So, what exactly goes on within the confines of a recording studio? Keen students of music mythology know that the studio is supposed to be some kind of sacred space where whisps of ideas are turned and
tempered into epic anthems and tunes or, at the very least, serviceable album tracks. It's where the magic is supposed to happen.
In the case of White Denim and their new album Corsicana Lemonade, the magic on
this occasion also involved watching funny YouTube videos. Earlier this year, Jeff Tweedy called up the band to say Wilco's Loft studio was free for a few days if they wanted to take advantage. Naturally, they hit the road to Chicago.
"Jeff was the main reason why we started playing live in the studio," says White Denim frontman James Petralli. "He was shocked that we had never done that before. He was like 'if we're gonna make a record together, this is how we're gonna do it and you guys are going to play live because you're a good live band'. That was the biggest thing he really wanted to hear from us, he wanted us to play the tunes as a band.
“He wanted us to sound like Blue Oyster Cult or Rush. Then we went off and tried to sound like The Stylistics, which I think he was cool with.”
But it’s what they got up to in the studio when the band weren’t playing that really stuck with Petralli. “Jeff was really, really funny. He would stop us after five takes and he would say ‘you’re done’ and then we’d just be goofing around, looking at instruments, talking about things and watching YouTube videos.
"Jeff introduced us to the best YouTube video I've ever seen, Rich Kelly and Friendship, this band from the 1970s. They looked like a wedding band but they've got this amazing bass player who dances like a dude."
For White Denim, Corsicana Lemonade (named after a city in Navarro County, Texas) was a chance to do an album which sounded more like the band's live show than anything else. While the band's run of albums such as Workout Holiday, Fits and D were full of complex and intricate wig-outs, the live show was always more about sheer visceral instinct of a powerhouse band making an infectious, fuzzy, stonking racket.
One of the problems with previous recordings, says Petralli, was that there was no outside voice to say no or tell them to stop. “When we did all the recordings ourselves, Josh [Block, White Denim’s drummer] was the man in charge at the mixing desk and he’d never say no when I wanted to add a tenth guitar part onto a track.
“All of that kind of stuff led to us to feeling that maybe we were wearing too many hats on the last record. We eventually felt really good with what we were doing onstage with that record – it was a bit of a stretch at the start figuring it out because we’d never played any of the songs live.”
Petralli describes studios as “tricky experiences” for the band. “We’re comfortable there now, but it has taken years to get to that stage and comfort isn’t always a good thing. It’s good to have a timeline and a plan. I’m sure we’ll go in without a plan in the future and come out with a fairly dense record. You can very easily overcook things in the studio.”
By contrast, the band have always been far more at ease when they hit a stage and start to play in front of an audience. This is really their natural environment. “The live show is a lot more visceral. We work it hard, we listen to each other carefully, watch each other. That happens in the studio too but it seems to be a lot less instinct involved. So we wanted to make sure the record had some of the live show energy and that kind of gut instinct.
“It’s tough to go completely off the rails in the studio like we’ve done at some shows. With the new album, we just really wanted the sound of the band playing live together to come across more than some higher concept rock record.”
For White Denim, the new album also gives them an opportunity to hit the road again and bring in the money to keep the band together.
“We need to play between 100 and 150 shows a year,” notes Petralli, “and we have to make records that hopefully people like. It’s tough, especially with all stuff you hear about the business every day. But we also feel very lucky. This is record number five, we’re still doing it all ourselves. We haven’t got up to tour bus level yet but we’re doing alright.”
“Doing alright” does mean that the band have to be careful about the choices they make when it comes to tours. “Everything we do has to be effective. For example, we’ve done tours in the past that have been frustrating, like support tours for five weeks with the wrong band. We can’t afford to do that any more. The time we spend working has to be productive. That’s the biggest thing.”
But Petralli reckons they’ve reached a point where they’re going to be sticking around for a while. “It does feel as if we’re reached a stage with our fans that we can count on being able to survive. I don’t worry about it disappearing because we’ve been through so much already. If we managed to survive 2010 and 2012, I think we’ll probably be alright.
“It is difficult but that is where we’re at. As you get older, you hope you improve your lifestyle every year, which is a little harder to count on in this business. But this is our job, this is what we set out to do. We take it more seriously than we did before, but we also know it’s still a lot of fun.”
Corsicana Lemonade is out now. White Denim playWhelan's in Dublin on November 23rd
