On March 18,2013,a digital download of the 11-track swing album was released exclusively for contributors to the Daddies' PledgeMusic campaign,while signed physical copies of the single and double-disc CDs were mailed out in the following weeks. [24] The Daddies eventually confirmed a wide release date of July 16 for both versions of White Teeth,Black Thoughts in April,releasing the album's first single and video,"I Love American Music",on May 15,and the second,"The Babooch",on July 2. [12] [25] On July 8, Billboard released a full stream of the swing album on their website. [26] Both CD versions of the album were released on July 16 along with a limited vinyl release of the swing album,the first Daddies album since 1990's Ferociously Stoned to be issued on vinyl.
Having retired from full-time touring after their hiatus in late 2000,the Daddies carried out a short fifteen-city tour in support of White Teeth,Black Thoughts,primarily playing within the West Coast and New England. [27] In the midst of the tour on July 25,the band appeared on the Fox-owned KTTV program Good Day L.A. ,performing the song "I Love American Music" in promotion of their show at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood that same evening. [28]
Music videos
Five music videos were filmed in promotion of White Teeth,Black Thoughts,shot by Steve Perry and the Daddies in conjunction with the Bend,Oregon-based production company AMZ Productions. [29]
"I Love American Music",the first single/video off the album,was premiered on The Onion 's A.V. Club website on May 15,2013,while the song was released to iTunes and Spotify on May 20. [25] In a blog post released the same day,Perry elaborated at length behind the song and the video,noting that it was written as a tribute to the unknown blues musicians he idolized who remained dedicated to their music despite living in poverty and obscurity,while the video reflects how the same dedication affects an musician's family life,describing it as "a Sisyphean struggle with more downs than ups". [30] The video,directed by Perry and Jesse Locke,humorously depicts Perry at his home,intently composing and singing along to the song while his frustrated wife stands to the sidelines.
On July 2,the album's second video,"The Babooch",was premiered on USA Today. [12] Again directed by Perry and Locke,the video had a decidedly political tone,featuring the Daddies performing the song while super-imposed over a montage of postcards and stock film,intercut with footage of bourgeoisie luxury and figures including Henry Paulson,Donald Trump and Mitt Romney with news footage of Occupy Wall Street and American homelessness. Perry described the video as being inspired by "punk rock clip posters",Frank Zappa 's 200 Motels and Luis Buñuel 's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie ,while noting the song was about a Gatsby-esque "one-percenter self-importantly celebrating his success","the most American character,seduced by luxury but pricked by conscience". [12] [31] [32]
The album's third music video,"Huffin' Muggles",debuted on the website for gay and lesbian magazine Out on August 27,2013. [33] Depicting Perry dressed in drag and several members of Eugene,Oregon's drag community,Perry described the song as an homage to the Warhol superstars,namely Candy Darling,Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn,as well as actress Maria Montez and the filmmaking style of experimental director Kenneth Anger. [33] [34] In addition to "huffing muggles" being 1930s/1940s slang for smoking marijuana,Perry elaborated on the meaning of the song by calling it "like an ear to the door of a casual conversation between an old experienced 'urbane' male and his younger acolytes with whom he is holding court. There is a lot of shit talking going on,and everyone is 'getting loose'",highlighting the lyrical references to William Blake 's Songs of Innocence and of Experience and noting "[w]hat I was really interested in here was the kind of cultural apprenticeship angle,and the bittersweet generosity behind the transferring of hard won cultural knowledge". [33] [34]
On April 25,2014,a week before the May 2 European release of White Teeth,Black Thoughts,the Daddies released their fourth video for "Doug the Jitterbug",a cover of a 1939 Louis Jordan song. Unlike the album's previous videos,"Doug the Jitterbug" didn't feature a narrative,but was instead a filmed live performance in black-and-white of the Daddies performing the song at the Whiteside Theatre in Corvallis,Oregon on September 21,2012,occasionally interspersed with clips of vintage films and cartoons.
On October 20,2015,over two years after the album's release,Perry posted a music video for the song "Brown Flight Jacket" to the band's YouTube account. In a Facebook post,Perry revealed the video was shot the same day as the video for "The Babooch",but "[he] forgot to put it out there for the world to enjoy". [35] Similar in aesthetic style to "The Babooch",the video depicts Perry wandering across a desert landscape singing the song,intercut with vintage footage of World War II bombers.
