The Third Men Podcast

The White Stripes Conquer the World! In the early months of 2003, Jack and Meg White braced for the release of their most ambitious, raucous and soon-to-be monstrously successful album to date: Elephant. With a titanic lead-off single in the ear-wormy Seven Nation Army, and growing legions of hungry fans clamoring for their new record, the band embarked on a word tour the likes of which they had never seen before. And make no mistake: there was NOTHING small about the Elephant tour. From stadiums to lunchrooms, from injury to triumph, from television to award shows, The White Stripes established themselves as worldwide superstars and a musical force to be reckoned with -- all at their trademark dizzying pace. This week we track their journey from spectacular high to crushing low and get to the bottom of just what made this tour so special in the hearts of all the candy cane children out there. We're also proud to be joined once more by White Stripes Junior Booking Agent Marc Bauer, who helped assemble this to

I was walking with a ghost, but then I just realized it was a cover song this whole time! What a twist! Over and over and over the many iterations of Jack White's career, one thing remains a constant: cover songs. This week we take a look at some of these different tunes performed both on stage and in the studio over the past 20+ years, and explore what those choices contributed to his musical statement in the moment. From Bowie to Beefheart to the Brothers Louvin, Jack always chooses interesting material to add his distinct flavor to - sometimes injecting energy while other times soothing to a whisper. Given the material already covered, this week we also add to the list our dream picks of songs we'd love to see get the Jack-treatment, and we've enlisted some of you, our faithful listeners, to contribute to the list! And speaking of our faithful listeners, former Junior Booking Agent for the White Stripes, Raconteurs and Dead Weather, Marc Bauer, is back in a Q&A style segment where he answers some of yo

The Third Men Podcast is proud to present an all-new exclusive extended interview with Detroit music legend Pat Pantano! Patrick's sound and imagery can be felt across countless projects from a variety of musical acts - including friends Jack and Meg White as they began their journey as The White Stripes! After cutting his drumming teeth with bands such as The Colors, Steel Miners and Cathouse, Patrick linked up with Deanne Iovan to form the groove-rock powerhouse The Come Ons. Of course, juggling multiple bands is by no means uncommon in the Detroit music world -- when Mick Collins needed a drummer for his new band project, The Dirtbombs, it was Patrick who answered the call and helped establish the scrappy, powerful sound the group would soon become known for. In addition to his musical work, Patrick holds the unique honor of photographing not one, but TWO White Stripes album covers (White Blood Cells and Elephant) during his time as the band's photographer. Join us this week as we uncover the many amazing

He's Brendan, what's your name? This week we deep-dive into the secret origin of everyone's favorite half boy/half man hybrid and Raconteur Brendan Benson! Long before he was conquering the charts alongside buddy and bandmate Jack White, Brendan Benson was paying his dues in the music industry from Detroit to Los Angeles and back again, hailed as the next big thing for 90's rock and roll. But fame would be a sparring partner for this well-fed boy over the years, and in this episode we'll look into the different battles, triumphs and tragedies that made Brendan so good to us over his 20+ year career in music. From solo success to the Raconteurs to managing his very own label, Readymade Records, we cover it all! Also this week we're proud to present an interview with former Readymade Records recording artist Jared Green, who details his own musical journey in a band of Americana craftsmen known as The Howlin' Brothers. All right, all right, enough from me - we'll spit it out now! See acast.com/privacy for priva

It's The Jack White Trivia Challenge! Live from all across the country, it's time for your favorite podcast game show, and this Third Man family feud features two teams of candy cane children as they battlecry it out for Jack White trivia supremacy. Joining us on the stage are six lucky contestants each hoping to bring home Third Man gold for their respective teams - but to do so they're going to have to answer some tough questions, race against the clock, and smell some serious facts along the way! In one corner it's Team Red, Blonde and Brunette: Kali Durga, Kate McCoy and Yvette Wilkins! In the next corner its Team Over-Under Achievers: Ben Karns, Rob Janos and Vito Hicks! There are 4 difficulty levels for questions with escalating point values for each: Never Take it Easy (Easy), Look Me Over Closely (Medium), I Just Don’t Know What To Do (Hard) and Impossible Winner (Really hard). Whichever team can gather the most points in all three rounds wins the game, and eter

