4. Wild Card

 Jack White

After a weekend in Nashville, TN, I have become a major fan of the artist Jack White. It started after a trip to Third Man Records. To give a little background information, Jack White is most famously known for his role in the band The White Stripes. The band consisted of Jack and Meg White, who were married but by the time they blew up in 2003 had already divorced. The funniest part was the couple told people they were siblings to avoid people making the band about relationship drama, as opposed to the music itself. From the very start, Jack made his music his priority. It becomes more and more clear as you watch his career expand.

White has been a part of numerous bands, writing music and even serving as a stand-in. Going back in time, the 19-year-old got his first gig as drummer for the Detroit-based band Goober & the Peas. Soon after he met his soon-to-be wife and they formed The White Stripes. While still making music with Meg White, Jack created a full band with artists Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keller to form The Raconteurs. In 2006, the band and their lead single, “Steady as She Goes,” was nominated for Grammys Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Two years later the band's album, Consolers of the Lonely, was nominated for the Grammy award for Best Rock Album.

As White worked with all of these other bands on stage, he was also participating in a lot of songwriting behind closed doors. In 2004, White produced and performed on Loretta Lynn’s album Van Lear Rose. In 2008, he collaborated with Alicia Keys to write the song “Another Way to Die'' which was the theme song for the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. His first solo album, Blunderbuss, received 3 Grammy nominations.

Circling back to Third Man Records, it is an independent record label founded in 2001 by Jack White. The first physical store was first established in Detroit, MI, where White is from. It was a mixture of a record store, recording studio, and headquarters for the music label.

Third Man Records in Detroit, MI

In 2009, after White moved to Nashville, the brand expanded and opened up a Third Man Records store in Nashville. The store is a combination of a record store, label offices, a recording studio, a photo studio/darkroom, and “The Blue Room.” The Blue Room is a live performance venue and the only venue in the world to record live shows direct-to-acetate, where artists would perform, and simultaneously the sound would be pressed into a vinyl record. The darkroom, Third Man Photo Studio, is also found on-site and it specializes in the development of high-quality film and analog print. It is available for rent. Customers can drop off their film rolls at the store’s front desk or the 24-hour drop box. For those who live out of town, or even state photographers can mail in their films. 

Third Man Records in Nashville, TN

Their most recent addition to the franchise is their Third Man Records store which opened in Soho, London in 2021. This area in London is known for its abundant musical history. Like the two others, founder Jack White fully designed the store's concept and wanted to create a space for artists internationally to experience what those in Detroit and Nashville do at these studios. The London location has a basement named “The Blue Basement” which is the same thing as The Blue Basement found in Nashville. In the basement, artists can perform live for audiences, while also recording their music directly onto vinyl in the studio that is named “Literarium.”

Jack White is known for being really innovative when it comes to music and the sounds he produces. So when you learn that his business ventures are just as creative, his ideas start to make sense. White has a lot of history of being in the spotlight. From a young age, he has controlled what people think about him. During his time in The White Stripes, White has been in several bands. More recently, White has been focusing on shaping his solo career. 

He recently released his newest solo album called “Fear of the Dawn.” For the campaign of the album, White worked with Nashville-based photographer Paige Sara. Paige is a freelance photographer that shoots campaigns and concert photography. This project in particular was featured in Rolling Stones, Variety, and featured on the cover of SPIN.

The newly released album “Fear of the Dawn,” was released on April 8th of 2022. Rolling Stones described it as “a bizarre, euphoric experiment.” Pitchfork summarized the album as “an illogical fusion of blues-rock and carnival prog, this music is genuinely, imaginatively weird.” Which I think is the perfect description of this album. White is expected to release another album in July of this year. This album will become his 5th solo album. The latest two are his first albums released in 4 years.

Jack White for Rolling Stone by Paige Sara