The origins of Blanche can be traced back to the early '90s band
Goober & the Peas. Led by Dan "Goober" Miller, the band was devoted to
cowpunk, and dressed in honky-tonk attire. After the break-up of Goober & The Peas, three of the band's members—Dan Miller,
Jack White, and Damian Lang—formed the garage rock band
Two-Star Tabernacle with Miller's wife Tracee Mae Miller. The band split in 1999, after releasing one 7-inch vinyl with
Andre Williams. White went on to form
The White Stripes, Lang joined
The Detroit Cobras, and Dan and Tracee Mae formed Blanche.
If We Can't Trust the Doctors (2004),
V2 Records/Cass Records/
Loose
Little Amber Bottles (2007), Loose
EPs
Demo EP (2003), self-released
America's Newest Hitmakers (2004), Loose
What This Town Needs (2006), V2 Records/Loose
Singles
"Who's to Say/Superstition" 7" (2004), Cass Records
Other appearances
"Never Again" (demo, Comes with a Smile No. 14, spring 2004)
Other projects
In addition to Blanche, the band members have been involved in various other music and arts:
In the 2005 biopic of
Johnny Cash, Walk the Line, Dan Miller played the major supporting role of
Luther Perkins, Cash's guitarist. Perkins' wife, Margie, was portrayed by Tracee Mae. Miller also appeared on the film's
T-Bone Burnett-produced soundtrack.
Tracee Mae Miller is an
established painter, and also makes many of her own dresses. For a short time, she ran a popular
eBay store, where she sold revamped vintage clothing.
Feeny was in the '80s garage band The Hysteric Narcotics as well as the
Orange Roughies, and is currently also in the band
American Mars. Feeny was fortunate enough to play pedal steel guitar and engineer on the grammy award winning Loretta Lynn record 'Van Lear Rose'. [1] He also runs
Tempermill Studios.
Little Jack Lawrence has been the long-time bassist for
The Greenhornes, and has been known to play with both bands on the same night. He is also a member of
Jack White's bands
The Raconteurs and
The Dead Weather. Lawrence's stand-ins for live performances with Blanche have included former member Patch Boyle, Detroit musicians
Dean Fertita and Steve Nawara, and Goober & the Peas member Tom Hendrickson Jr.
Lawrence, Miller, and Feeny briefly played in the Do-Whaters (along with the Greenhornes' drummer
Patrick Keeler), the backing band for
Loretta Lynn's 2004 album, Van Lear Rose. The album was produced by Jack White, who also led the band.
Patch Boyle has drifted out of the music business, and is the co-founder of the Detroit web magazine
Model D.