Hey! - We added a new track to the player called "U Dream". It's YOUR feedback that helps us figure out which tracks go on the new CD so please have a listen and drop off a comment. Tonight I am also clicking VOTES for ALL of our good friends in the You Bring the Talent contest. Please vote for us too if you like what you hear. Cheers! ... Adam
We want to say "Hi" to all of our newest friends on Uber & a huge "Thank You!" to everyone for all of the great comments, messages and votes. It's very encouraging to be a part of such a great community of artists and music lovers. Cheers! ... Adam
jack get a hold of me millionaires millionaire kid 17 seconds to stardom karen don't worry it won't cost you a million derekcruzen@yahoo .com i'll get you another comercial have fun in the studio boys
Brendan Benson - vocals, guitars, keys Jack Lawrence - bass Jack White - vocals, guitars, keys Patrick Keeler - drums
If the White Stripes is Jack White's day job, the Raconteurs is where he goes on boys' night out. Clearly relishing the camaraderie of being in a band with his buds, he, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler (both of the Greenhornes) have been friends for a long time. Given their musical pedigree and the relaxed chemistry of their recording sessions, it's easy to see why many fans actually prefer the rootsy feel of a song like "Steady, As She Goes" to the bombastic assault of Icky Thump.
The Raconteurs began as something of a lark, with White and his long-time friend, Benson, fiddling around in Bensons Detroit attic. But the result of the afternoon's activities was "Steady, as She Goes," one of those songs that spring into life demanding attention. Realizing they had something to work with, they called Lawrence and Keeler, hooked them into the adventure and made plans to meet in Detroit when their schedules allowed and see if they could make something of it.
They thought the album, Broken Boy Soldiers, more than lived up to their expectations. So did the critics. While most admitted it was a trifle, the album was almost universally praised for its accessibility, breeziness and kitchen sink of genres, including Brit blues, r&b, psychedelia and Americana roots. The public agreed too, sending the album into the top ten in the US and the top 2 in England.
The subsequent world tour, for which the band was joined by Queens of the Stone Age's Dean Fertita, was even more fun, with the band selling out venues that were much smaller than the White Stripes' size arenas but much larger than the small clubs a band like this might ordinarily perform. And White, ever the gentleman, proved as he had on the Cold Mountain tour and with his production and live work with Loretta Lynn, that he was capable of being a total team player, in a working band member rather than a star.
Perhaps the best parts of these shows were the cover songs these music geeks trotted out to round out their sets. Inspired song choices such as "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down," written by Sonny Bono for his then wife, Cher, The Flamin' Groovies "Heading for the Texas Border," Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" Love's "A House Is Not a Home" and, perhaps most welcome of all, The Undertones' punk anthem, "Teenage Kicks," were simultaneously rethought and treated with reverence, making everyone in the audience realize how good this band really was.
Despite that feeling, everyone knew that at some point White would have to return to his real job and go back to being one of America's biggest rock stars. But they weren't going to let him go without a struggle. Mojo Magazine gave the new band its biggest honor by calling Broken Boy Soldiers the best album of 2006. And in November 2006, they got an even better accolade, a personal invitation from Bob Dylan to open for him on the northeastern leg of Dylan's 2006 tour.
Knowing a good thing when they saw one, the Raconteurs, broken boy soldiers no more, recently went back into the studio and began work on a second album. Given their schedules, the album won't be out until 2008. But since their tales are sure to be worth the telling, The Raconteurs are sure to be worth the wait, especially if they throw in some of those covers they did so well.
