Whyte Out: It's Rock, It's Dance, But It's Not Funk

Who are Whyte Out?

Kenneth Carter, 29, guitar player, researcher for the Washington State Bar Association.

Troy "T-Roy" Berry, 28, drummer, doorman at Deja Vu.

Raven Dullea, 30, bass player, warehouse supervisor for Ogden Entertainment.

Thom Haynes, 29, lead singer, works at Print King Copying.

Eddie D'Costa, 24, lead guitar, cook at The Bean Collection.

How they got together: Carter explains: "Three of us (Carter, Berry and Dullea) grew up together in Chicago. We wanted to start an all-black rock band. I love rock music and really, other than Living Colour and Body Count, there aren't any (black rock bands). Three years ago, I met (drummer) Troy at the Vogue. We met Eddie about a year later. Got some songs together." The band's first show was at Gibson's, New Year's Eve 1993.How they describe their music: "People say we sound like Rage Against The Machine crossed with Black Sabbath. Three of us grew up listening to dance music, so we mix that into it too. It's pretty hard rock 'n' roll, but very danceable, but not funk. They do original songs (written by Carter and Haynes), including: -- "Fear" - "It talks about politics. A government disapproval song." -- "Picking Cotton" - "It's just about being black in America, the perceptions, all the stereotypes." -- "Room" - "About our personal fears . . . trying to make a dream come true." What they're all about on stage: "We try to do a lot for our audience other than just stand up there and play our music. Our drummer destroys a drum set. We have pyros and blow things up." How they came up with the band's name: "We were joking around. Tommy said let's call ourselves White Out because there are no white guys in the band. People think we're racist, but we're all (racially) mixed. Then we thought about the Liquid Paper product, and we changed it to Whyte Out."The bands Whyte Out likes: Kenneth: a big Soundgarden and Led Zeppelin fan. Eddie: underground New York rock 'n' roll. T-Roy: grew up on Kiss and Rolling Stones. Raven: listens to everything. Thom: "If it's not hard," says Berry, "he doesn't like it. We're one of the few bands that can get people from (dance club) Electrolush and say, AC/DC fans." Where you can hear Whyte Out: Tomorrow, 11 p.m. at The Colourbox.

Are you in a local band? If you'd like to be considered for Sound Check, send a bio, list of gigs, tape or CD, and a photo to Sound Check, Seattle Times, P O Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111.

Hearing test For a sound check of Whyte Out call the Seattle Times InfoLine at 464-2000 from a touch-tone phone and then enter category BAND (2263). This is a free call within the local Seattle calling area.