Jack White has spoken to students at Oxford University about the “simplicity” of The White Stripes and how that helped them connect with listeners.
- READ MORE: Jack White – ‘No Name’ review: surprise album is maestro’s punkiest outing since White Stripes
The singer, songwriter and guitarist made the comments while at an intimate Q&A session at the prestigious university earlier this month. It comes while he embarked on a number of live shows across the UK over the past week.
During a segment of the session, which was shared on his Instagram page, White recalled how he thinks it was the element of simplicity that led to the band getting momentum, and shared that he was surprised to become recognised as a guitarist, as his passion was initially towards a different instrument.
“The White Stripes was the project I had that was all about simplicity. That happened to be the thing that people related to. It spoke to people and people connected with it and it kept growing and growing,” he began.
“When you’re passionate about stuff, you don’t know if the things you’re passionate about will also be something interesting for other people,” he continued. “Maybe someone thinks ‘I want to be a stand-up comedian’. You [might] try to do stand-up and some people laugh, but you don’t get a standing ovation. Then you go and do this play because your friend was in it, then that’s when you got a standing ovation. It’s like ‘Well I didn’t mean to do that’…That’s how I feel about the guitar.”
“I didn’t care about the guitar. I wanted to be a drummer my whole life. That was all I cared about. I’ve played drums many times live and people think it’s OK, but [it’s] not something that really connects with people,” he explained. “For some reason, the guitar part, that expression has some kind of validity to it. I don’t know why.”
He also said that while the stripped-back approach to The White Stripes was something that gathered a huge response from listeners, he has pushed himself to disregard that exact method in his other projects in a bid to “make my head work in different ways.” Check out the full clip above.
In a separate post on Instagram, more photos from the event were shared, showing the artist in various areas of the university and speaking to the intimate crowd.
“Jack White was invited to speak at Oxford University yesterday while performing in the UK this week. A couple of intimate Q and A sessions with university students and staff and a wonderful visit through the historical colleges and the lovely town of Oxford as well,” the caption read. “A huge thank you to the student union and all who participated.”
You can check out the carousel of images below.
The nine-date tour was announced in December and kicked off on February 21 with a show at La Cigale in Paris. Two further dates in the French capital followed, as did by two nights each in Utrecht and London. The tour wrapped up with shows in Birmingham and finally Glasgow earlier this week.
It came in support of White’s 2024 solo album ‘No Name’. That record scored a four-star review from NME back in August, with Andrew Trendell writing: “This is an ode to the mystique of rock’n’roll and to the joy of music at its most physical and playful. Teasing doesn’t always lead to satisfaction. Just cut to the chase – and this one’s a bone-rattling ride. White’s revelling in the real world and has made it a much more thrilling place.”
Elsewhere, The White Stripes recently announced a 20th-anniversary reissue of their fifth album ‘Get Behind Me Satan’, featuring songwriting demos, alternate studio takes and live versions.
Since then, the frontman also headlined Saturday Night Live’s 50th-anniversary concert, playing classic track ‘Seven Nation Army’ and delivering a cover of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’.
The post Watch Jack White speak to Oxford University students about “simplicity” of The White Stripes appeared first on NME.
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