Jim White - Biography
By J Poet
Jim White’s bizarre musical cocktail mixes surrealism, dark folk, Gothic country and junkyard blues a la Tom Waits. White was born in Florida in 1957 and drifted through various colorful jobs - comedian, fashion model, boxer, preacher, surfer, New York City cab driver and film school student, before settling on music. He was a problem child, given to drug and booze experiments, and picked up guitar at 18, while he was recuperating from a broken leg.
White became a born again Christian when he was 20 and put aside music for a factory job manufacturing chaise lounges. After a few weeks on the job, he almost cut off his left hand in a table saw mishap. After a period of rehab, he relearned guitar using open tunings so he could make chords with one finger. He grew up listening to jazz, country, folk, bluegrass, and blues, and his music reflected his diverse interests. When he played his songs for friends they hated them.
In the early 70s, his sister got him a job as a male model. When he burned out on modeling, he drove a cab in New York and drifted through various odd jobs until he started film school at NYU in the 90s. One freelance gig was doing sound editing for Halloween 6, but he soon crashed into a clinical depression. His sister rented a beach house to give him a place to recover and he finally got serious about music as a form of therapy. He made a demo tape and started handing it around to friends. One of them made its way to Melanie Ciccone, Madonna’s sister, wife of songwriter and producer Joe Henry. She sent the tape to David Byrne who signed White to Luaka Bop.
Wrong-Eyed Jesus! The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted (1997 Luaka Bop) was produced by Henry and Byrne and got raves for its skewed sensibilities and dark, surrealistic humor. White’s depression returned and he retreated to a mobile home in Florida where he started making demos for his second album. No Such Place (2001 Luaka Bop), produced by Morcheeba (Paul and Ross Godfrey and Pete Norris), Andrew Hale from Sade’s band, Q-Burns Abstract Message, and Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Sohichiro Suzuki, mixed country, folk and lo-fi electronica to produce an oddly compelling album. Chrysalis signed White to a publishing deal with a big enough advance to settle his long-standing debts.
Drill a Hole in That Substrate and Tell Me What You See (2004 Luaka Bop), produced by Henry, White and Tucker Martine features guest spots by Aimee Mann, Barenaked Ladies, M. Ward and Bill Frisell. Its bleak honesty makes for a harrowing, but ultimately thrilling ride. Transnormal Skiperoo (2007 Luaka Bop) has a brighter outlook although it still looks at life through a cracked pair of cynical spectacles. A Funny Little Cross to Bear (2008 Luaka Bop) shows what White does on stage, with seven tracks taken from in store gigs, radio guest shots and a few proper club dates. 2012 saw White release new material, a full length titled Where It Hits You.