribution Alliance...
on July 10, the band release Fits on October 20, 2009. This album was also packaged with Exposion as a bonus disc, giving the band's second LP a proper US release.
In September 2010 White Denim announced the addition of second guitarist Austin Jenkins to the band's line-up. On September 23, 2010 the band self-released a collection of 12 tracks under the title Last Day of Summer. The release notes state "This record is something we made as a little summer retreat from our ongoing work on the third full length. Many of these tunes have been bouncing around since the formation of the band back in 06. We were super pumped to utilize a few fresh and casual musical approaches on this record.". It is available to download for free (with an option to make a donation) from the bands official website.
On May 24, 2011, White Denim released their fourth studio album D
D (White Denim album)
D is the fourth full-length studio album by the Texan band White Denim, released by Downtown Records on May 24, 2011 to much critical acclaim.- History :...
on Downtown Records
Downtown Records
Downtown Records is a record label owned and operated by Downtown Music LLC. Music on the Downtown label is distributed by Universal Music's Fontana Distribution and, for certain releases, as a joint venture with Atlantic Records and also for select releases, by Alternative Distribution Alliance...
. The first leg of White Denim's For D tour started on May 23 in Sail Inn, Tempe.
Members
- James Petralli – vocals, guitar. Son of former Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
catcher Geno PetralliGeno PetralliEugene James Petralli is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of twelve seasons in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1993, primarily as a catcher.- Early life :...
. - Joshua Block – drums
- Steven Terebecki – vocals, bass
- Austin Jenkins - guitar
Studio albums
- Workout HolidayWorkout Holiday LPAfter signing to the band's first record label, Full Time Hobby, in early 2008, White Denim first released the single "Let's Talk About It" on April 28 in Europe. The band followed the single with the release of its first full length album entitled Workout Holiday to European listeners on June 23,...
(2008) Full Time Hobby (Only released in Europe) - ExposionExposionExposion is the title of White Denim's first full length U.S. studio album. The debut record was first sold at live shows during their spring 2008 tour with Tapes 'n Tapes. The LP was distributed as an unlabeled CD-R in a paper wrapping, along with the title 11 Songs printed on the front...
(2008) Self-released (Only released in US) - FitsFits (album)-Videos:* Official video posted by Full Time Hobby Records, directed by Tom Haines.-Personnel:*James Petralli – vocals, guitar*Joshua Block – drums*Steve Terebecki – vocals, bass-External links:*: RCRD LBL EP is available for free download....
(2009) Full Time Hobby - Last Day of SummerLast Day of Summer LPLast Day of Summer is a collection of tracks self-released by the garage rock/psychedelic band White Denim on September 23, 2010. The release notes from their official website state "This record is something we made as a little summer retreat from our ongoing work on the third full length [album]...
(2010) Self-released - DD (White Denim album)D is the fourth full-length studio album by the Texan band White Denim, released by Downtown Records on May 24, 2011 to much critical acclaim.- History :...
(2011) Downtown RecordsDowntown RecordsDowntown Records is a record label owned and operated by Downtown Music LLC. Music on the Downtown label is distributed by Universal Music's Fontana Distribution and, for certain releases, as a joint venture with Atlantic Records and also for select releases, by Alternative Distribution Alliance...
EPs
- Let's Talk About ItLet's Talk About It EPLet's Talk About It is the first release for Austin, Texas-based indie/blues rockers, White Denim. Written and recorded in drummer Joshua Block's vintage 1940s Spartan trailer, the EP was released May 12, 2007...
(2007) Self-released - Workout Holiday EPWorkout HolidayWorkout Holiday is the second release for Austin, Texas-based rock trio White Denim, consisting of nine self-recorded songs. Also known as the "Tour EP", Workout Holiday was sold exclusively on tour in 2007....
(2007) Self-released - RCRD LBLWorkout HolidayWorkout Holiday is the second release for Austin, Texas-based rock trio White Denim, consisting of nine self-recorded songs. Also known as the "Tour EP", Workout Holiday was sold exclusively on tour in 2007....
(2008) RCRD LBLRCRD LBLRCRD LBL is the premier online destination for free, curated, legal MP3 downloads from the hottest marquee and emergent artists. RCRD LBL delivers free music downloads and more directly to readers with multiple personalized email properties, including the RCRD of the Day email newsletter, RCRD...
online release - Live at Third ManLive at Third ManLive at Third Man is a live EP released by the Texan band White Denim in the summer of 2011. It was produced by Jack White of The White Stripes and released as a 12" vinyl record on his record label Third Man Records.-Track listing:# "It's Him"# "Burnished"...
(12", 2011) Third Man RecordsThird Man RecordsThird Man Records is an independent record label founded by Jack White in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. Third Man established its first physical location — a combination record store, performance venue, and headquarters for the label — in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009.-History:Jack White founded... - Takes Place In Your Work Space (2011) Downtown Records
Singles
- "Let's Talk About It" (7", 2008) Full Time Hobby
- "All You Really Have To Do" (7", 2008) Full Time Hobby
- "Shake Shake Shake" (7", 2008) Full Time Hobby
- "I Start To Run" (7", 2009) Full Time Hobby
- "Drug" (7", 2011) Downtown Records
External links
- Official website
- DaytrotterDaytrotterDaytrotter is a website for the recording studio Horseshack, which hosts recording sessions with many popular and typically upcoming indie music acts, although it works with local bands in the Illinois area as well. The sessions can be compared to that of a radio station's lounge recordings, where...
Session: Four free songs for download - Spin Magazine, Interview: Artist of the Day, November 26, 2007.
- La Blogotheque, Gig review: White Denim & the Hype, April 8, 2008.