White Denim on ‘Performance,’ Lineup Changes, and Breaking Sonic Boundaries

Coming in blazing hot out of Texas is White Denim, a soul-drenched, blistering psych-prog quartet dipped in jazz fusion and improvisation. That’s a lot of descriptors, and it’s still not enough. As they continue to blow minds and forge new territory, White Denim is hitting the road this summer/fall, and bringing forth to light their upcoming album, Performance (out August 24). Recently, bassist Steve Terebecki was cool enough to take some time out of his schedule to chat with me about the tour, the process of writing their intricate and detailed pieces, and what’s up next for the band.

Regarding their tour, Terebecki is looking forward to it: “I’m definitely excited about playing Float Fest [TX-based festival featuring musicians such as Snoop Dogg, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Modest Mouse, and more], that venue looks amazing. There are a bunch of places on the East Coast that we’ve never played before, a couple spots in Massachusetts and small towns in New Jersey, we’re looking forward to hitting those. And then we’re doing a proper US tour in the fall, the whole lap around the country. We haven’t done that since 2016, so we can’t wait.” I caught them at the tail end of that tour for the first time, and they were on fire.

So what’s the band been up to? True to their reputation, they’ve been hard at work in the studio, as Terebecki explains: “We have a new album coming out in August, and there are nine songs on that. I think we’ll be playing most if not all of those on this upcoming run.” He went on to explain their process, saying “We mainly work on the songs in the studio and then take them out on the road, but we’ve done it the other way too.”

One of the reasons the songs tend to get the studio treatment first is because White Denim‘s songs are not simple pieces of music. Finely crafted and technically demanding, yet freewheeling and chaotic, they sometimes barrel off into explosions of furious improvisation. Terebecki talked a bit about how they manage the transition from the script into uncharted waters: “We more or less write sections to improvise over; there’s not necessarily any improvisation going on in terms of getting from one song to the next, but we will write occasional segues and things like that. Nothing tends to be too off the cuff, but sometimes there will be some cues we’re waiting for, and we kind of just let it fly until we all get where we need to be.”

Another aspect that affected how Terebecki approaches his songwriting is the different lineup changes White Denim has undergone. He says, “It affects how I approach songwriting because we sort of write to different musicians’ strengths, for sure. Different people bring different things to the table, different approaches, but we are always trying to keep it fresh.” One thing’s for sure, no matter the approach: the music is always varied, complex, and intriguing.

When I mentioned their proclivity for breaking genre boundaries, Terebecki elaborated on how they produce such a tasty mixture: “You know, maybe someone will bring in a riff, or some guitars and vocals, and maybe someone is hearing King Crimson and someone else is hearing Little Feat. There is definitely a little push and pull here and there as we hash it out, which is why we tend to have different styles show up in our music. We try to let it fly, and it’s not necessarily even a conscious decision.”

Getting back to where the band is now, Terebecki had some thoughts on a few things he is looking forward to and would like to see happen: “You know, we have a pretty large back catalog of stuff that we have recorded, either instrumentals, or songs that we’ve done for ad placements that haven’t landed, covers….and really it would be great to see all of that come out at some point, and I’m sure it will.” He sounded excited for this year when he went on to say, “We’ve been touring for ten or eleven years, and I am really just always excited to play new places. Not that I don’t like going back to old places, but it’s fun to hit new towns.”

White Denim will be coming to a city near you this summer and fall. Don’t miss them, they’re one of the best bands on the scene right now, and they just might be your new summer soundtrack.

06/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s* – SOLD OUT
06/26 – Jersey City, NJ @ Monty Hall*
06/27 – Kingston, NY @ BSP Kingston*
06/28 – Providence, RI @ Fete Lounge*
06/29 – Waitsfield, VT @ Frendly Gathering
06/30 – Wellfleet, MA @ Wellfleet Beachcomber*
07/01 – Montauk, NY @ The Surf Lodge
07/22 – San Marcos, TX @ Float Fest
07/29 – Denver, CO @ Underground Music Showcase
08/28 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East
08/29 – London, UK @ Moth Club
08/31 – Vlieland, NL @ Into the Great Wide Open
09/02 – Larmer Tree Gardens, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/11 – St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
09/12 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
09/13 – Saint Paul, MN @ Turf Club
09/14 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave Bar
09/15 – Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI Indianapolis
09/17 – Akron, OH @ Musica
09/18 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
09/19 – Ann Arbor, MI @ The Blind Pig
09/20 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s
09/21 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
09/22 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
10/05 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
10/06 – Knoxville, TN @ Barley’s Tap Room
10/07 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
10/09 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
10/11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl
10/12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl
10/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
10/14 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
10/16 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
10/18 – Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s
10/19 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
10/20 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
11/07 – Paris, FR @ Le Point Ephemere
11/08 – Maastricht, NE @ Muziekgieterij
11/09 – Weissenhaeuser Strand, DE @ Rolling Stone Weekender
11/10 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord
11/11 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
11/13 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine
11/14 – Munich, DE @ Milla
11/15 – Cologne, DE @ ARTheater
11/16 – Europa Park, Rust DE @ Rolling Stone Park
11/17 – Amsterdam, NL @ Orangerie
* w/ Uni