You're cordially invited to join the Third Men podcast for a special look back at the incredible year that was 2018! After years without an album of new material, the infamous Jack-drought saw its end this past year and the age of Boarding House Reach was upon us. Jack White fans got a world tour, a new album, a fever-pitched press circuit, a documentary film and enough vault content to shake a dynamite blast at! Not to mention new music from a host of Third Man Records recording artists such as the Grammy Award-nominated Margo Price, honky tonk legend Joshua Hedley and many more. Of course the icing on the 2018 cake came in the form of the triumphant return of The Raconteurs, reunited to release their first new music in a decade. It was quite a year, and the third men deep-dive into all 365 days in a manner totally absurd! Plus we welcome very special guests this week, Tobias and Julia from After the Money is Gone (ATMIG) who are set to debut their full length album "Wishes", which will be pressed at the Thi

Happy Holidays from the Third Men Podcast! This week we present to you a real stocking-stuffer of an episode, featuring old bits, new interviews, and enough holiday cheer to shake a Warstic at! From the archives, we re-gifting to you in depth discussions of Candy Cane Children (the one and only White Stripes Christmas song), Christmastime Will Soon Be Over (and other holiday-themed connections to the Cold Mountain project) and more! Plus we've wrapped up an all-new interview with Marc Bauer, Junior Booking Agent for The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather and dozens more Third Man-related artists from over the past 15+ years! It's a fascinating interview that we just couldn't let the year go by without bringing to you along with some much-needed holiday cheer. We hope you enjoy this festive episode and spread the spirit around to your fellow TMR family members! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Third Men Podcast is proud to welcome back one of our absolute all-time favorite special guests, Detroit music legend Ko Melina! Ko is back with us again for an new extended interview that goes way deeper, and way WILDER than any extended interview has gone before! When last on the show, we discussed her musical origins and place among the musical Illuminati of the Detroit rock boom at the turn of millennium. This episode we take a deep dive into loads of new topics, including tons of awesome stories about her tenure in the raucous, melodic and always-entertaining Dirtbombs. As a special treat, Ko was kind enough to give us some fascinating insight into her time working for The White Stripes, and what the early stage presence of Jack and Meg felt like from both on and off the stage. Plus we're joined by frequent Third Woman Kate McCoy to go deep into Dirtbombs trivia, and find out for us why exactly Mick Collins might not be allowed onto TV On The Radio's tour bus anymore! It's a wild and crazy ride and w

Batter up! Take your base with the Third Men Podcast this week as we slide into all things Baseball as they pertain to Jack White. From an early age, Jack and his buddies were captivated by America's pastime, and his love for the sport has evolved over the years into not just a hobby, but a business for Jack. When he's not busy being a meme at a Cubs game, Jack White is investing in the preservation of childhood ball fields, attending World Series games, throwing out pitches, writing walk-on music for players and even licensing his music to Major League Baseball! The Lazaretto tour brought him to as many different stadiums in the USA as was possible, and shortly thereafter Jack went into business alongside MLB pro Ian Kinsler and founder Ben Jenkins in the baseball bat company Warstic. We were fortunate enough to chat with Ben last year, but so much has happened since then that we just had to check back in with Mr. Jenkins to discuss all the awesome new Warstic happenings! So take a swing with us this week as

This is not a drill! The Third Men Podcast is proud to present an all-new exclusive extended interview with Third Man Records co-founder Ben Blackwell! Listeners to the show know Ben for his many roles and talents from throughout the world of Third Man and beyond, and this week he stops by the Third Men Podcast to school us on just about everything! Nephew of Jack White but only 7 years his junior, Ben found himself at the ground floor of the Detroit Rock explosion lead by The White Stripes and their contemporaries at the turn of the millennium. Still a teenager at the time, Blackwell played drums with Jack White and Bricks alongside Brendan Benson and Kevin Peyok before signing on as drummer for Mick Collins' powerhouse rock collective The Dirtbombs. While music propelled him forward, Ben was also keen to keep one eye on the past in his role as archivist for The White Stripes, preserving performances and historical documentation for the band that had changed so much of the face of popular music. Ben's solo L

