Lyrical lunacy puts Heat into Whirlwind

By REBECCA BARRY

Had it not been for Jack White, Whirlwind Heat could have easily slipped into indie obscurity. The White Stripes' frontman and blues-punk revivalist saw the trio from Grand Rapids, Michigan, play across the state in Detroit and liked their loose, guitarless grunt and mop-topped, manic dynamic so much he offered to produce their debut album, Do Rabbits Wonder?

Now, singer/keyboardist David Swanson, bass player Steve Damstra and drummer Brad Holland are touring their jarring, stripped-down groove and skittish dance moves around the world.

"It gets pretty crazy sometimes," says Damstra, recovering from a responsive show in Texas. "A lot of stuff gets thrown around and sometimes we kinda get hurt. We actually fell down some stairs the other night. It's all well and good fun."

So is the music. When their guitarist left the band a few years ago, they decided against replacing him and bought a Moog synthesiser "with a mind of its own" instead.

It was the day the true Whirlwind Heat was born, an unconventional set-up that laid bare Damstra's rambling bass lines.

"The only thing I have to worry about is if I make a mistake. I don't really have anything to cover it up," he laughs. "But we're not too technical as a band."

Take the abstract lyrics, for instance, an almost da-da inspired string of words, delivered either in vaguely melodic deadpan or psychotic falsetto.

"Now she haaas, mat-ted hair!" Swanson screeches on Yellow. (Each song title is named after a different colour). And on Tan, "Pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty decal on my sticker".

Swanson comes up with his lyrical lunacy simply by interpreting everyday experiences, says Damstra. Occasionally he'll scour the dictionary, pairing strange words with ordinary meanings. Occasionally, his bandmates will ask him what he's thinking.

"It depends on where you're playing, but a lot of shows we played in our home town, people just didn't get it. It still happens quite a bit. Grand Rapids is a really conservative town, there's not really a music scene. The only music scene that is there is like, metal rock, grungy, dirty rock kind of crap."

Still, it was the dank rock of Nirvana, Mudhoney and the Melvins that turned them on to music in the first place. The old school friends would hang out at each others' houses in the weekends, listening to records, playing grunge covers and messing around with words.

They named themselves after Raymond Pettibon's image on Sonic Youth's Goo album cover and started playing gigs, following around indie band Arab On Radar on tour and sneakily proclaiming themselves their support act.

The Jack White hook-up occurred when his friend recommended he see Whirlwind Heat play. Impressed, White recorded three tracks with them for a 7-inch Glaxefusion compilation and worked with them on the album.

Swanson returned the favour, becoming one of the White Stripes' most avid documentarians, photographing and filming while they recorded White Blood Cells in 2001 and Elephant, released this year.

"The thing about Jack is he really knows what he wants in life, I think, and in music," says Damstra. "He just goes for it, he knows what kind of sound he wants. He's really into simple ideas and we were into simple ideas. We had that in common."

Although the two bands share minimalist, raunchy beats and deliberate ambiguity, Whirlwind Heat seem less nostalgic about their roots and more interested in making mayhem.

"I don't think we're a joke band, but we all have a pretty good sense of humour and a lot of stuff comes from jokes," he says. "We're pretty big dorks. A few bands, like Creed, there's nothing fun about that band whatsoever."

Performance

* Who: Whirlwind Heat

* When: tomorrow

* Where: Kings Arms with Mint Chicks, Rock'n'Roll Machine, Hellsquad

* Also: Whirlwind Heat support White Stripes at St James, Tuesday