OnStage; 117; The White Devils

Right behind me the white devils are setting up for on stage. I'm Julie at the garrison. They tell me it's all about the hips. Presentation of onstage is made possible in part by the New York State Music Fund established by the New York state attorney general at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Welcome to onstage where you'll meet Rochester New York's great artists with their music and our conversation. I'm Julia figuris. Six years ago three veteran Rochester rockers took a look around them and saw a void that great dirty blues driven

rock n roll was just nowhere to be found. And as we all know rock abhors a vacuum so they rapidly filled it with the white devils. And they're going to show us what it's all about starting with crazy WXXI and w r you are. English. It. Seems. To.

Fit. Into. A The Easy to. A B. We'll. Live. Right in the. Cellar. The sanction.

Thank God the crowd goes crazy. Appropriately enough. The white devils on stage this is WXXI and you are you are. Thank you for coming by Frank Britt. Thanks ever so it's a pleasure to have you Frank let me try to say your name right Frank plays. I'd like you to do the honors and introduce your fellow devils all the guitar Ladies and Gentlemen this is Paul THE ROCK Oh. Yes on the drums the bus transit routes just sort of go throughout Florida. Thank you. Then the man with the introductions Frank the blaze. Thank you. Yes. I know that you guys have all been around the rock block a few times so you want to just sort of look at a thumbnail sketch first of all the history of the white devils and sort of how you got together. How did you all meet.

On the Internet. Really it was seriously I had a rockabilly band for about 20 years and got tired of just working within the parameters of a strict rock n roll format and I had met Polly Rocco many years before and just wanted to play play some records with him and I needed a good drummer but we couldn't find one so we got Rob and the white devils. Rob I wouldn't I wouldn't take that. You can you can step out at any time it's good I'm trying to get out of this bad bad me that you suck I'm back again. He has been for like how many years seven Paulie Rocco Let's start with you. You've worked with a lot of bands you've traveled the world so what are a couple of the folks that you've worked with that you've really enjoyed. Mick Taylor from the Rolling Stone formerly strong when I see John I have a matt pure talented man. More than just on the guitar on the piano harmonica everything. Kim Simmons from 70 brown I've recorded with it so numerous I can. Tell yeah Johnny Thunders on

his very last week already mad after he died. How do you hook up with somebody like the level of Mick Taylor on the Internet. You play as good as Rocco Doesn't the way they find them. Let's go over to Rob. Well if you've been hanging around with in your drumming years let's see who haven't I really. But I'm right now besides away doubles I play in a band called the quitters and another band called The vanes. Maybe they're here I don't know. They might even be here. So you're you're two timing Frank as a two time yeah you know it's about it it's right were it were a modern relationship. Rob's played in like five bands at one time. He's just totally amazing these two men are the most important man in a rasher music scene. A round of applause. Well you know Rob how do you do that how do you how do you manage to balance all the bands that you're in.

It's a good question. I don't know I must like it. It's hard to hard on everybody that you know that surround me. But somehow it's worked out well you know we've gotten a pedigree from everybody but you Frank so it's your turn to throw a couple of band names out. I was just in one band the flattops from about 1980. Thank you. So about 2003. And I think the highlight of that was playing with a rockabilly legend from Texas Ronnie Dawson to that band for many years and then coming up in 2003 had the white guy was kind of a side player on project and it kind of got serious now this band and it was going to throw away experiment is become a little more important. Well it's important to us tonight as well and that your band is clearly structured a little differently from most rock bands. We're going to kind of talk about that right after your first set of music so let's get into it here they are again on stage it's the white devils with my baby. She do what. You do you. Just. Yes.

She was. Good. This. Was. Just. Six.

Weeks. It. Was me. Sound Energy and. Say. Yes to. Change. Change. Change. Change. Change change. Change. The.

Seat. In the. END. To. See. Us. Change change. Ya ya ya ya ya feel very blessed to have you back. I

think you see you see it all through. It's just cool for me. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. Sonic FYI if think I'm writing this sounds cold. Oh yeah. Feel. Ill.

Ill. Feeling. Ill. Feel. Ill. A. Few. You. Feel. Ill. Here's the first song we ever wrote this How things you

want to hold every night every night you give her a sloppy kiss. Thanks. To. The succulent salad. For a big move there to see a man. Gods of things to do our spirits are all finally. Got it all. Move the stuff. Thank. God. OK here it is a kind of run. Up to. The U.S. the best abiogenesis

related to our budget. Is. To a nice. Thank. You to see me. Using. The service to. See. The Samsung. Now so. The big. Boost. To AMC above. Claims. Thank you says my story is being told now I would say.

Below you're going to the night after a night of Eterno prayers you get started with the Slavic Thank you says thank you. Thank. You. Thank. You thank you Zain. Thanks thanks. Thanks. Thanks. I'm about to have. Got Away. Away. Thank. You. If you. Want to stay. Still.

You can. Seriously. Feel. Ill. It would. Move. Me a multitude to. Insult. Me. To see. This. Band.

