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"Alex White"
Fresh off her first European tour, the Chicago native talks about her band's new album, the soulful roots of the band's guttural sound, and how to be taken seriously as a female musician
by Bess Korey
If you took the Pretenders' melodic tones, Sonic Youth's signature guitar distortion, the Avengers' hard-driving punk, and the Pandoras' snarling '60s-influenced garage rock, then threw them all in a blender, you might come up with something a bit like Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra, who released its sophomore album, Space and Time in June 2007. Much of this old-school vibe can be attributed to band leader Alex White, who grew up listening to '60s and '70s rocknroll and whose emphasis on danceable, energetic sounds lends a fresh, timeless quality to Space And Time.
Although only 22 years old, the singer-songwriter-musician has been playing music for nearly a decade in various band incarnations, which may be why she seems wise beyond her years. So far, White's band résumé includes the Red Lights, the Hot Machines (with Jered Gummere of the Ponys), and her current outfit, which has White and Wesley Kerstens on guitar, Edward Altesleben on drums, and Eric Villa on bass. In four years, the band has released two critically acclaimed albums on In the Red Records (a self-titled release came out in 2005) and has just returned from its first European tour.
In late July 2007, I met Alex White at the Grind, a Chicago coffeehouse. White projected a larger-than-life vibe that many musicians have and that makes them seem like they're a different breed. It's a star quality that's hard to describe or put your finger on, but when someone has it, you just know. White definitely has it. Turning heads, she arrived dressed in a retro tomboy style similar to her rocknroll heroine, Chrissie Hynde, and displayed her signature wild, curly red hair.
We took a walk to nearby Welles Park, where we sat on a bench in front of the baseball mound, and sipped on iced coffees. White candidly talked about her life and music career.
You're only 22. How do you know so much about '60s and '70s music?
It's twofold. The first is that my parents have awesome taste in music. I inherited a lot of their records. Even though you want to reject everything your parents say to you when you're a teenager, you secretly listen to their music when they're at work. I had a positive influence from my parents: Roxy Music, Devo, and all that stuff.
The second part of it was that when I was younger, I got one of those Girl Talk radios; I think I was in third grade when I got it for a Christmas present, and I'd listen to the oldies station. It was really the only thing that appealed to me.
Who influenced you most from that time period?
I think that a lot of the things the Kinks sang about were so beyond their time. Of course the Kinks had hits, but they had a lot of records that went way under the radar. They made music that's timeless: there are still a lot of social issues and feelings inside their music that will never go away. I still listen to them, and it never gets old to me.
In the '60s and '70s, there was a lot of political and social unrest that really influenced music and design. But at the same time, I think where we are now — with what's happening with our government and all sorts of things in the world — we may be re-entering an era where people are angry, frustrated, and depressed about the things that are happening in the world.
From Darfur to Baghdad, there's a lot of shit happening. It's starting to influence people again in the same way that it did half a century ago, so that we're entering a new era of opening up a new dialogue about civil rights, women, different cultures, and what's happening with immigration. It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the next 10 years.
Historical time periods seem to be on your mind right now, but what inspires the four of you as a band?
The band has a thing for history. Because when you know about history you pretty much can predict the future. The Red Orchestra, for instance, was a Soviet spy ring, die Rote Kapelle. They would exchange spy messages coded in music, so that obviously influenced us.
But, I think that everything the band does is very organic. What we play just comes out of us. Between the four of us, with our combined interests — Wes is going to school to be an aerospace engineer, and I love history and music, for instance — it's not just music that influences us, but culture and what's inside of us. It all kind of swirls around and comes out.
Do you write music together?
We'll practice, and I'll just start playing something. I'll say, "I was thinking of something like this," and then it all falls in to place. Some of the songs we write in the studio because that experience is very spontaneous. It sounds live and raw, and that's really what the songwriting process is like. The lyrics change all the time. A lot of the stuff I come up with just as we play.
You listen to a lot of old '60s and '70s music and it's repetitive, but that's because they're trying to get a message across. I think that it's the same sort of sentiment in our music, but with spaced out grooves under it. It's meant to be danceable and energetic. Even though some of the material can be a little dark, it's still meant to be music you can pump your fist and say, "Yeah!" to. You can have a good time and enjoy yourself.
You were in a number of bands before forming Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra. How has the experience you've had playing with different bands affected you as an artist?
I started playing guitar around seventh grade. As soon as I started playing, I said, "OK, I'm starting a band." I hooked up with these three guys I was very good friends with, and we started a band called the Psychotic Sensations.
I only knew how to make a bar chord, which, basically, is what got me to where I am today. It was great playing right away, because I learned a lot from my band mates. A lot of it was intuitive, like what kind of transitions to use and anticipating those. It's a really good skill to have musically, even more than how much talent you have, or how quickly you can play, or how many chords you can form. Can you anticipate what these other people are doing? — You need that skill and it's totally essential.
Then, I was in a two-piece called the Red Lights with a female drummer friend named Alisa and myself. That was pretty cool because it was like, "Hey, we're friends, let's start a band together." And then she passed away, which was really sad. She was a young woman.
