Happy Birthday Jack White!!

Happy 37th birthday to the man, Jack White III!!

My first memory of Jack White was seeing the video for The White Stripes' "Fell In Love With A Girl".  All those Legos swirling red, white, and black all over the screen with that gritty guitar and Meg White's child-like drumming.  It was sensory overload and I was enamored.  My first live experience was at my first Coachella in 2003.  The White Stripes played the main stage and somehow made the Empire Polo Fields feel like a 200 person capacity bar crammed with 50,000 audience members.  I got to see them once again, after the tremendous Elephant came out, in my home town of Las Vegas.  Jack walked on the stage, bit into a bright, red apple, tossed it into the voracious crowd, and hammered out "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground".  His showmanship was beyond compare and still is.  

Since then, Jack White has been in a number of crazy, successful bands (Raconteurs, Dead Weather), opened up his own label, Third Man Records, collaborated with artists ranging from Beck to Insane Clown Posse, and become a household name.  He's a musician's musician with mainstream appeal, a tight-rope walk that barely anyone can pull off.

Jack does music for the right reason: because he has to!!  It's his life.  It's not blood that flows through his veins, but pure musical talent.  I can't think of another performer besides maybe Prince or Beck that can pick up any instrument and play it like a master.  I just want to be his friend one day and pick his brain, ha!!

In Jack White's honor, here's a song by Son House called "Grinnin' In Your Face".  Jack has referenced this song in many interviews as his all time favorite tune.  So here's to you, Jack White!!  Many more birthdays and incredible music to come, I'm sure.

Say It Ain't So!!: The White Stripes Have Broken Up

You read correctly.  The seminal rock duo from Detroit, The White Stripes, have officially broken up.  Jack and Meg White released a statement on their website here.  Unfortunately, it is true.

It is of my opinion that Jack White is the most prolific musician of this generation.  Anything that this man has touched has turned to ROCK!!  Whether it be fronting The White Stripes on vocals and guitar, taking a step back as a supporting member of The Raconteurs,  drumming duties in The Dead Weather, or producing the likes of classic artists such as Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson.  Mr. White has an old-school approach to creating music;  always analog, if possible, rejecting the digital takeover of recording that has encapsulated almost the entire music industry.  He founded Third Man Records based out of Nashville, TN in that regard, on the basis that less is more (and in Jack White's case, he is an artist of the highest caliber in that department).  Jack has the utmost appreciation of music as a historical contribution to humanity, and does everything he can to preserve, respect, and add to it's legacy. 

Here's an excerpt of an interview with The White Stripes on The Charlie Rose Show, my personal favorite interview I've seen of Jack and Meg.  Around 1:56 in the video Jack gets down to what they are trying to accomplish with their style:

Here is another excerpt from the same interview pertaining to why The White Stripes were created.  At about :30 into the video is what I believe every great musician tries to do:

From my experience as a performer, I know exactly what Jack White is talking about.  When a musician is in love with music that strikes a chord in them, the goal is to try and get others whom are unaware of said music, to pay attention.  Jack talks about "tricking" people into listening to the blues by putting his own spin on it with The White Stripes, hoping that the audience will dig for the hidden treasures of a time that has passed by exploring the influential artists in White's life by proxy, thus, preserving these historic performers and their legacy.

In my personal musical endeavors, I always admit that I'm trying to "rip off" the bands and musicians that have had similar impacts in my life.  I believe that you can't know where you're going unless you know where you've been.  Most musicians I know strive to be as good as the artists that inspired them to pick up their instruments in the first place.  If I can create a drum beat that alludes to Josh Freese, Jon Theodore, Elvin Jones, or Brooks Wackerman, and I'm approached by someone after a show that notices what I'm trying to do, it makes me smile; I'm fooling the audience into appreciating other artists by imitating them.

Though I'm sad that there will probably be no more new White Stripes records, I can't stay glum for long.  As you read this post, Jack White is most likely in his laboratory creating 10 more projects that will all blow the minds of the lucky who will be exposed to them.  And I can't be too surprised that this break-up has happened considering The White Stripes have been on hiatus for over 3 years now, but I don't want to take away from the significance of this event with my hipster proclivity to not being surprised. 

The White Stripes is where it all started for Jack White.  He'll be making music until his hands fall off, and even then I'm sure he'd find a way to make some killer tunes.  Bon Voyage, White Stripes;  you'll be dearly missed!!