Ever way to me. A man. Move. To me. Thank God.

You're on stage with the white devils that was got away on WXXI and if you are you are before we go anywhere I have to say Rob. Fabulous tranny Absolutely Fabulous some talking about. Thank you. Just don't get into. Are you sure. Yeah I'm sure I'm sure. Don't don't sell that thing not just yet. It's kind of clear that you know you're a power trio and you get out. You're a power trio. You're not a traditional power trio I see a couple guitars a see a good drum set. I see no bass. Where's the bass Frank. I could afford one. No I just I think a lot of the early Delta blues stuff they're like they're the real low fi crappy so they never made it to the surface. They are all Burnside Junior Kimbrough so like that never had a bass and I think if you don't have the bass you don't miss the bass. We play a little bit lower tune or turn down a whole step. Do you compensate for that. I think so. I mean I draw plays a lot heavier on the drums so I don't think I missed the bass.

Well I don't missed a bit bass does anybody missed the bass on anybody. Let's talk about the tuning of the guitars you use an open tuning. Yes. So what does that mean. That means you're tuning to a chord. And there's several types of oil open tuning and you can tune to an e-card. I learned from my best friend that I grew up with and he didn't really play regular guitar you just don't as a guitar don't but me and but he can play slide and I just took it from there I started at the age of nine and I had an older brother who taught me how to play and I was very fortunate and I'm just well I'm what I am. Well now and we love what you are. So when you have an open tuning what does that do for you does it does it give you more freedom or what. Through head injuries. This definitely gives you more freedom. Well OK so for Paulie Rocco and for Frank especially Let's talk a little bit about about the songwriting and what happens inside of the white devils when you do songwriting. What happens

first is that the risk is that the words Frank. Initially it was the gig. We got jobs and we didn't have songs so we just we just stuck to real standard blues shuffles and blues progressions we hung on the one for too long we thought you know we'll sing about corpulent women fried food and violence and it and work we I think our first gig we only had six songs made at last for an hour. We didn't just I think it's a creative it's a we had a good launchpad. The music they were using that list you gave us what tends to be the most popular of the topics. Fast food fat fast fried corpulent women I think at this point if it's short man definitely yeah. For Pauly Rocco when you think a song is good and when do you think a song should never darken your drums again it sticks in your head. It's a good song and if it doesn't it's not. That's pretty simple.

What happens for you first you write the lyrics you hear it today it's not a lyricist writer actually I write music in melody and Frank helps me out a lot and sometimes I. Lucky Are you going to start off this next set with an interesting little number hound dogs hand. You wrote it Frank so you get to tell us about it. Dog Taylor was a big influence of the band he's a guitar player had six fingers on one hand but he only used a slide and I just thought was really cool if I become a good mix of the mojo Voto kind of hand the kind of the paradigm and if when I was a kid there was Ghost to ghost record a solicitor had the ghostly hand of Speidel have a song about this is how a man that robbed by putting this blue hand and put people to sleep I thought you know if I bring the dogs mummified hand I touched it. I could become a better guitar player. And it hasn't worked yet. I disagree with you on that all I mean I put a hold on Taylor but it was just that's that's about it. All right so we have a little bit of a ghost tale then here at the white devils on stage with hound dogs

hand-on WXXI and W are you on. Go to jail to get a B. You know we're going. To see later love having the good job to show. Such job people me who is that from his last. Resort like. I would all say. The bad man who the child. Gets out play a man and. Said young boy I used to be a man. Who thought so so. Cold I. Said. Above. The

bank. Above. The boy lived through view the handful of long dead guitar playing with six fingers and a resounding choice Goodhead. Never. Had angels come down to see a star. BMI gets all the way every night.

You can't resist me. Try a zoo my. Guess is that this is a good man. There are a lot of these or. Almost. Nobody knows I'm not going to lie. I think I see a picture girl and I manhandle I don't know. I'm not sure this song here is a true story. The priest to baptize me used to go to whores to have. Not saying that you had any inside connections or anything but I told Frank the story and Frank said to Rockall the priest to baptize you. It was a horse butt and tragedy

and that's what the song was all about. You. Should. Check. The book. This is.

The book. The phone you. Get. The feeling. The feeling.

Thank you. Yes. ME

ILY. ILY. ILY. ILY. ILY. ILY. ILY. ILY. ILY. ILY. ILY. Eh. Eh

eh. Eh eh. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow ad. All right thank you thank. You. When in doubt you. Choose. To enter. The end. Of. The hour. Last night I still.

Can't. Sleep. Man. Hand in. Hand.

