Now that Jack White is on a hiatus from the road, many of his fans are wondering what the rock star is doing with his time. Aside from writing poems and defending TIDAL, White held a lengthy Q&A session with members of the Third Man Records Vault last weekend and answered some questions from a rather personal perspective. Some of his answers got us a bit nervous.
Jack White Announces He’s Taking An Indefinite Hiatus From Playing Live
He started out by talking about his most recent, full-fledged touring experience behind Lazaretto.
“i’d say half the shows i play i’d rather not play. festivals for example. but i have to make the best of it and try to get inspired.” – Has he not been enjoying the epic festival gigs he’s been playing? Because we sure have! Not even his critically acclaimed Bonnaroo performance last year?
He continued, saying, “it’s hard when the people who organize festivals basically control my life … i have to book shows around their offer that i can’t refuse … it’s very expensive to tour … people think that’s how musicians make their money these days sadly, but it’s hard to on the road no matter what size you are.” – Are musicians even as big as Jack White having trouble making enough money to support the touring operation? That’s not very encouraging to mid-level bands currently touring.
As for the future of White’s touring, that remains to be seen. Though this one particular line has us wondering if White’s recent acoustic tour will be his future.
“only seated theaters for acoustic shows for the rest of my days.”- Does this mean he’s only going to play acoustic shows from now on? Is it the end of Jack White arena rock? Or is he just saying all his acoustic shows will be in seated theaters?
Will he ever reunite with Meg White?
“she doesn’t answer her phone… that time is gone.”- It sounds like he’s trying to connect with her, but she’s not into it anymore.
Will he attend the Dead Weathers reunion in New York hosted by bandmate Alison Mosshart?
“i only go to new york if i have to, nothing feels special there when you’re creative, everyone feels like they’ve seen and done it all, hard for me to be inspired.”– He seems like he has no interest in attending the Dead Weathers reunion, but we’re more concerned about the fact that this might means less shows in New York City in the future. Also, New York City is a hotbed for creativity.
It honestly seems as though White is in a bit of a funk, considering the theme of his messages to the Vault members. He mentioned how he feels he’s being viewed by the public:
“everyone always plays ‘catch the hypocrite’ with me. probably because i often make the stupid mistake of having opinions and saying them out loud. it’s smarter for well known people to smile and keep their mouth shut… when has there NOT been negativity about me?” – Relax, Jack White! You’re adored by Rock music fans all over the world.