Blanche (band)

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Blanche
Dan John Miller and Tracee Mae Miller
Dan John Miller and Tracee Mae Miller
Background information
Origin Flag of the United States Detroit, Michigan, USA
Genre(s) Alternative country
Years active 2002–present
Label(s) V2 Records (US) / Loose Music (Europe)
Associated acts Goober & The Peas
The Raconteurs
The Greenhornes
Website http://www.blanchemusic.com/
Members
Dan John Miller (guitar, lead vocals)
Tracee Mae Miller (bass)
Dave Feeny (pedal steel)
"Little" Jack Lawrence (autoharp, banjo)
Lisa "Jaybird" Jannon (drums)

Blanche is an alternative country band based from Detroit, Michigan. Their music is based in Americana, early country and folk blues with a touch of haunting Southern Gothic stylings and garage rock mentality. Blanche is known for wearing vintage fashion of the early- to mid-20th Century.

The band consists of:

  • Dan John Miller (guitar, lead vocals)
  • Tracee Mae Miller (bass, vocals, drums on "Someday")
  • Feeny (whose first name is Dave but no one calls him that, and who plays pedal steel guitar, horn instruments, some vocals)
  • Lisa "Jaybird" Jannon (drums, guitar on "Someday")
  • "Little" Jack Lawrence (banjo, autoharp, some vocals).

Lawrence replaced Patch Boyle who appeared with the rest of the band on their debut recordings.

Contents

[edit] Origins

The origins of Blanche can be traced back to the early '90s band Goober & The Peas. Led by Dan "Goober" Miller, the band was devoted to cowpunk, and dressed in honky tonk attire.

After the break-up of Goober & The Peas, Miller next formed 2 Star Tabernacle. Miller co-led that band with Jack White (who had previously been a drummer for Goober & The Peas). After issuing one 45 rpm record with Andre Williams, the band split. White focused on his other project, The White Stripes, and Miller formed Blanche with his wife and 2 Star Tabernacle bassist, Tracee Mae Miller.

According to Dan Miller, Blanche was formed after he, Tracee Mae, Feeny, Patch Boyle and Jaybird committed to learning new instruments and to play a variation on American roots music.

[edit] Discography

The first Blanche release came in 2003 in the form of a 6-song CD titled "Demo EP". The featured tracks are "Intro", "Do You Trust Me?", "Garbage Picker", "Another Lost Summer", "Superstition", "Someday", "So Long Cruel World" and an "Outro". The CD also features a video of "Do You Trust Me?" directed by Kevin Carrico.

This recording was soon followed by an EP released in 2004 titled America's Newest Hitmakers, on Loose Records, and the demo "Never Again", which appeared on the 14th compilation CD for the publication Comes With A Smile. The band's first full length album, If We Can't Trust the Doctors, was initially released on Cass Records that same year, but was picked up for wider release by V2 Records soon after. The initial line-up also released a single on Cass Records with "Who's To Say" on the A-Side and "Superstition" on the B-side. The single was released on green and black vinyl. Blanche's official releases in Europe have been on the Loose music record label.

Blanche released an EP on V2, What This Town Needs, featuring five tracks and a video, on October 24, 2006 in the U.S. It was released in Europe on Loose on December 4, 2006. The EP title track appeared on a V2 records sampler CD in September 2006. A second full-length album, Little Amber Bottles, was to be released in early 2007 but the demise of V2 Records as a current label put the US release date into question. On June 18, 2007, "Little Amber Bottles" was released in the UK and demonstrated a more mature sound for the group. All of the band members save Jaybird Jannon penned songs for "Little Amber Bottles." Two music videos, released in July, were for the songs "What This Town Needs" and "No Matter Where You Go."

  • America's Newest Hitmakers (EP, Loose Records, 2004)

1. Do You Trust Me?
2. So Long Cruel World
3. Another Lost Summer
4. Red Head (This track is The only track from this release not to apear on "If We Can't Trust The Doctors")
5. Who's To Say... (Features backing vocals by Brendan Benson, and a guitar solo played by Jack White)

Includes the video for "Do You Trust Me"


  • "Never Again" (demo, Comes With A Smile #14, Spring 2004)



  • "Who's To Say/Superstition" (single, Cass Records, 2004)


Side A. Who's To Say (Same as released on "America's Newest Hitmakers" EP and "If We Can't Trust The Doctors")
Side B. Superstition (Later Featured on "If We Can't Trust The Doctors")

The 7" Single was Released On Cass Records but also bears a Loose Music Logo.
The front cover art is a painting by Tracee Mae Miller called "Institution" (She is selling 12" x 9" 250 limited signed prints of this picture for $40 on her site http://www.traceemiller.com/)


  • If We Can't Trust The Doctors (LP, Cass Records/V2 Records/Loose, 2004)


1. (Premable) - 0:28
2. Who's To Say - 4:25 (Same as single version)
3. Do You Trust Me? - 3:45
4. Superstition - 3:30
5. Bluebird - 2:46
6. So Long Cruel World - 4:51
7. Another Lost Summer - 3:46
8. Jack On Fire - 4.41 (Electric guitar solo played by Tom Hendrickson)
9. Garbage Picker - 3:30
10. The Hopeless Waltz - 4.05
11. Wayfaring Stranger - 2:52
12. Someday... - 2:11 (This track is actually approx 5:10. At 2:43 another track plays)

The Album comes with a booklet called "The Blanche Manual" this contains lyrics to tracks 2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10. At the back of the booklet the last page declares "This album is dedicated to Micheal Francis Miller" and shows a painting by him.


