Jim White

The Master Storyteller Performs in His New Hometown

originally published May 21, 2008

Singer/songwriter Jim White is a veritable Renaissance man. At various points in his life he’s worked as a fashion model, professional surfer and cab driver. Throughout his endeavors, White has catalogued the human condition, stockpiling stories he expresses with wisdom and clarity in his music.

“The best storytellers are often people at the flea market or the old crazy man sitting on his front step,” says White. “People who know how to chew the fat just on the street. I’m trying to translate that to a performance context.”

Both on his albums and in his live performance, White is a consummate raconteur, drawing inspiration both from Southern staples like Flannery O’Conner and Harry Crews, and from the general populace. When performing live, White puts as much effort into his story selection as he does his song selection.

“I used to not plan anything,” says White. “Some shows were funny and some shows weren’t. So, I’m starting to develop skeletons of ideas for a set. If there're 10 songs I’m playing, I know I’m gonna talk about preachers here, crazy relatives there… so it’s taking on more structure as I get older.”

In 2003, White starred in Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, a stylized documentary about life in the religious South, and he is currently working on the script for his next film. For White, the South is a constant source of inspiration and frustration. In his youth, he fled the South and only returned to it fairly recently. He currently resides here in Athens.

“I think sometimes you gotta walk away from something before you understand the value of it,” White says. “And as you get older, you get more conscious of the notion of home. I’ve traveled all over trying to get away from the South, and then I started getting this ache in my heart to come back to this place I dreaded. When I did come back, I realized I could fit in here if I completely remade myself. I needed to break free from the cultural inertia.”

In Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, White quotes Flannery O’Connor and her idea of people in the South possessing “wise blood,” i.e., blood that rules them, instead of the other way around. In the South, many things are inescapable, including religion. White’s songs reflect that tension.

“People ask me about it a lot,” says White. “I tell them that when I was younger, I was wrestling a giant atomic octopus named Jesus, and it has taken me 30 years to get free to where I can just swim away from the octopus a little bit. I wouldn’t call myself religious at all, but I am interested in the world behind the world. I don’t like calling it names at this point. In my music I use fundamentalist Christianity to reference something other than Christianity that still points to something supernatural.”

White has reinvented himself into a true songwriter and philosopher trying to make sense of the world around him. In doing so, some say he created his own genre of music as well. His songs possess a unique mixture of alternative country and progressive folk music, with shades of world music that befit his current label, David Byrne’s Luaka Bop.

Fleshing out White’s songs often is a litany of musicians, both nationally and locally known. White describes how many of those collaborations came about.

“My manager Paul was friends with Aimee Mann and asked her to sing a part on one of my songs,” says White. “Once, M. Ward was just passing through Pensacola and called me on the phone. I said come on over. When these talented musicians come in, my goal is to throw as much energy as I can at the songs, and go home and sort out what’s germane to the album, and what’s not. In fact, there are lots of Athens people playing on the new album. If I need a violin player, I just send an email to Vic Chesnutt, and about 10 minutes later I have a violin player.”

One thing that hasn’t changed about White is his commitment to new experiences. He has expressed interest in academia. Teaching may be the next frontier for this handyman.

“I had a couple of good teachers who really made a difference in my life,” says White. “You can talk and talk and explore your own territories, and then at a certain point if you learn enough, it’s time to pass along the good will to other people. I’m hoping I can start doing that.”

John Seay

WHO: William Tonks, Jim White
WHERE: The Melting Point
WHEN: Wednesday, May 21
HOW MUCH: $13.50 (advance), $15 (door)