Poetic Memory: White Denim (List)

Austin quartet White Denim released D, their fifth studio album in May; now, they’ve announced plans to release an EP, Takes Place in Your Workspace on October 25.

The experimental indie band has been compared to the Minutemen and Randy Newman (yes, both), and is known for infusing anything from punk to funk to piano ballads into their songs. White Denim has wowed crowds across the ‘States and abroad, even catching the ear of Jack White, who invited them to record a live LP at Third Man Records in Nashville.

To prep yourself for the show, check the above video for their 60’s rock-inspired single “Drug,” from D. After that, scroll down to read singer/guitarist James Petralli’s Poetic Memory. White Denim will play House of Blues on October 26.

The Top 5 Things I Like, by James Petralli

Please use your preferred search engine to find out more about these things if you aren’t over it already. I am not qualified to tell you why they are good or even why I like them so much.

1. Music: I like listening to all sorts of music. Some of my favorites off of the top of my head are as follows: Sly and the Family Stone, Steven Wonder, Captain Beefheart, The Mothers of Invention, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Roberto Cacciapaglia, Essra Mohawk, Waylon Jennings, Wet Willie, Robin Trower, Triangle, Jimothy Hendrix, Allman Brothers Band, Jonathan Coltrane, Little Feat, Melvin Jackson, Milt Jackon, Michael Jackson, Randy Travis, Tortoise, Isotope 217, Pullman, Mouse on Mars, George Benson, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Yes, Candlebox, Rage, Toadies, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Harvey Danger, Lit, Electric Light Orchestra, Exploding Star Orchestra, Micachu and the Shapes, Charles Mingus, Squeeze, XTC, Ornette Coleman, Tupac, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Yyondai Braxton, Toni Braxton, Anthony Braxton, Bill Wells, Bill Frisell, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderly, Art Blakey, Prince, Nancy Sinatra, Mariah Carey, Alice Coltrane, Fine Young Cannibals, Pharaoh Sanders, Parvin Aontiac, Air, Elvin Jones, Max Roach, Papa Roach, and many others.

2. Paintings: I like watching paintings as much as the next guy. Two of the painters I really like lately are Pieter Bruegel and Francis Bacon.

3. Films: I like peeping all sorts of movies both awful and amazing. The following list includes a bit of both. Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle, The Toy, starring Richard Pryor, The Stoned Age, Sun Ra’s Space is the Place, Gleaming the Cube, Kurosawa’s Dreams, The Cry of Jazz, Anchorman, The Song Remains the Same, Pink Floyd’s Live at Pompeii, Aladdin (so trippy), Wes Anderson movies, Michel Gondry movies, Alejandro Jodorowsky movies, Narnia movies, David Lynch movies, and Shazaam starring Shaq.

4. Books: I studied lit in college. It was mega boring but I ended up learning to like reading when I found books by Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, Ernesto Hemingway, Federico Garcia Lorca, Jack Kerouac, Jorge Luis Borges, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Mikail Bulgakov, Ezra Pound, and Edward Albee (playwright but still super tight). I am still trying to read Joyce’s Ulysses after ten years. It is supposed to be unputdownable. I learned that I don’t have to punctuate properly or capitalize anything from Cummings and text messaging (We took care of that – Ed), though i am not wild about some of his poetry and i still use one of these.

5. Foods: I really like to eat burgers, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, bun, onion bun. All that. Also, the movie Goodburger. Keenan and Kel boomshakalaka! My favorite ways to prepare foods are by employing my Weber grill (backyard staple in America for hundreds of years. Get one. Watch BBQ U on PBS. You already know this.) and using my slow cooker. I would eat a Reebok sneaker if you cooked it in its own juices for eight hours.

White Denim on tour
10/21 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
10/22 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s BBQ
10/23 – Dallas, TX – The Palladium Ballroom
10/25 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
10/26 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
10/27 – Pomona, CA – Glass House
10/28 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
10/29 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
11/1 – Magna, UT – Saltair
11/2 – Denver, CO – The Summit Music Hall
11/4 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre
11/5 – Minneapolis, MN – Cabooze On The West Bank
11/7 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues
11/8 – Pontiac, MI – Clutch Cargo’s
11/9 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Zoo
11/11 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
11/12 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
11/13 – Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theatre
11/15 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
11/16 – Richmond, VA – The National
11/17 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
11/18 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend Music Hall
11/19 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom
11/21 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
11/22 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House Of Blues

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