Review: The Cherry Orchard at The Blue Theater
EAST Interview: Nick Henning at Pump Project
Radio IST List: Dan Green of 4ms Pedals
Snapshots: Friendly Fires & XX @ Mohawk
Longhorns Around the Web
Saturday, October 24
The Mohawk (912 Red River)
9 p.m. | $12 | Outside
[info] | [tickets]
White Denim’s unique psychedelic palette will be preceded by the sweet melodies of Brazos tomorrow evening. Brazos is spearheaded by Martin Crane, who often performs solo to test out new material for the band (most recently at the WOXY BBQ last month), and when we checked in with him prior to that shindig, he informed us that a new album titled Phosphorescent Blues is scheduled for release on November 10th on Autobus Records. Doors open at 9 p.m. for this stellar one-two punch of veritable Austin talent.
We caught up with Terebecki yesterday over email to learn more about White Denim’s recent exploits and the (first) video for “I Start To Run.”
White Denim recently toured Europe following the release of Fits in the U.K. -- any interesting tales from that jaunt?
We have done one tour of the U.K. and one tour of mainland Europe since the record came out over there. Perhaps the most interesting thing that happened was in the van on the way up to the Leeds Festival from London. We gave a Londoner a ride and were talking about spicy food and he said that his taste buds are so sensitive that Cool Ranch Doritos burn his mouth. Other than that, it was just a bunch of rock ‘n’ roll shows with surprisingly great turn-outs.
Fits was released in the US just this week, nearly four months after the U.K release. -- any specific reasons why the dates were staggered? Was it simply due to the different labels you work with in each country?
The main reason this happened is the simple reason that you stated, because we didn't have a U.S. label 4 months ago. We were trying to figure out what we were going to do for a substantial release for this country and then Downtown (Music) came through in July.
When did the band's relationship with Downtown Music begin? White Denim has been on U.K. label Full Time Hobby for a couple of years now -- what have they brought to the table?
We have been talking to Downtown for a while. RCRD LBL is affiliated with Downtown, and we released an EP with them in late 2007. We were in a relationship with Transmission (Entertainment) for most of 2008 that was going really well for us for getting out there and touring so we didn't have time to mess with any US labels. Full Time Hobby brought us to Europe, helped us grow a great fan base in the U.K. and Europe, released two records for us, and I think kept us overall very excited about our potential as a rock ‘n’ roll group.
Tell us more about the first video for "I Start To Run" -- how did you guys get connected with Tom Haines? How long did you train for that epic jog?
We were introduced to Tom Haines by Full Time Hobby. He had done some videos for some of their other artists, and after meeting him and reading his treatment of "Shake Shake Shake," we were interested in working with him further. I actually didn't train at all for this role other than just historically being a fast runner. It was about 40 degrees and after my first three sprints and almost hacking up a lung, I was ready for the additional 12 hours of running that was required for the shots of the video. Unfortunately, the U.S. can't use that video for reasons beyond everyone, but we've made another great video for "I Start to Run" directed by Andy Cope, from Austin. That should be out in the next couple of weeks. I'm still angry that we couldn't use that video after I sprinted nearly seven miles, but Europe still gets to enjoy it, so I guess I'm OK with it.
White Denim has played all three major Austin festivals -- SXSW, Austin City Limits Music Festival, and Fun Fun Fun Fest over the years -- how do you rate each one and what do you think each brings to our city? Are there any festivals in other cities that you have a soft spot for?
FFFFest - 8. SXSW - 7. ACL Fest - 3. I think festivals are getting too large to really be all that manageable. FFFfest does a great job, I really like the size of this festival and Graham (Williams) does a great job of getting these classic old punk bands to play and there is a nice mixture of newer bands and comedy. It's really nostalgic and not overwhelming. SXSW gets a high rating because if you just sit down and pick one or two bands that your really want to see, you'll be able to see them in a pretty intimate club environment which is great. Austin is small enough where you can have a club festival and not want to just go home and go to bed (like CMJ in NYC). Austin City Limits is just too big for me. I've been there 4 times and most of the staff seem like they're totally hating it and it's just got a weird vibe. It's too big, no one wants to watch a band from two football fields away, what’s the point? So I just dissed on ACL Fest, but it still serves its purpose and has its audience, and I think that is great. I will always have a soft spot for Glastonbury in England. We really got lucky that it didn't rain and there wasn't a mud pit, but there was something else special about the community and vibe of this festival that I have never felt before. I wasn't even that into most of the bands that played, it was just fun! I almost don't want to ever go back, because the time I had was so magical, but someday I will.
Thank you for speaking with the Austinist and see you tomorrow!
Outside
[White Denim MySpace]
[Brazos MySpace]
Inside (Midnight)
[Holy Rolling Empire MySpace]
[Crooks MySpace]
Check out the Austinist Weekend Music Preview Slideshow below for details on a number of events in town this weekend.
Images from MySpace / Facebook / provided by entity.
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WDenim, genuinely fun to watch, listen enjoy.
Such energy