The White Stripes Tickets

The White Stripes
The White Stripes a Detroit-based discreet rock duo --with Jack White, guitar and vocals, Meg White, drums -- formed in 1997. From the red-and-white peppermint candy pattern of their debut singles, self-titled album, and stage show to their on-the-surface elementary style, they succeeded wildly and immediately with the mission of producing simple rock n' roll music.

Their first recordings were a concoction of garage rock, blues, and the occasional show tune. In Jack, The White Stripes have a redoubtable songwriter, guitar player, and vocalist capable of both switching between styles and changing the musical trends; from the folk blues of Blind Willie McTell to soaring Kinks-esque pop and narrative pop tunes worthy of Cole Porter and into cordial Captain Beefheart territory within the span of 15 minutes is not an uncommon listening experience with either the White Stripes live show or on record. In drummer Meg, the White Stripes have a minimalist percussionist who seems to instinctive sense of knowing exactly when to not play. The White Stripes are grounded in punk and blues, but the feeling to all of their work has been the aforesaid determined for simplicity, a love of American folk music, and a careful approach to fascinating, moving, and redolent lyrics exceptional in the mainstream modern punk, or garage rock.

While emerging from Detroit's music scene, the White Stripes quickly gained nationwide fame after two successful tours with indie rockers Pavement and Sleater-Kinney in 1999 and 2000. The White Stripes released their second LP, De Stijl, in 2000. Following that, they left for tours of Japan and Australia and entered the Memphis studio of renowned producer Doug Easley for 2001's White Blood Cells. The album was a major hit and the White Stripes soon found themselves at the vanguard of the new wave of rock & roll bands poised to take over the world. The band appeared on Late Night with David Lettterman, being written about in Time, The New Yorker, and Entertainment Weekly, playing the MTV Movie Awards, and having their video for Fell in Love with a Girl in heavy rotation on MTV. They also made the tough decision to jump to a major label; White Blood Cells was reissued on V2 in January of 2002 and their first two records followed suit in June. The White Stripes truly became big-time rock stars when their Fell in Love with a Girl clip was nominated for four MTV Video Awards, including Best Video of the Year (alongside Eminem and NSYNC!), Breakthrough Video, Best Special Effects in a Video, and Best Editing in a Video. That summer the group also played four triumphant shows with the Strokes, two apiece in the bands' respective hometowns.

In spring 2003 Elephant -- their fourth full-length, won critical acclaim. In 2005 the Stripes returned with Get Behind Me Satan, a sundry album possessing disco-metal and light, marimba-driven pop and was written and recorded in two weeks that spring. While touring, the band covered Tegan and Sara's Walking with a Ghost, which they released as a single at the end of 2005.

Jack uses various effects to create his sound, particularly a Digitech Whammy pedal to reach pitches that would otherwise not be possible with a regular guitar. For instance, without the pedal, Seven Nation Army would require a bass and Black Math would be very difficult to play without a 29th fret (which does not exist on most guitars) on the highest string.

The guitars he uses live are a 1964 JB Hutto Montgomery Airline, a Harmony Rocket, a 1970s Crestwood Astral II, and a 1950s Kay Hollowbody. In concert with the Digitech Whammy pedal, MXR Micro-Amp, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi Distortion/Sustainer, and Electro-Harmonix POG (Polyphonic octave generator), White can produce a very distinctive sound.

He also uses a Boss TU-2 Tuner Pedal. He plugs this setup into a 1970s Fender Twin Reverb and two 100-Watt Sears Silvertone 6x10 combo amplifiers. He also plays other instruments such as a black F-Style Gibson Mandolin, Rhodes Bass Keys, and a Steinway piano. Jack plays a custom-made red and white marimba on The Nurse and Forever For Her (Is Over For Me).