CoronaVinyl Day 336 (T): Live at the Gold Dollar by Two Star Tabernacle

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is "T," and I went with an early Jack White selection, Live at the Gold Dollar by Two Star Tabernacle.

White was in or involved with various bands in the Detroit area in the mid to late '90s, most prominently, of course, being The White Stripes.  One of those other bands was Two Star Tabernacle, a short-lived garage rock band that only released two singles.  Aside from White on guitar and vocals, the others in the group would also feature prominently in the Detroit music scene.  On the other guitar and vocals was Dan John Miller, who would go on to form garage country band Blanche, along with his wife Tracee Mae Miller, who was the bassist in Two Star Tabernacle.  Dan John also went on to play Johnny Cash's guitarist Luther Perkins in the 2005 Cash biopic Walk the Line.  On drums was Damian Lang, who would go on to play the drums in the Detroit Cobras.

This album is a January 1998 live set that the band played at the Gold Dollar in Detroit, and it was part of a Third Man Records Vault record club package, along with a couple other early White band live shows from the Gold Dollar (The Go and Jack White & The Bricks).  It's one of only two known live recordings of the band, and as a White Stripes fanatic, what I found interesting was that there are two early versions of what would become White Stripes songs:  "Hotel Yorba" and "Now Mary," both of which would end up on the band's fantastic 2001 breakthrough album White Blood Cells.  Dan John Miller would also co-direct the White Stripes' video for "Hotel Yorba," which is one of my favorite White Stripes songs.  The version of "Now Mary" by Two Star Tabernacle is definitely different than the one that ended up on White Blood Cells, starting out with a riff that reminded me of another White Stripes' song, their version of "Black Jack Davey."

The album was pretty solid overall.  It was what you'd expect from an early Jack White project -- garage rock, punk, and rockabilly, all rolled into one.  I was also pleasantly surprised at the sound.  I expected it not to be all that great, but it was actually really good, considering this was a live recording in a club in 1998.

Needless to say, this album isn't available on Spotify or YouTube.

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Itchy"
White handles lead vocals on this one, which he also wrote.  I guess I'd classify it as garage country punk.  It's got a breakneck pace behind a country-ish drumbeat, with wailing guitars.

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "Jesus and Tequila"
Well, one outta two ain't bad.  But seriously, what a great name for a song.