Sometimes we podcast a little, sometimes we 'cast in two parts (sometimes we 'cast in two parts) -- welcome to pt2 of our deep dive into the Sea of Cowards! When the Dead Weather released a second LP a mere ten months after their debut album Horehound, the reaction was a healthy mix of praise and confusion. Just the way Jack White likes things, we imagine! In this final chapter in our two part exploration, we go through the record track by track for a detailed look at the sum of this sea's parts. While tracks like Die By The Drop offered the band some respectable mainstream breakthrough success, it's really the the more off-beat cuts such as Invisible Man and I'm Mad that give the record an unforgettable flavor. We check out the critical response to the album at the time, rate the record ourselves, and offer some final thoughts about the band from the members themselves. All this, plus we're joined by resident hardcore music fan and third man Matthew Porcelli for an entirely new perspective on The Dead Weathe

Crack a bone with us, won't you? It's time for a major deep dive into the Sea of Cowards! This week we take the microscope to The Dead Weather's sophomore release with an album analysis & review of 2010's Sea of Cowards. In a world where both The White Stripes and The Raconteurs were releasing new material, the announcement of a new band featuring Jack White, Alison Mosshart, Dean Fertita and Jack "LJ" Lawrence in the spring of 2009 left many fans and critics scratching their heads. With Jack on the drums for the first time in his post-fame career, The Dead Weather stood out from the aforementioned pack and carved their own psychedelic, dark path through the rock world. A mere ten months following their debut LP Horehound in 2009, the band returned with yet another LP release which built on its predecessor to polished and speaker-rattling results. In part one of this two-part exploration, we review the album from inception to release - including album artwork, the meaning behind the title, and how the ban

The Third Men Podcast is proud to present an all-new exclusive extended interview with the talented, the soulful, the legendary Johnny Walker! As a founding member of seminal blues rock revivalists The Soledad Brothers, he (along with fellow co-founder Ben Swank) would help define the sound of the garage rock revolution of the turn of the millennium and provide a musical companion piece to friends and contemporaries The White Stripes. Of course Third Man fans also know Johnny's work from his incredible slide guitar on the Stripes' eponymous debut album, but his collaborations with Jack over the years also include cameo appearances from Stripes on Soledad releases such as 2002's Steal Your Soul And Dare Your Spirit To Move as well as Jack's now-legendary snow shovel solo on their debut Italy Records single. In addition to his days as a Soledad Brother, Johnny can be heard on releases from Henry and June, Cut In the Hill Gang and All-Seeing Eyes to name but a few, and we discuss his storied career thi

Fall is almost here (hear the yell?), but we've still got those summertime blues! 2018 was the biggest summer for Third Man Records yet, and the Third Men Podcast was there to capture some truly memorable moments! This week we take an extra-special look back at some of the coolest events from the Summer of Jack (TM) spoken by the co-hosts who attended them for your listening pleasure. It's our first-ever extended "fell in love with a show" episode and it's rounding third and heading for home! First up is a follow-up to our Arroyo Seco Festival coverage with a detailed look at Jack's set and context for the other acts in the lineup. Next we take you inside the Bootleg Bar in Los Angeles for special evening and encounter with Ms. Olivia Jean! Finally Third Woman Melinda Taylor stops by to talk about an epic sandlot war: The Battle at the Beach featuring Jack White! Melinda and your humble co-host Paul were both in attendance and got to meet Jack and some of the players -- it was an amazing experience and we rec

The Third Men Podcast is proud to present an all-new exclusive extended interview with Detroit rock legend Ko Melina! Ko's rock'n'roll resume is a long and fabled list of major musical accomplishments, lending her incredible talents to some of the most influential acts of the last 20 years. Key contributions to groups such as The Come Ons and The Breakdowns put her classical training and high-energy abilities to the forefront, but it would be her tenure in Detroit rock institution The Dirtbombs that would cement her as a fixture of motor city music. An early supporter and friend of The White Stripes, Ko would also go down in Third Man history as photographer for the band's eponymous debut LP and a batch of their early singles. Following an appearance on Jack’s Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit compilation, Ko formed her own group called Ko & the Knockouts, whose debut LP presents a beautiful fusion of the hard-edged Cass Corridor and the sweet melodies of Motown in a crisp, well-produced package. Si

