White Denim are a band that have not stopped grinding since their inception. Since they turned on their amps for the first time in 2008, the band have released 12 albums, an extensive body of work that is testament to their sheer drive as musicians. What separates them apart from most musicians is after releasing a thesis level amount of output, the band have yet to really put a foot wrong.
In December, they released their most recent effort, the appropriately titled ‘12’, a more diverse output than recent years with elements of jazz and soul. In March, they return to the UK to tour their newest songs, but the setlist isn’t seen as gospel for this Austin native band, being known for their diversions into long and thrilling jam sessions.
The Rock Revival sat down with singer James Petralli to talk about their upcoming tour and more.
Could you describe to readers who may not know of White Denim what they could expect to hear on first listen?
Well, to put it simply, it’s rock and roll music, with some jazz elements as well. It’s sort of a band of educators at the moment, with students of American music, which obviously incorporates influences from all over the world. But I suppose for an overall picture, it would be 60s and 70s sounding rock and roll.
You’re coming to tour in the UK this coming Spring, do you have any favourite memories from visiting here previously?
So many. We connected with the UK before we did with anywhere else. We worked there a lot in the first few years of our band, and it really gave us the belief in ourselves that we were a real band, and that this was a worthwhile pursuit for our lives. A specific memory would be the first time we toured in the UK, I saw Bob Dylan live for the first time.
How was he? I’ve heard mixed things about his gigs, but he’s obviously past his youth.
He was in full cookie-monster splendour. It depends on how you’re evaluating it. I think if you’re comparing it to a modern band, the first one that’s coming to mind is someone like Alt-J; when I saw them it was very much a modern rock show. Dylan was the complete opposite of that, he clearly wasn’t there to service the audience, so it felt like a very pure and honest expression of his artistry, which was such a massive contrast to what you see nowadays. In that way, I thought he was brilliant. But in terms of being a captivating stage performance, it was absolutely terrible (laughs). It still made me a massive Dylan fan, though, I would say he is my favourite artist now, alongside maybe Hendrix.
What do you think the main differences would be between an American audience and a UK audience at a gig?
I think that in the UK, there are still training programmes for people to become lighting designers, sound engineers and that’s an actual viable career path, as well with journalist’s who can create their own magazines, which creates a culture of professionalism, that moves to the audience and in turn moves back to the musicians and creates this cycle of positivity, and elevates the whole thing in a way that doesn’t really exist anymore in America sadly for smaller gigs.
That sounds quite surprising that opportunity wouldn’t be there as much in America.
I’m sure there are places, but part of the reason I moved to Los Angeles is because both of my children are creative, and if there are going to be places where someone younger won’t laugh at you when you say you want to design sets, or that you want to be an artist, it’s probably going to be New York City or LA.
I can imagine that would make a huge difference as a kid, wanting to do something like that.
It makes a big difference, I’ve always struggled with my relationship with creativity. When I was a kid, everyone told me it was ridiculous that I wanted to play music, and said “well, what do you really want to do?” So when I first started working creatively, there was a lot of anger in what I did, and I don’t want my kids to have to feel that resistance when they want to do something creative. I’m 43 now, and I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and it feels like I’m still grasping at it, and it could disappear at any moment.
Did you always know you wanted to be a musician?
I always liked music, but I didn’t play until I was 18, and I thought that being a musician would be easier than being a writer, which I originally wanted to be. I thought I could grow into it as a career, simply “rock out”, and that’s pretty much what happened. There’s always something in this space for me to discover, but it gets harder every year. Not just for it to be a viable way of life, but also to reflect on my true self and put that into the music.
Obviously you mentioned that you live in LA, how have you been affected by the wildfires that have happened since the start of the year?
I live two blocks away from the houses that burned, so the past few weeks I’ve been really grateful. I was up on the roof, watching houses catch fire, waiting for it to make its way to me. My kids’ school burned, too, which is crazy. But, thankfully we’re okay, and hopefully the city can begin to rebuild as soon as possible.
White Denim UK Tour Dates:
Mar 2 – The Academy, Dublin
Mar 4 – Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow
Mar 5 – Wylam Brewery, Newcastle
Mar 6 – O2 Ritz, Manchester
Mar 8 – Arts Club, Liverpool
Mar 9 – Nottingham Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Mar 10 – Crookes Social Club, Sheffield
Mar 12 – The Mill, Birmingham
Mar 13 – Tramshed, Cardiff
Mar 14 – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
Mar 16 – SWX, Bristol
Words by Niall McGreevy