How does the hill further the foreland. About IQ while the right. I don't know. That's a song and I get that I'm Julia figure if you're on stage with the white devils and WXXI and if you are you are you guys have some special guests that are joining you later so will forward to that. Frank you once said to me when talking about the white

devils you said you sold out the hips. Yeah sometimes when we write songs I think we flash forward to what the desired response we want is when they say the song title or the story behind it but you know how it's going to affect tips you know the back and forth the up and down the bumping around the to and fro don't you know. So every band has a purpose or philosophy is that it is that was it so that you have those great dirty bluesy sound. Where did it go. Somehow or another it seemed to have vanished off the face of rock'n'roll. I got gentrified modularized ruined. It's not for everybody I think for everybody that likes this music there should be two people that don't like it and I think along the lines someone thought that everyone had to be happy and that along came pop music and you see I want another soul in this audience but I think every for every person that likes what we're doing there should be two people that don't like us a lot and record sales show that yeah we're number one day

and saw it as airplay. Yeah we we get a little airplay but let's talk about radio and what's happened to radio in America Radio in America has changed drastically from the 50s when it was pretty colorblind to these days when it's it's pretty set in little tiny boxes you listen to the radio at all Polly Rocco. I listen Friday nights a great radio station it plays old 50s but not the original like what you heard or I mean what was played but the original versions of songs in it. I nap on A.M. and that's about it. I listen to classical music as a songwriter. You're actually in my beliefs I'm not supposed to listen to music because sublimity you could kind of make a mistake. You mean rip somebody off. I'm afraid so. We don't we're going to dinner about 12 times tonight man.

Well you know I look him in the eye and do it you know you guys have toured a lot. Do you used to read all Frank. You know Been there done that. Yeah I would mind doing some more now and again but I've kind of moved on to do other things I like being with my wife I like having my house and I know where everything is and not wonder where the bathroom is at 4:00 in the morning. Probably Rocco do you miss touring is I mean you've been all over the world right. I live the road his bags are packed. He is there in the dressing room. Would you ever want to tour again would you want to take the white devils out on the road. I do. Love to. But it's all up to the boss. Well I mean there's going on the road just for the sake of doing it. I mean I mean somebody once told me there's literally hundreds of dollars to be made in this business and I there isn't ice I starve for 17 years. You know it's a duty to earn the title you know working musician. But it was a wonderful experience and I mean my guitar is opened every door for me since then and I think we were still able to anonyma

just to say Hey man we're going to do in 30 dates you know when you went and did 30 day tours. Twenty three of them sucked. You know because it's not every night Saturday night there's a lot of Tuesdays and demoing and you know but we've had some great opening acts I mean Jerry Lee Lewis the crickets. I mean who would have thought we'd play this big festival out in Green Bay Wisconsin last year and like Turner Jerry Lewis in the crickets were on before we were to play a clean up site so Ereka got in there said that they opened up for us. So in a few months ago I just got back from doing a few shows a Jackson Browne which is kind of neat. But you know it's a business. It Don't Mean A Thing. All right we have one last cent from the white devils on stage so let's get right back into it shall we we're going to kick back and we're starting off with Donovan Hohn WXXI and W are you are. Thanks.

Brianna. Thanks to. You. Know eat. Eat. Eat. Feeling achy and. Feeling it today. To lead to an. Area. Where there's. Going. To to be a loser. To. Lead. To. Serious. Cancer to. Land on. Your. Feet. Feet. To thank. Yourself. Seriously. Enough to. Ha

ha. Ha. Ha ha ha. Sounds to me. To. Be achieved. Phew. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Ha. It is the. Day. To move. Data It was a. Good evil. What is the use of mes.

Well this is a song call. How do you. Know. Why this one here for my wife. Beautiful woman here in the audience.

Lyrically this has nothing do with us. We were married for two months I missed the anniversary I didn't realize for a county months. Lyrically this had nothing to do with it with her and I but I thought it's a nice it's a nice song that you can put your arms around your girl and dance to is called the train to nowhere. Oh. Still I got no obligation. To. Do. You see. Don't let me. Hold a. Long.

Boring answer. And as long as she's a. Woman. She. Gets A. Lot. Of it. This is easy to. Say to. Me as if. It's a man I. Just. Saw. Where. May

allāh in. The end. May. The miners. I was told. The behavior. Movement would. Be used. To.

Secure. The sun. Take. Illyria's 0. Elyria. To. 11.

Feet. Do you. Think it would say. That there are white devils. OK go. The spirit is Christine. Choir is coming out to join you guys for a big finale I want to thank you Frank. And apparently Rocco and Hey Rob you too. You know hip shaking on stage and it was

excellent. I'm Julia figures this is WXXI and that you are you are we have one more shot Now heres the white devils with the spirit to his crystal choir and Dead Man's Blues sting. Age salaciously sect about everybody. I mean amen. No better yet Hell yeah but hell yeah. Going to church with a song here feel free to clap along buddy. Was. Good. To see her assume her. Killed on. The. Ways.

Was in the. Mood when you needed her. To return the money. Nothing changes you should put. The man in. The same way you do. Yet. Here. You go. There doing. You. Told me you were the nice man you need to marry me to. The right. Every new.

Thing was. What. To our. Hear more from the white devils and learn about New York State's diverse musical talents. Log on to WXXI dot org slash on stage and turn it up. To our. Present. To see how bow out to meet you were. Such. Presentation of onstage is made possible in part by the New York State music established by

the New York state attorney general at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.