In the last two bonus episodes, we heard a lot of interesting stories about Jack and Meg White's touring escapades in 2000. But in this last bonus episode of the season, we have a couple of stories about other bands: Weezer and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Don't worry though, you'll see how everything connects soon enough.
Last time, we covered anecdotes from Jack and Meg White's first West Coast tour. In this bonus episode, John Baker provides a few extra tidbits from The White Stripes' time in New Zealand and Australia that didn't make it into Season 2.
We weren't able to fit every story from The White Stripes' first West Coast tour in this season, so we've included more of Ben Blackwell's recollections in this Season 2 bonus episode. Some are funny stories, others are important to the band's development, and one even involves a very special bed.
So far this season, a lot of entirely unexpected and stuff has happened to The White Stripes. Through it all, you can see Jack and Meg getting a taste of what it's like being an indie rock band that eeks out a living on the road. Like Ben Swank said when we opened the season, that's the hope. that's the dream! What more could a nobody band from a forgotten music scene hope for? Turns out, a lot more.
From their very first jam sessions in the attic of 1203 Ferdinand, Jack and Meg White were intent on doing their own thing. You can see that through the early shows, the singles, the first album — and turning down some of the coolest indie labels around to maintain creative control. But the biggest example up to this point may be the making of "De Stijl," and album that got The White Stripes mentioned amongst heavyweight up-and-comers in the early '00s.
The White Stripes' trip out west knocked over some dominos that foreshadowed what was to come as Jack and Meg burrowed further into the new millennium — including a jaunt to the other side of the country and a few interesting offers.
A catalyst for many of Jack and Meg White's crucial connections in 2000 was The White Stripes' first real tour, out to the West Coast and back. Those three weeks would play a pivotal role in the rest of the year — and the rest of their career.
As Ben Blackwell says this season, 2000 is a crucial year of connections for Jack and Meg White. One of those connections was the greatest radio DJ of all time. Another was the first member of The White Stripes' "team" — someone who would set them on a collision course with industry heavyweights later in the year.
For The White Stripes, 1999 might have been a bedrock year, but 2000 is when things got real. From winning over the greatest DJ of all time and being pursued by the coolest record labels, to wowing the hottest band of the moment and blowing minds around the world — season 2 of Striped follows The White Stripes as things begin to boil over.
And if you want an even deeper look into the life of the band around 2000, head to thirdmanrecords.com and pick up their latest vault package: the accompaniment to "De Stijl," celebrating the 20th anniversary of The White Stripes' sophomore album.
In the first episode of season one, you heard a little from Wayne Kramer of the seminal Detroit band The MC5. While only a few bits ended up in the episode, there was a lot more Wayne had to say about the city, his career, and The White Stripes. So for the last bonus episode of the season, we're letting you hear it all.
In the second bonus episode from season one, Blackwell discusses some of the shows The White Stripes played in 1999. This includes tales of Jack White's stage banter, a disastrous lunchtime gig, and the origin of an iconic instrument.
In this first bonus episode from season one, Blackwell dives into many of the songs that made it onto the White Stripes' debut album — and some that didn't.
When a band releases an album, the easiest way to measure success is the number of records sold. However, sometimes an album is successful because it accomplishes something behind the scenes; it makes a connection for an artist or puts their music in the right place at the right time. That's exactly how you could describe The White Stripes self-titled debut on Sympathy For The Record Industry. It didn't light up the charts, but it provided the scaffolding for Jack and Meg White to build something bigger than either of them could've ever imagined.
For some artists, if you have the freedom to make every creative choice — you won't make any choice at all. So you set limits on yourself as a challenge, and as a corrective to make sure your initial vision remains unobstructed. The success of The White Stripes is a prime example. Then other times, a force completely outside your control shuts off options and limits your choices for you, requiring you to operate within those new boundaries. The success of The White Stripes is a prime example.
When you're in the recording studio, it takes a lot for everything to go right — but it doesn't take much at all for everything to go wrong. It can feel like the deck is stacked against. For The White Stripes, though, they threw the deck out the window altogether. They knew what they wanted, and they were going to get it. Even if Jack's attention was divided.
Before The White Stripes closed out Late Night With Conan O'Brien, garnered platinum records, or played SNL, they were just a frenetic boy teaching himself how to play music in an attic and a quiet, artistic girl who wasn't interested in playing music at all.
The music scene that Jack and Meg White were thrust into didn't form in a vacuum. Detroit has a rich heritage informed by a wide variety of musical stylings, as well as the auto industry — in both good and bad ways.
In season 1 of Striped, music journalist Sean Cannon takes you through the early years of The White Stripes by talking to the people who witnessed it all firsthand — from a young Jack White practicing loudly in his attic to The White Stripes wowing their tourmates Pavement in late 1999. You'll hear from members of The MC5, Pavement, The Raconteurs, The Detroit Cobras, The Dirtbombs, The Soledad Brothers, filmmaker Lance Bangs, and more.
