In June 2018, Jack White was in Toronto to perform at Budweiser Stage. Before the show, he sat down with us to talk about everything—from his career to his connection to Canada. “Canada meant a lot growing up, my father side is from Nova Scotia we had a lot of ties, a lot of history through that. My grandfather travelled across Canada and taught in a railroad car,” White says. “Also growing up in Detroit basically across the street from Canada.”
He went on to say that it was currently a “difficult time in America” and that he “couldn’t even watch the news anymore.” Just the weekend before, while headlining The Governors Ball in New York City, he changed the lyrics to his song ‘Icky Thump‘ to ‘Icky Trump‘. Although, he noted that artists shouldn’t speak out as a way to pander for applause. He says, “sometimes something comes up and it makes sense…it’s hard to ignore.”
White is known for mixing it up on stage, bringing different talents together to create his band. The most important element for him is the drums. “I’ve always played to the drummer,” he says. “That’s the most important element of the band to me and, whether it’s Meg White or Daru Jones or Patrick Keeler – I’ve been very lucky to play with some of the best drummers I’ve ever seen myself, live.”
He also operates in a no-phone zone, asking concertgoers to attend without their phones. “It’s an interesting experiment. I thought people were going to take to it negatively but, people have taken to it incredibly positively. Everybody walking out of the show says, ‘I loved that, that was amazing, I wish all concerts were like that!’ I think it’s starting to catch on, other artists seem to be wanting to do this and it’s great.”
Despite his own fame, it’s scientists who leave him starstruck. “Neil deGrasse Tyson, or I was with the family of Carl Sagan once. We put out a record with Carl Sagan’s voice on it through Third Man Records. Those are the people I really respect,” he says.
Becoming famous was something that came about unexpectedly to him. “I was only hoping that I would be able to continue doing upholstery, I had my own shop, which I had when I was 21…and I thought I was just going to do that for the rest of my life and I was hoping that I would be able to play in a band on weekends when I had free time, and maybe one day make a record.”
White’s former band, The White Stripes (which disbanded in 2011) is set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on November 8th, 2025. With bandmate Meg White known for her intense privacy, there’s growing speculation online that White may attend the ceremony solo.