Living rock legend Jack White shared the goods with MusicRadar a few days ago, discussing his new job as drummer for his brand-new outfit The Dead Weather, his forthcoming cinematic guitarfest It Might Get Loud, and, finally, some promising news about the White Stripes.
As evidenced back in February when the duo performed on the last-ever Late Night With Conan O'Brien, the White Stripes are still very much together. Meg has apparently overcome the 'acute anxiety' that caused the total cancellation of the band's 2007 tour.
While many thought the band's disappearance had more to do with Meg's rumored sex tape leak than any medical condition, Jack was quick to point out that the anxiety "was a very real problem, but one that I'm happy to say is in the past."
The problem arose from the fact that the band's usual rehearsal time was practically non-existent, he says, and on top of it all "I had a baby coming, my son was being born, so we didn't had a lot of time left. We were trying to cram everything into a short time span, and we were just plowin', man!"
Once they hit the road, they foudn themselves caught in a whirlwind they didn't have a full grip on. "We were playing two shows a day in Canada, then we'd fly to France and do a TV show there, then we were back in England on tour, and we were just killin' it, man. The train was out of control. I just came from a Raconteurs tour and went right into that, so I was already full-speed. Meg had come from a dead-halt for a year and went right back into that madness. Meg is a very shy girl, a very quiet and shy person. To go full-speed from a dead-halt is overwhelming, and we had to take a break."
Jack acknowledges that their abrupt exit from the road caused many fans to fear that the band was breaking up. "Nothing of the sort," he says.
"We just needed to stop for a while. When it comes down to your health...It's hard. People don't really understand. They think you go up on stage and you're having a blast, like you're partying or some shit. That's not the case. It's hard work to go on tour."
White says the two had already begun working on a new White Stripes album - even before the Conan gig. "It won't be too far off. Maybe next year," he says.
