Jack White says he needs “struggle” to feel comfortable

Jack White has opened up about feeling “scared and confused” if there isn’t any “struggle” in his life, touching on the musician and record label founder’s sprawling creative and business endeavours.

“It is this disease I have and I don’t know what started it, but if there is no struggle involved in my life I get scared and confused,” White said while speaking to The Times over the weekend about the opening of the London branch of his Third Man Records.

“If art is not being made in some way, I start worrying. I wish I could pinpoint why this is necessary for me. I can’t get away from it.”

White has indeed remained consistently busy over the years, even since releasing the White Stripes‘ sixth and final studio album in 2007. Since then, he’s released three solo records (most recently 2018’s ‘Boarding House Reach’).

He’s also released two more albums as part of the Raconteurs in addition to 2006 debut ‘Broken Boy Soldiers’, and released three albums as part of the Dead Weather – ‘Dodge and Burn’ arriving back in 2015.

White has also collaborated with the likes of Alicia Keys on Bond theme ‘Another Way to Die’ and Beyoncé on ‘Lemonade’ cut ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’. He played guitar on numerous tracks on A Tribe Called Quest‘s 2016 album ‘We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service’, and also contributed to Tyler, the Creator‘s 2019 record ‘IGOR’.

His label Third Man Records has continued to run out of its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, which also doubles as a performance space. He opened a Detroit location in 2015, which added its own vinyl pressing plant in 2017, and the label’s London store in Soho opened over the weekend on September 25.

To celebrate the latest store’s opening, White played a surprise rooftop set. Earlier in the day, White also performed in the blue basement of the store where he rolled through The White Stripes’ ‘Hello Operator’, ‘Why Can’t You Be Nicer To Me’ and ‘Icky Thump’ as well as solo favourites ‘Sixteen Saltines’, ‘What’s Done Is Done’ and ‘Love Interruption’.

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