Charley Crockett dropped satanic doo-wop duo Twin Temple as the opening act for two of his shows this month, a July 14 date in Troutdale, Ore., and a July 18 stop in Paso Robles. Twin Temple, the husband-and-wife act of Alexandra and Zachary James, said on Instagram that Crockett had pulled them from the dates "due to our Satanic imagery," a reference to songs like "Satan's a Woman" and "Let's Have a Satanic Orgy." Crockett posted his own message, since deleted, that read "Hail Satan? Not me Jack."
Jack White, the former White Stripes frontman then in the middle of a world tour behind his new album "Frozen Charlotte," saw the fallout online and stepped in with an offer of his own. "Twin Temple, Would you like to open my show in L.A. on September 29th at the Hollywood Palladium? Let me know," he posted, punctuating the invite with "Get in front of me Satan!" Twin Temple accepted in the same thread, telling White they were lifelong fans and calling the offer "a most infernal pleasure."
For readers unfamiliar with the players: Twin Temple bills itself as satanic doo-wop, pairing 1960s girl-group harmonies with occult lyrics on songs including "Lucifer, My Love" and "Burn Your Bible." Charley Crockett is an outlaw country singer who released his 16th studio album, "Age of the Ram," in April. Jack White, the former White Stripes frontman, has spent decades mixing garage rock grit with blues, and was already headlining his own dates when he pulled Twin Temple into the bill.
Twin Temple wasn't out of work long. Two days after the Crockett split, the duo announced its third album, "Doomed Lovers," due out Oct. 9 on their own label, Pentagrammaton Records, produced by Shooter Jennings, who also produced Crockett's "Age of the Ram." Singer Alexandra James later told Rolling Stone, as the LA Times reported, that Satan represents "the original outlaw" who "questioned authority, fought for himself, refused to bow down or conform," framing the band's imagery as more philosophical than shock value.
The tension hasn't fully cooled. Crockett has kept posting about the split from the road, writing on Facebook that he now knows "how it feels when they try to cancel you on the right AND the left," while insisting he never signed on for Twin Temple's brand of theater. White's Hollywood Palladium show with Twin Temple opening is set for Sept. 29, part of a run fans can follow on the tour guide, and it remains to be seen whether the two acts cross paths again once Crockett's own tour continues without them.
The facts
- Charley Crockett dropped Twin Temple as openers for two of his July shows over their Satanic imagery
- Jack White invited Twin Temple to open his Sept. 29 show at the Hollywood Palladium
- Twin Temple then announced its third album, "Doomed Lovers," due Oct. 9 on its own label, Pentagrammaton Records
- The new album is produced by Shooter Jennings, who also produced Crockett's own "Age of the Ram"
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