And then I started playing in another two-piece with my friend Chris Playboy (Saathoff), who also passed away. He got hit by a car after leaving a Ponys' show at the Empty Bottle. That was pretty awful. He was my best friend, band mate, and confidant. We'd started a record label together called Missile X Records, and we put out our single. It was a pretty tough time. I didn't think I wanted to continue playing music anymore. I was really affected by it. He was someone who was basically my right arm. What do you do when you lose a very important limb and person in your life?
I ended up floundering and trying to figure out where I was and what just happened. I was completely in shock. You can crawl under your covers and want to die. And I can't say that I haven't felt that way, but you have no choice but to keep going and at least try to get some shred of wisdom from, or try to rationalize, the horrible things that happen in the world. I still can't absorb that it actually happened, but I have no choice but to go on. I have to respect this gift that I have of life, because not everyone gets to live.
How did you find your way back to making music after such a loss?
Larry Hardy, who is this guy from L.A. and who owns In the Red Records, a great independent rocknroll label, contacted me and said he wanted to release my music. If it weren't for that I'm not sure where I'd be right now or what direction I would've taken at that juncture in my life. I told Larry that I'd do a record, but only under the contingency that he would release the last show that Chris and I ever played, which was recorded at the Double Door [a Chicago music venue]. I'm so happy that it was recorded, because at the time we obviously didn't know that it would be our last show.
What effect has your musical experience had on your latest album with the Red Orchestra?
Space And Time, which is on In the Red Records, is the second record with the Red Orchestra, and it's the first record I've ever done with a bass player on it. I feel like I've grown with this record because now it's a full band. I've gone from playing in two-pieces to the Red Orchestra, where it's two guitars, a bass, and drums. It feels really complete.
What's similar between the first album and this one is how quickly we recorded it. Because we did it during the middle of a tour out West, we did everything in like two days, which is pretty fast to do a record. I think if you spend too much time on something, it starts to sound contrived. It's not to say that we didn't try to give the album a lot of texture and do things that you can do in the studio, but at the same time, we wanted to make sure it could be replicated live.
A lot of the songs we did, we used the first or second take. We also recorded everything live, so it has that raw sound to it, where it's loud and blown-out, instead of being isolated in a chamber. Our live show is supposed to be an experience and so is the record. And now we play those songs even better live.
Also, if you listen to Space And Time closely, there are a lot of hidden secrets in it that I think you can pick up on, like a sonic treasure map. We have a treasure map in Europe of all the things we've left behind in various locations, maybe you can discover them through the music.
Speaking of Europe, you recently returned from touring over there. What countries did you play in, and how was it different or similar to playing shows in the States?
Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Spain: We were gone for a month and did 22 shows zigzagging across the continent. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. We played places as big as Barcelona and Berlin, but also played cool, small villages in the mountains of Spain, like La Roca De Val. It was hilarious, because we played with a Screeching Weasel cover band called the Wiggles. Screeching Weasel is from Chicago.
It was so funny how hungry people there are for American rocknroll. While they might not be very excited about what our government is doing and there's an overall negative perception of Americans, I think they embrace rocknroll bands because we're countercultural. It's obvious that we're not supporting the war, especially since one of my band mate's sisters is in Baghdad right now. So it was interesting to see what's happening over on the other side of the pond, yet seeing so many different traces of American culture.
Do you think that female musicians on the road have different experiences than male musicians do?
One thing that my band mates have said, and that I'm very proud of, is that I'm easy to travel with and that I pack light, that I'm not really a typical female traveler with a 100 suitcases or anything like that. I end up wearing the same jeans and T-shirt every day, which is disgusting, but true. You want to be comfortable when you travel.
My band mates are very respectful. We have an awesome time together. The beauty of touring with them is that we're all best friends. It makes traveling for a month at a time way easier when you're doing it with your best friends.
I think that playing-wise, one issue I've had, though, is that a lot of men, after the show, will hound after me and assume that it's what I want. I'm more than happy to hang out with and meet new people, but sometimes it can get creepy.
What's the response of male fans in the States?
It's the same exact thing. It'll happen in St. Louis, Portland, Paris, wherever. I think it's great that they recognize female musicians; at least it's opening some eyes.
I have a great time playing music. It's my passion and how I express myself. But at the same time, the reason why I wear jeans and boots, and why I'm not wearing a tutu or a tube top, is because I want to be respected as a musician before I'm respected as a girl in a band. It's very conscious, dressing in a way where you're respectable and not a novelty.
You don't see Chrissie Hynde wearing slutty outfits, because she's a musician. I truly respect her guitar playing and she's got an awesome voice. I hope that there's a day in my lifetime — hopefully soon — where it's not just a novelty.
There are so many awesome female musicians, but we've still got a long way to go. I know that in the community you get really excited and feel empowered when you see an awesome female musician. But I still think it hasn't bled over to the male side yet.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bess Korey is a Chicago writer with a background in riot grrl and an astounding knowledge of early women-produced rocknroll and punk rock. She has written venuszine.com features on the Cliks, Kerry Davis, Team Gina, Lesbians on Ecstasy, Nina Antonia, and Cheap Perfume.