White Laces are creating quite a buzz in the Richmond scene right now, playing their loud, distorted, but still melodically-infused indie rock to bigger and bigger crowds around town. They’ve also been touring a lot lately, which has led to positive notices from press in other cities, and even in national outlets. Their self-titled 12″ vinyl EP was released at the beginning of this year on Whole Ghost/Shdwply (available here), and they’re about to release a 7″ single for their song “Hands In Mexico,” so now seemed like a perfect time to check in with them. Singer/guitarist Landis Wine was kind enough to answer my questions.
White Laces are creating quite a buzz in the Richmond scene right now, playing their loud, distorted, but still melodically-infused indie rock to bigger and bigger crowds around town. They’ve also been touring a lot lately, which has led to positive notices from press in other cities, and even in national outlets. Their self-titled 12″ vinyl EP was released at the beginning of this year on Whole Ghost/Shdwply (available here), and they’re about to release a 7″ single for their song “Hands In Mexico,” so now seemed like a perfect time to check in with them. Singer/guitarist Landis Wine was kind enough to answer my questions.
1. Tell us the history of White Laces so far. How long did it take for the current lineup to come together?
Landis: I initially started playing with Jimmy back at the tail end of ’09 after recording a series of demos in my bedroom. We cobbled together a lineup for recording and a few shows, but we had a revolving door for guitarists/bassists for a bit. By the time we went up to Boston to record the EP we knew Jay was going to be playing bass but there was no time for him to learn the parts, so we did the record as a two piece (with a lot of help from Kevin Micka, who produced the record). We returned to Richmond and rehearsed a bit, but because of conflicting schedules we didn’t end up in a room together until our first on-air performance at WRIR in October. So we’ve been playing as a real unit for roughly nine months. In my mind October was the dividing line between project and real live band.
2. I know that some of the earlier recordings were done with an incomplete lineup. What sort of differences do you see between those earlier recordings and the more recent full-band sessions?
Landis: The longer we’re a proper band, the harder it is to draw lines between the early recordings and our more recent stuff. The earliest recordings were really a shot in the dark. The first cassette is all over the place in terms of fidelity and style. Even when Jimmy and I went into the studio with Kevin, most of what we were doing was trying to approximate what we thought it should sound like. But at that point, I think Jimmy and I had locked things in enough to know where we were going. Jimmy’s an excellent arranger and songwriter in his own right and he basically helped mold the EP into something that was far more rhythmically/structurally cohesive than it could have been. By the time we went in to record the most recent 7″, we’d just returned from SXSW and were able to record live to tape. I think it’s a nice distillation of a lot of different/disparate parts that existed on that first cassette and the various songs that appeared on compilations a year or so ago.
3. There seems to be a strong tension in White Laces’s music between extremes of pop melodicism and harsh noise. How do you strike a balance between those two seemingly-opposed elements?
L: I think a lot of it comes down to the way we’ve gotten used to playing with each other. Whenever we’re working out a song, we spend quite a bit of time mapping things out and playing with melodies before we start bashing away at things. The idea being that once you strip away any reverb or feedback you’re still dealing with pop songs. After things begin to tighten up we begin to get noisier/heavier in parts and then return to the hooks.
4. For a band that’s been together for a relatively short amount of time, it seems like White Laces is attracting a lot of attention. Do you feel like high-profile writeups, like the one you received from Esquire magazine after SXSW, have had an effect on your career thus far?
L: I don’t think it’s made too much of a difference, and if there has been one, it’s hard to quantify. People have definitely said some incredibly nice things, but if anything it only makes us want to work harder on the songs and tighten up so when we go out for shows we can play the best possible set for whomever is in attendance. Looking back, I realize that a lot of my life-changing shows as a teenager were probably the worst shows of the tour for the band in question, so really, regardless of who’s writing what about us, I just want to make it worthwhile to the people showing up to our shows/buying our records.
5. What’s coming up in the near future for White Laces? Fill us in on any big projects you’ve got in the works.
L: We’ve got a smattering of shows on the website, but I think for the next month we’ll be focusing on hammering out new material. The “Hands in Mexico” 7″ is coming this fall as well as a split 10″ w/Snowy Owls on Harding Street Assembly Lab, but for the most part I think we’re going to be focusing our energy on writing an album.
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