Jack White on his new album Fear of the Dawn and what happens when we lose our reverence for music
Q’s Tom Power sat down with the rocker in Nashville for a wide-ranging conversation
At the start of the pandemic — when most people were ordering groceries online and learning how to make sourdough bread — Jack White decided to go back to what he did before he became a world-famous rockstar: upholstering furniture.
For months, the virtuoso guitarist and songwriter restored old furniture, which was something he had learned to do when he was young (at one point, he even owned his own upholstery company). While White didn't play much music at the start of the lockdown, the muse eventually drew him back, the songs started coming and, suddenly, he had more tunes than he knew what to do with.
Slowly, he realized he had two different albums on his hands: one off the rails rocker, and the other a more contemplative and multi-textured collection that showcased a different side of him.
White decided he would release the two albums only a few months apart. The first is called Fear Of The Dawn and is out now. The second, Entering Heaven Alive, drops July 22.
Q's Tom Power travelled to White's home base, Third Man Records in Nashville, to catch up with the blue-haired rocker. Their conversation covered a lot of ground, from the history of Third Man Records, to White's love and advocacy for vinyl records, to the importance of artistic reverence, to Fear Of The Dawn, and what it's like to hear 80,000 people in a soccer stadium chant his songs.
WATCH | Jack White's full interview with Tom Power:
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The full interview with Jack White is also available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Written and produced by Mitch Pollock.