Jack White: The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather and His Solo Career

Jack White is an American musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. He began his musical career in 1997 with the band The White Stripes. He has also formed other bands including The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather in addition to launching his own solo career. 

He formed The White Stripes with his then wife and drummer Meg White, however, they divorced in March of 2000, but continued to create music together. Interestingly enough Jack, born John Anthony Gillis, decided to take Meg's name. The band began its career as part of the Michigan garage rock underground music scene. The White Stripes were signed to Italy Records, a small and independent Detroit-based garage punk label and the band released its self-titled debut album in 1999, and a year later the album was followed up by the cult classic De Stijl. The album eventually peaked at No. 38 in Billboard's Independent Albums chart when the band had established their popularity. While performing and in music videos, Jack and Meg are very recognizable visually, as they dress only in red, white, and black.

The White Stripes have been nominated for 11 Grammys and have won 6. Their last three albums each won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.

On February 2, 2011, it was reported on the main page of whitestripes.com that the duo has decided to part ways. White stated that it was not due to health issues or artistic differences but there were a "myriad of reasons". This marked the end of a musical era.

Below is a small selection of songs by The White Stripes including their most recognizable song, Seven Nation Army, and some of my favorites.

Formed in 2005, The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence, and Patrick Keeler. The origin of the band was the song 'Steady, As She Goes' which White wrote along with Benson. This inspired them to create a full band with the addition of Lawrence and Keeler. The band came together in Detroit during 2005 and, for the remainder of the year, recorded when time allowed. The band's debut album Broken Boy Soldiers was recorded at Benson's home in Detroit. The band set out on tour to support the album, including eight dates as the opening act for Bob Dylan. The group's second album, Consolers of the Lonely, and its first single, "Salute Your Solution", simultaneously in 2008. The album received a Grammy nomination. In an interview in February 2010 Brendan Benson stated that the future of The Raconteurs was ambiguous, stating "I think we're all just really focused on other things." He went on to add that "it will come around and we'll get together again and hang out and maybe make a record or maybe not."

Below is their song Steady, As She Goes, and one of my favorite songs Carolina Drama.

In 2009, Jack White, along with  Alison Mosshart, Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence, formed the band The Dead Weather. The group debuted a handful of new tracks on March 11, 2009 in Nashville from their debut album Horehound, which came out July 14, 2009 in North America, on White's Third Man Records label. On October 16, 2009, Mosshart confirmed that the second album was "halfway done". The first single "Die by the Drop" was released on March 30, 2010. The new album, Sea of Cowards was released on May 11, 2010.

Throughout his career Jack White has worked with other artists. On January 30, 2012 White released "Love Interruption" as the first single of his debut solo album, Blunderbuss, which was released on April 24, 2012.

 

 

Throughout his career Jack White has created  and produced beautiful music and worked with many amazing artists. 

Urban Exploring

All of my posts up to this point have been about music, but I've decided it's time to expand the content of this blog to include other random and interesting things. In this post I will inform you about the activity of Urban Exploring. Wikipedia defines Urban Exploration as "the exploration of man-made structures, usually abandoned ruins or not usually seen components of the man-made environment." Wikipedia goes on to say that  "photography and historical interest/documentation are heavily featured in the hobby and, although it may sometimes involve trespass onto private property, this is not always the case and is of innocent intention."

Many Urban Explorers are also photographers, and many amazing photos can come out of the hobby.

To me, the thrill of Urban Exploring comes from the fact that many of the buildings and structures were once in full use, maybe hundreds of years ago and that they are now forgotten. It amazes me how such structures can be simply abandoned, left to decay. For example, the following photo of an abandoned state hospital asylum. Unfortunately there aren't many local places of this brilliance and magnitude. Many of these larger older hospitals and such are in Europe or remote places in the US. 

There are several websites dedicated to Urban Exploring in the Ohio and Great Lakes regions. Unfortunately many of these websites are out of date. It is difficult to work with outdated information because the status of a building can change in a matter of months. Many of these buildings may be torn down, or purchased and renovated for use. Some websites that focus on the Ohio and Great Lakes area include:

Ohio Exploration Society

Illicit Ohio

Dead Ohio

Great Lakes Urban Exploration


Some awesome local Ohio sites include the following:

Edwin Shaw Hospital

Chippewa Lake Amusement Park

 

St. Joseph Byzantine Church

Urban Exploring can come with several dangers. First off, it is mostly illegal as you are almost always trespassing on private property. Unfortunately police can often be assholes, to put it bluntly. There is a sort of code of conduct for Urban Explorers that you don't take anything or vandalize anything. Dangers can include asbestos, other contaminants and chemicals, dangerous heavy machinery, and structural instability such as decaying floors and ceilings. It is important to not carry any weapons, pry bars, lock pick sets, etc. that could lead police to breaking and entering or vandalism.

Urban Exploring is also some what seasonal. It is much more difficult to explore in the winter than the summer. An additional danger during the winter is homeless people. The homeless often take shelter inside abandoned buildings. Homeless may not always be a threat and can even be friendly, but it is the uncertainty that makes them a danger.

The following video is a documentary made about the hobby of Urban Exploring.

Unfortunately, over time the buildings and locations are forgotten and torn down. It is heartbreaking to do research and find a spectacular location only to find that it was recently torn down. Urban Exploring is a fun, adventurous, and sometimes dangerous activity, however it is a wonderful way to appreciate society, architecture, and civilization.