By Kreig Marks, May 2025

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TRR: Jack, you’ve always been a champion of analog in a digital age. What still draws you to tape, vinyl, and raw sound?

 

Jack White: It’s alive. Tape breathes. Vinyl has soul. You lose that humanity when everything’s zeros and ones. I’m not anti-digital, but analog has imperfection, grit, and grit tells the truth.

 

TRR: You’ve released music under multiple bands; The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and solo. How do you decide what musical idea belongs where?

 

Jack White: The song tells me. If it feels stripped to the bone, it’s White Stripes. If it’s swagger and conversation, that’s Raconteurs. If it’s dark and snarling, Dead Weather’s knocking. I don’t force it, I just listen.

 

TRR: You often mix blues, garage rock, country, even punk. Is there a sound you haven’t touched yet that you’re itching to explore?

 

Jack White: I’ve been playing with Arabic scales recently, and Mongolian throat singing. Not even kidding. Music is endless. When you think you’ve seen it all, it throws you a curveball in F#.

 

TRR: You’re known for strict aesthetic rules, limited color palettes, specific gear, analog recording. Is that discipline or just part of the art?

 

Jack White: Both. Boundaries breed creativity. If you can do anything, you’ll do nothing. But say, “You only get red, white, and black,” and suddenly you have to invent.

 

TRR: Third Man Records is more than a label, it’s a cultural experience. What drives that vision?

 

Jack White: I wanted to make a space where music isn’t just consumed, it’s lived. Where you can cut a record, press it, and watch it spin, all in one building. It’s a temple to sound.

 

TRR: Vinyl sales are rising. Do you think we’re seeing a true analog renaissance, or just a trend?

 

Jack White: Trends fade. But this, this is rebellion. People want to hold music again. They want to feel it. That’s not a trend, that’s instinct coming back.

 

TRR: You’re a monster live performer. What’s the chaos of a Jack White show really like from your side of the mic?

 

Jack White: It’s like trying to steer a tornado. You prep, but the storm’s in charge. No setlist, no safety net. Just raw energy and trust. Every night’s a new beast.

 

TRR: Is there a moment onstage you’ll never forget?

 

Jack White: Glastonbury 2005. Lightning flashing in the distance, mud everywhere, crowd chanting like a ritual. I felt like we summoned something ancient that night.

 

TRR: You’ve been called a “rock savior” and a “mad scientist.” Do you think rock needs saving?

 

Jack White: Rock doesn’t need saving—it needs shaking. Stir it up, piss it off, make it feel dangerous again. Rock was never meant to be safe.

 

TRR: You’ve collaborated with legends like Loretta Lynn and Beyoncé. What makes a good collaboration for you?

 

Jack White: Chemistry and honesty. Doesn’t matter if you’re a country queen or a pop icon. If you walk in the room with guts and an open heart, I’m in.

 

TRR: If you could resurrect any artist to jam with, who would it be?

 

Jack White: Blind Willie Johnson. Slide guitar, raw soul, voice like thunder. I’d give up a year of my life for one hour with him in the studio.

 

TRR: Final question: What’s next for Jack White? New sounds? A new band?

 

Jack White: I’m always building. Always listening. Maybe a record cut in a cave. Maybe an album recorded underwater. If it’s strange, pure, and honest, I’m interested.

 

TRR: Jack, you’re a living lightning bolt. Thanks for letting us into the storm.

 

Jack White: Anytime. Just don’t bring an umbrella.