After a slew of notorious interviews and “choice words,” Jack White recently sat down for yet another interview. Instead of openly bashing The Black Keys, Adele, or the other half of The White Stripes, Meg White, this interview is a rather intrepid look into the creative mind of Jack White himself. The interview, although not completely released as of yet, is with Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready on Pearl Jam’s SiriusXM channel. Three clips equating to roughly five minutes of interview have appeared on SoundCloud.
In it, Jack White discusses his various roles when either writing or producing a White Stripes album, his solo work, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, or whatever he decides to dedicate his immense passion towards next. He also talks in depth about producing other artists’ work, too, such as Wanda Jackson, Transit, and Loretta Lynn. Jack White, as he has worked with female musicians in the past, even discusses sexual politics and blatant sexism in the industry. He even says the “ultimate shame” about women in the industry is that they “have to try twice as hard to really prove themselves.” Coming from a man who has been very active in the music industry in the past two decades, it’s interesting terrain and a really great insight into just how infected the industry is with sexism.
On another deep level, White even mentions his personal life and how he balances all his projects, from actor, to father, to musician, to Guinness World Records holder. “I guess I’m sort of blowing it on one side of my life [in terms of] having fun. I’ve only been on five or six vacations in my life and sometimes I think I’m making a big mistake… I just don’t ever feel that feeling on stage or when I’m writing. It feels like a sin to be having fun.”
At one point he even calls some of his songs, “happy accidents,” leaving fans curious as to which ones. Were “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” “Steady, As She Goes,” or “Treat Me Like Your Mother” “happy accidents?” Tune into Pearl Jam’s SiriusXM station on Wednesday, October 8th at 9pm to get a personal understanding of the man, the myth, and the current legend, Jack White.