Every great band has a great story behind its existence. Blanche is one of those bands.
Rising out of the Detroit's garage-rock scene, Blanche started when an Americana-loving husband and wife thought they'd assemble some friends to play a few gigs. The drummer had never played drums. The lap steel guitarist had never played a lap steel guitar. The bass player and vocalist was still new to her instrument and had never sung before.
It could have been a recipe for disaster. But, because this is the great story behind a great band, it wasn't.
"We just started booking shows before we even started practicing. Some of those first shows were horrible," said Dan Miller, Blanche's lead guitarist. "We just thought with the way we look and the way our music sounds, it would always be a fringey thing. But then over the last year we've done four tours in the U.K. and Europe and got a record deal.
"It's unbelievable to us that this happened."
While Blanche's success might be unbelievable to Blanche, the band itself is causing some disbelief of its own among audiences. Miller is a close friend and former bandmate with Jack White of The White Stripes, and several of Blanche's musicians made up the backing band on Loretta Lynn's Jack White-produced album, "Van Lear Rose."
And even without the name-dropping, Blanche has been gathering loyal fans quickly. The group's 2003 debut release "If We Can't Trust the Doctors …" defies categories, deftly blurring the lines between blues, country, folk and rock. The album's sad, thoughtful theme was inspired by a few years of hard times that befell the Millers. The record has been garnering the band plenty of praise.
But until you check out Blanche's Vaudeville-like presence on stage, you won't understand the full scope of reasons why this band is turning heads.
"We wanted to entertain everybody and have this real sincerity. We definitely do have a look and a style," Miller said. "That wasn't something that was a gimmick or planned out. It's just the way we all are."
Blanche on the stage is like a dusty, sepia-toned photograph that's been painted with color and brought to life. Tracee Mae Miller, Dan Miller's wife and Blanche's bass player, wears antebellum dresses, and the rest of the group follows suit with their own antiquated attire.
Dan Miller said the group has been called everything from "country rock" to "gothic country" to "cinematic Americana." But whatever the label, Miller said fans have been responding positively to the group's bizarre theatrics.
"It's so great when artists and musicians do put effort into the presentation ? as long as it's inspired by the music," Miller said.
Blanche will bring its unique sound and style to The Temple Club, 500 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing, this Friday. Miller, an MSU alumnus, said he's looking forward to having the band come out of its resting period to play in the Lansing area.
"Growing up in Michigan, everything shuts off around January and February. We'll have ourselves defrost for the show in Lansing and then get back into hibernation," he said.