We're wrapping up our best-of trilogy in style with not one, but two Dirtbombs related interviews from the past year. First up we've got the interview with the brilliant Jim Diamond from episode 59! Hear all about how Jim became a producer and musician and learn the inside scoop behind the recording of the debut White Stripes LP. Next we've got the multi-talented Green Lantern of music Mick Collins from episode 64! Get the 'dirt' on the creation of the Dirtbombs then be bowled over by finding out what Mick first thought of a young John Gillis.Next week we return to our regular show-structure with brand new content so be sure to stick around to the end of this episode to hear all about what's coming up! To our current listeners, thanks for sticking with us during this break, and if you're new to the show, welcome aboard and enjoy the show. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join the Third Men Podcast as we take another look back at some of the highlights from this past year's extended interview episodes! We're getting some new and exciting interviews prepped but what better way to bide the time than by showcasing some of the actual, real-live Third-Man-Records-affiliated guests we've had the pleasure of interviewing for the podcast recently! We've got Jack White's Warstic partner-in-crime Ben Jenkins as well as the ever-talented Bantam Rooster alum, Michigander Tom Potter! We hope you enjoy this week's look back, and thank you to everyone who has supported the show this past year! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well, we fell in love with a show and the two hosts of this podcast need to have a meeting. Paul is away for a bit and we’ve lined up some great “Best-of” episodes for you and to kick it off is the best of our “Fell in Love with a Show” segments! Featuring 3 first-hand concert impressions from 3 recent Jack White Boarding House Reach concerts that bear repeating.First up is Tom Valente and Paul recounting the BHR kick-off show at the Mayan in LA. Next up, Yvette Wilkens and Kali Durga join us to discuss Yvette’s experience at the now legendary Detroit show at Little Caesars Arena. Lastly, Arielle Kaminski talks with us about her second Jack White show with James at Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY. And as a special surprise, Paul calls in to be a “man on the street” over at the Arroyo Seco festival in Pasadena.This episode is jam-packed with some old favorite moments as well as some new concert hijinks and is not one to miss! We can’t tell you how proud we are, I’m writing down copy that I don’t under

Before the White Stripes, there was TWO STAR TABERNACLE. Not all the stars were aligned for this early band of Jack's, but at least two got it together for some interesting releases that provide a fascinating look into the proto-stripes era - and we cover it all in this deep dive extravaganza! As we've discovered time and again, Detroit rockers often took up residence in two bands or more at any given time - and a young Jack White was no exception. With his stint as drummer in Goober and the Peas over, Jack explored the possibilities of playing in the high octane rock band "The Go" as well as start to plant the seed of an idea for performing alongside his wife Meg under the elaborate and colorful identity "The White Stripes". But Jack and Dan "Goober" Miller's collaborations were also far from over, and along with Tracee Mae Miller and Damian Lang "Two Star Tabernacle" was born. A punk rock band with hillbilly country flavor was an odd combo, but the cow-punk songs of the newly christened Two Star Tabernacle

Welcome to the LOST ALBUM CHRONICLES; a new ongoing series where we explore a bit of the strange and unusual in the world of Third Man Records. The Jack White world is often booming with content and activity, but sometimes a project just doesn't quite take off for reasons unexplained. Your humble cohosts have discovered many such curiosities worth exploring, and we begin that exploration with perhaps the most fascinating...the tale of the lost Raconteurs album. In the 2011-2013 timeframe, Jack White and Brendan Benson were busy with mammoth undertakings such as solo albums, side projects and sustaining their own respective record labels. Curiously, however, Jack and Brendan were also busy talking about the possibilities of a new Raconteurs project, at one point even confirming the existence of new recordings. This week we examine the evidence and walk you the listener through several other odd happenings during this two year period. Of course, the only people who really know what was or wasn't put to tape are