Jack White’s bassist and tour music director Dominic John Davis reveals the story behind the Michigan native’s new studio albums and his upcoming tour, which stops Sunday in Grand Rapids.
Lots of Happenstance on Stage: Jack White’s tour kicks off Friday. (Courtesy Photo)
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Bold and daring.
Those two words surface often when bassist Dominic John Davis discusses his boss Jack White and the innovative, adventurous and often-risky tack that the Detroit-bred rock icon takes in the studio and on the stage.
There’s White’s ability to play all the instruments on an album if need be, to perform every night without a set list and not even tell his bandmates what song is coming next, and to defy convention by insisting on phone-free concerts, with fans required to lock their cellphones away in pouches to eliminate distractions.
He’s a musician and producer who upholsters furniture, owns the Nashville-based Third Man Records that also runs a vinyl-pressing plant and collaborates enthusiastically with artists ranging from country legend Loretta Lynn to rapper Q-Tip, who’s featured on White’s latest single.
On Stage in 2018: Dominic John Davis (Photo/David James Swanson)
Oh, and how about releasing not one, but two, albums within a three-month period that are polar opposites in terms of stylistic direction?
“The music kind of tells him where to go,” Davis suggests, noting there frequently are “blurred lines” in the studio as White develops songs and projects. “He’s a real problem-solver in the studio. It’s all process with him.”
Tracks from those much-buzzed-about new studio releases – “Fear of the Dawn,” being released Friday and described by Davis as “heavy the entire way through,” and “Entering Heaven Alive,” dropping July 22, that’s mostly acoustic and “more on the gentle side” – are among more than 100 songs that White and his band have tackled during rehearsals.
The tour kicks off Friday in Detroit, with a Sunday show at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. (Get tickets — $25 to $146 — here.)
“He sends us sort of a list of what he might want to do, but then in rehearsal he might start with something not on the list. So then we add it to the list and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger,” said Davis, who grew up with White in Detroit and serves as the tour’s music director.
That means fans can expect everything from old White Stripes classics to songs from The Dead Weather to just about anything else White might decide to roll out on the spur of the moment during shows. It’s the sort of creative spontaneity that’s long propelled White’s approach in rehearsals, in the studio and on stage.
And, of course, Davis and his fellow bandmates have to react quickly on the fly.
LETTING THINGS HAPPEN IN ‘OFF THE CUFF’ FASHION
“There’s something he might start on piano and he’ll start it on guitar or vice versa or whatever,” the bassist points out. “He’ll play songs we’ve never played before sometimes. He’s just feeling it and he goes for it. So, there’s always a moment where you have to think to yourself, ‘Do I know this song?’
“It’s interesting. It’s really daring. And I don’t think people realize how much off the cuff it is.”
Working as a four-piece band on this tour – “the smallest band we’ve ever gone out with” – Davis says the overall performance vibe is actually “heavier in a way. It’s almost more concise. It’s a lot tighter, so it is heavy, but we are doing a lot of the acoustic stuff (from the upcoming ‘Entering Heaven Alive’). That’s what’s great about this band where you kind of do it all.”
Vinyl Devotee: Jack White at Third Man Records’ pressing plant. (Courtesy Photo)
The band includes another Michigander, drummer Daru Jones from Flint. So, Davis says, they’re more than excited to kick it all off this weekend with two straight shows at Detroit’s Masonic Temple before traveling to Grand Rapids for White’s first West Michigan show since 2018, when the band played 20 Monroe Live.
“The Masonic is right next door to where Jack and I went to high school,” says Davis. “That (venue) means a lot. Jack’s mom was an usher there.”
Not only that, but with their beloved Detroit Tigers opening the baseball season at Comerica Park, White and band will get to perform the National Anthem as an instrumental before Friday’s game.
“It feels great,” Davis says of getting back on the road. “In (the pandemic lockdown) I realized how much I need it or look forward to it.”
Releasing Two Albums in 2022: White (Courtesy Photo)
While touring the United States and Europe with White will occupy Davis for much of 2022, the Nashville-based Michigan native who frequently performs with his wife, singer-songwriter Rachael Davis, and regional favorite Steppin’ In It, has also established himself as a go-to producer.
He co-produced Greensky Bluegrass’ latest, acclaimed album, “Stress Dreams,” and handled recent projects for fellow Michigan natives Luke Winslow-King, G’itis Baggs, Aspen Jacobsen and others.
“My strength is helping other people,” Davis says of his move toward engineering and production. “They are different worlds and it’s a lot of work. That’s pretty much all I’ve been doing since the last Jack tour.”
For now, though, it’s all about helping direct traffic and supporting his lifelong pal during those bold and daring Jack White spectacles at diverse and historic concert halls across the globe. Every night, he says, will be unique and distinctive.
“That’s what great about this tour. They’re all going to be different,” he says. “There’s a lot of happenstance, like, you know letting things breathe, letting things happen.”
Tune in to Local Spins on WYCE on WYCE (88.1 FMR) or online at wyce.org at 11 a.m. Friday to hear more of our interview with Dominic John Davis.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: JACK WHITE AT VAN ANDEL ARENA
• THE PERFORMERS – Jack White, with opening act Olivia Jean, 8 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25 to $146 and available online here.
• THE PHONE-FREE EXPERIENCE – As with past Jack White tours, concertgoers will be required to place their cellphones in a lockable Yondr pouch so they can’t be used inside the arena’s performance space. Fans will take the pouches with them and if they need to use their cellphones, they’ll be directed to a “Phone Use Area” in the concourse/lobby where they can be unlocked for use. Fans are encouraged to leave their phones at home and print out their tickets for entry, and use a physical credit card for merch and beverages.
• OTHER RULES – The arena has a “No Bag” policy which means no purses, backpacks or bags are allowed into the venue (other than those required for medical or parenting needs). Clutches measuring larger than 4.5″ x 6.5″ x 2″ are prohibited. There currently are no proof-of-vaccination or mask requirements for arena shows. And because cellphone use inside the arena performance area isn’t permitted, the tour photographer will post photos after the show online at jackwhiteiii.com and on Instagram @officialjackwhite.
VIDEO: “Fear of the Dawn,” Jack White
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