  • What This Town Needs (EP, V2 Records/Loose, 2006)


1. What This Town Needs - 3:21
2. Child Of The Moon - 3:47
3. Scar Beneath The Skin - 5:34
4. Never Again [Demo Version] - 3:26
5. Someday...[Live] - 4:02 (Amazon.com lists this track as being "Live At Reading Festival")


  • "Little Amber Bottles" (LP, Loose, 2007)


1. I'm Sure Of It
2. Last Year's Leaves
3. A Year From Now
4. No Matter Where You Go...
5. What This Town Needs
6. Child Of The Moon
7. Little Amber Bottles
8. The World I Used To Be Afraid Of
9. O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?
10. I Can't Sit Down
11. (Exordium)
12. The Worlds Largest Crucifix
13. Scar Beneath The Skin (Labeled as a "bonus song" on the CD version)

The painting from the front cover of this album can be purchased from Tracee's site its 24" x 36" oil on canvas with an asking price of $1,800.00.

[edit] Shows, Touring, Media Appearances

Since 2003, Blanche has performed at several international music festivals (including Lowlands, Pukkelpop and the CMJ Music Marathon), and toured as openers for The White Stripes. The Band Opened for The White Stripes in 2004 on 28th January in Blackpool, UK This date was one of the two that The White Stripes Recorded For Their DVD Live Under Blackpool Lights. The band opened for both The White Stripes and Loretta Lynn at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City in April 2003. They joined The White Stripes and The Flaming Lips for New Year's Eve the following December in Chicago. They have also opened for such bands as Wilco, Calexico, and The Kills and headlined bills that have included various acts from Buck 65 to Mr. David Viner to Brendan Benson. In 2005, Blanche toured America with Ditty Bops.

For some of the few performances in 2006, Patch Boyle, Steve Nawara (formerly of the The Detroit Cobras, Electric Six, and Rocket 455), and Tom Hendrickson Jr. (formerly of Goober & The Peas), replaced Little Jack, who toured with The Raconteurs (see below).

The band has appeared on several radio stations for live performances and interviews in the United States and Europe, including WFUV in New York and XFM in London.

[edit] Extra Activities

In addition to Blanche, the band members have been involved in various other music and arts:

  • Band leader Miller has explored acting, notably having the major supporting role of Luther Perkins in Walk the Line, the biopic of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. In addition, he performed on the film's soundtrack recording, which was produced by T Bone Burnett (producer of White contributions to the [[Cold Mountain soundtrack]]). Miller also recorded the song "Playpen" for The Family Hootenanny CD, a compilation of children's songs by Detroit artists.
  • Tracee Mae Miller is an established painter (website), and had a small role in Walk the Line, playing Luther Perkins' wife, Birdie. She also makes many of her own dresses.
  • Feeny was in the '80s garage band The Hysteric Narcotics as well as the Orange Roughies. He runs Tempermill Studios, producing, mixing, engineering, recording and performing on scores of other artists' albums, including Willie Nelson. He is also in the band American Mars.
  • Little Jack Lawrence has been a long time bass player with The Greenhornes, and has been known to play with both bands on the same night. He is also a memebr of The Raconteurs, a band for which Jack White sings and plays guitar.
  • Both Lawrence and Feeny were in the Do-Whaters (along with Greenhornes' drummer Patrick Keeler), the backing band for Loretta Lynn's 2004 Van Lear Rose album. The band was put together and led by Jack White. Dan Miller also made an appearance on the album.
  • Lawrence has again joined Keeler and White, along with the aforementioned Brendan Benson, to record and tour as The Raconteurs.
  • Patch Boyle has drifted out of the music business, working on a (website) of Detroit arts & culture, but on occasion has filled in to perform when Little Jack is called away for other duties.
  • For a short time, Tracee Miller ran an Ebay store that was popular among fans. She sold revamped vintage clothing (some of which belonged to her.)

[edit] Miscellanea

  • Director/DP Kevin Carrico has shot three music videos for Blanche: Do You Trust Me?, Someday... and What This Town Needs. It appears from both their websites that he is also the band's most commonly-used photographer, and that director Carrico has used Tracee Mae Miller as a subjects for many of his other projects.
  • Those involved in the production of the Someday... video report that not only did Tracee Mae hold her breath for the entire last shot (no camera or editing tricks were used), but that the entire length of time she spent underwater is not fully used in the video.[citation needed]
  • Tracee Mae left college to become a model.[citation needed]
  • Their track Who's to Say? was originally written with the group 2* Tabernacle (featuring Jack White on Guitar/Backing Vocals.) On "If We Can't Trust the Doctors", Jack White is featured on guitar The song was covered by The White Stripes, as a b-side.

[edit] External links

Official Sites: