Joe & Co Interview with China White

CHINA WHITE INTERVIEW

Joe & Co are pleased to interview 'LIAM' of the wicked band 'CHINA WHITE'

We caught up with Liam after we had a night out at Manchesters famous Band On The Wall 

J&C

You have worked with some great artists in the past, Kermit being one of them. Do you have any plans working together again and if so in what capacity?

CW

Yeah I'm sure we'll work together again. We've spoke about it and it's something we'd both like to do, maybe even a side project separate to China White...who knows? Danny Saber introduced us both and we did a track for Danny's upcoming album 'Saber Bytes'. We also appear together on a couple of tracks for Keith Allens Olympic album which is due out in July. We'll be performing together throughout the summer as part of Fit Les aka (Fat Les) at a number of gigs and festivals so I suppose the answer is yes haha we'll definitely be working together again.

J&C

How did working on an Olympic project with Keith Allan come about and what does it entail ?

CH

Well we were actually introduced to Keith through Kermit. We stayed at his house and worked through the night on the tracks for the album. Keith is a cool guy and made us feel really welcome. The session was really relaxed and people were throwing ideas about, the tracks are now sounding amazing. We've also done the remix for the lead single from the album. Rowetta appears on the track which is due out next month. Also Keith keeps these really cool pigs with Blonde dreadlocks which we're looking really attractive by the end of the session. If you get a chance you should try and catch one of the shows over the summer where we'll be performing the whole opera in full, gonna be nuts!!! Will cliff be there?

J&C

Do you see colabs with other artists the way forward to get you music recognised to a wider audience or is this something that just happened ?

CW

I think they can be, I know mainstream pop uses colabs a lot to break into other markets but that's not something we've ever done. We've always worked with people who we feel can benefit the track we're working on at the time. What colabs can do is open doors in the sense that you get introduced to a lot of different people and that can lead to other opportunities. When we started off we had a hit list of people we wanted to work with and are nearly at the bottom of it now, haha. I think there's only Jesus and Elvis left and neither of them are returning my calls so they can both get fucked. They're loss at the end of the day...know what I mean.

J&C

The festivals are now upon us. Are there any of these China White fancy doing? I believe your doing something at the Strummer Of Love, can you elaborate on this ad how you got involved

CW

We're playing Strummer Of Love on the 17th August and also on the 18th with Keith as part of Fit Les. The festival is to mark the 10th Anniversary of Joe Strummers death. We feel honoured to be playing it, it' run by his family and friends and there's an amazing line-up. It'll be a proper celebration. Good vibes all round. It came about from the fact that Keith Allen, Danny Saber, Kermit ad Harry The dog were all good friends of Joe Strummer. So obviously as we're working with all these people we were asked to play the festival. Can't wait, gonna be a great summer. I'd love to play Glastonbury and will. We've just done a track with Joe Strummers Daughter Eliza which should be finished in a couple of weeks. She's got an amazing voice...watch this space.

J&C

The industry is full of great artists and bands are popping up all over the place, what makes China White different from all the rest ?

CW

The fact we're not really a band helps. China White's a collective that's lead by myself and Antony, our ugly mugs will always be there. Also Inder Goldfinger's a permanent member. He's our Guru and a real good friend. I can be in his company for two minutes and be in tears with laughter. That's what you want when making music, a good positive environment. Being a collective separates us from other bands in the sense that it allows to work with a wide range of musicians, producers and vocalists. China Whites like a funk driven freight train, slipping through the world like an EEL through seaweed. Allot of the bands out there are almost comical man, they make me laugh. Stuck in a time-warp with mad hair and bad skin. But at least they're trying, god loves a trier.

J&C

We know the industry is so cut throat. We have had the Mondays & the Roses fucked by their management and everyone else, is this something that concerns you and the band?

CW
Yeah it does but you've just gotta be careful. We we're stung by

a horrible little poisoned who did nothing but waste our time. Everything we've achieved and are achieving is from ourselves, we manage our own business. Allot of kids are so quick to jump into a management deal because they think it sounds good and makes them credible. They're are good managers out there I'm sure and if you're product is something that can make money they will find you.

J&C

You have recently returned from LA, working with Harry the dog (pmsl)... How did his go & do you have any plans to go back?

CW

L.A was great man, we were staying with Danny Saber in west Hollywood recording tracks for our album and met Harry while over there. He's an old friend of Danny's. Harry's a lovely guy. Working with Danny was an amazing experience, him and his wife Helen looked after us and we got some really good stuff done. They're such cool people, it was fuckin ace!!! we'll be going back later on in the year to carry on recording with D. We talk every week and are working on a few big things. Harry has appeared on the track with Joe's Daughter Eliza. John X is remixing it. It's by far the biggest collab we've done. It'll be finished in a couple of weeks. Otter and Out x.

Jacket Required Feb 2012

With a new easy-to-navigate venue, improved brand selection, relaxed
atmosphere and the coolest people in town, Jacket Required’s
second edition took off where the first one left us – with some
aplomb. Tom Bottomley talked to some of the movers and shakers
and picked a few of his favourite brands to watch out for.

Brand spotlight:

Joe & Co Premium Apparel & Denim

This is former retailer Josef Schindler’s baby, and it

was almost odd to see some decent premium

selvedge indigo denim on show (there is some great

Made in England apparel too), such has been the

chino overkill of late. Schindler says he’s looking at

building the business through the website

(www.wearejoandco.co.uk) and Independants.
 He also says it’s not about being a fashion

brand, but more inspired by timeless workwear and
military classics. The denim has two tiers, the top
end made in Japan, at one of the most respected
denim mills and retailing at £200, and lower price
point  made in USA & EU with the entry level denim
starting at £65.00 - £125 plus for the USA made denim,
these are more accessible. The shirts are all
limited edition and made in Manchester. “Once
you’ve seen it, it’s gone – you’re not going to get it
again,” says Schindler. “It’s not mass produced, so it
isn’t going to be everywhere.” Now that’s a decent
sales patter to go with some good looking kit.

SS12 Now Online.

So the sun is out, and so is our Spring Summer collection for 2012. The collection consists of 2 styles of denim 'Arkwright' and 'Davy'. Both 13oz RAW 5 pocket denim with chain stitch hem, copper top button & rivets. Quality and fit of our denim is superb. We recommend when purchasing your normal size and keep to the washing instructions on the printed pocket bag.

4 styles of shirts 'Kelly', 'Miller', 'Murdock' and 'Jenner'. These are easy to wear garments in high end 100% cotton, with a huge amount of attention paid to both colours and detail.

And finally 4 styles of jerseys 'Bessemer', 'Hyatt', 'Folwer' and 'Cugnot'. 4 very different styles of jerseys. Our 'Bessemer' a 100% Cotton 420 gram loopback Dark Navy & Ecru sweatshirt. Inspired from the 1950s college era. Our 'Hyatt' a 100% cotton flam jersey with contrasting 4oz chambray detailng button down collar. And our 'Folwer' a 100% Cotton, Dark Navy Flam Jersey 4 button t.shirt, detailed with engineered stripe inner yoke & inner placket. Both short sleeve. And last but not least our 'Cugnot', a 100% Cotton flam jersey grandad style long sleeve jersey, with engineered stripe bib front & inner yoke. Light layering at it's very best.

All these can be found on our online store. http://wearejoeandco.co.uk/index.php.
Spring Summer garments are all Limited Edition pieces so dont hang around.

AW12 Preview @ Jacket Required

Here is a small selection of what is to come for coming for AW12. Fabrics are from Japan & Italy, All the shirts our made in our factory in Manchester, England and will be in limited edition numbers and available from September 2012 if not before

More denim for AW12. fabrics are from Japan & USA and are made in Japan, USA & England. All denims are either Red, White, or Blue selvedge, and come RAW. Available from September 2012 if not before

Our first pair of the JCXX01s. These are 2 year old and have been washed about a dozen times, without any chemicals. The fabric is a 13.5oz, red selvedge, from the NM mill and Made In Japan. Available in RAW only, from September 2010 if not before

One of the early Cone Denim Mills c1895

This is the White Oak weaving room at the Cone Denim Mills,North Carolina, USA  C1900 where Joe & Co use there fabric for there USA made denim. Some of these weaving machines are still in use today and in some cases more reliable then modern looms.

Japanese Red Selvedge Detail.

Here are some detailed shots of our JCXXYO-01s Japanese Red Selvedge.

Article by Dan

Joe & Co Japanese Red Selvedge.

Altering a pair of Joe & Co Japanese Red Selvedge. The denim is made in Japan from the Yoshikawa Orimono Mill in Ibara, Okayama. This model is the JCXXYO-01s Red Selvedge, and they come in very limited numbers. Attention to detail means a lot to us, the button heads and rivets are made out
of copper, the button and rivet pins are embossed with theJoe & Co sewing machine logo and the waistband patch is made from a high grade leather. All the denim comes with chain stitch hems,
as you would expect from a any premium denim garment made in Japan.

As the jeans have a chain stitch hem they needed to be altered by a tailor with a chain stitch machine. These are very hard to come by and only a few tailors have the right equipment to do the job. Luckily enough we had one just on our doorstep, the Denim Doctor based in Manchester. We spoke with Michael (the Denim Doc) who took a few measurements then got to work. (images below)

Article by Dan