dear
journalists and other people looking for drama or a
diva,
even in the age of the short attention span
internet article, it’s still hard to believe you
are
STILL writing about this:
wow.
classy.
seems
like there’s a new rule number one for up and coming journalists: dont let the
facts get in the way of click bait.
at
the risk of incurring even more of this hoo haa (and i’ve definitely turned my
cheek more than once lately) and even
though
our management sent out a letter to clarify this, and since
this
seems to be all anyone can ask me about lately,
here’s
the real deal, and hopefully it’ll explain this nonsensical scenario and we can
move on with our lives. (or what have you).
first
off, this is none of your business, but i have no specific demands in my
dressing room. i know i could ask for lots of
things
but i actually dont ask for ANYTHING. i take with me what i
need,
and
that aint much.
anything
on the rider is for the band and the crew.
this
"guacamole recipe" is my hilarious tour managers inside
joke
with the local promoters, it’s his recipe, not mine. it’s just something to
break
up
the boredom, seeing who can make it best. though i
wouldn’t
know
because i’ve never had it. i can’t even make kool aid
let
alone cook any real food enough to have a “recipe”. sorry, i dont have that
talent.
bananas:
did it occur to anyone someone on the tour
might
have an allergy to them? no? hmmm. one day some fantasy journalist
out
there
will call someone in the biz and actually have a rider explained to them,
maybe
none
of them have ever been on tour. oh well, let’s move on,
first
amendment issues: i fully believe in the freedom of the press
(though
the
supposed search for truth from the press requires microscopes and some morton
salt), and i also defend anyone’s right
to
free speech (just look at my lack of respect for grammar in this letter and tell
me i’m not for communicating freely)
and
i defend the right to free information in regards to public funds, but never in
my 20 years of playing
shows
has my contract and tour rider been published in the paper that i recall.
do
you know why we dont do that or want that? a hundred articles about bananas,
free speech, and guacamole is why;
it’s
because people dont understand what a rider is or what the terms of a contract
are. they’re out of their element,
and
you can’t blame them for it. and people who write about that know this.
people WANT a rider to be a list of demands that
a
diva insists occur lest he or she refuse to play a note of
music.
but
in reality, it’s just some food and drinks backstage for the
hundred
workers and guests who have to live in a concrete
bunker
for 15 hours. some people bring thier own living rooms on
tour,
some
people ask for a huge spread. who cares? what you’r looking
for
is
someone throwing a tantrum because they didn’t get their brown m and
m’s,
sorry
to dissappoint.
someone
printed that i’m never going to oklahoma again?
not
true. i love oklahoma, that’s why i booked this show
instead
of
playing chicago or atlanta for four times as much money.
ask
around in tulsa. i’ve been
there
at least three times on these last two albums. i love it
there.
our
booking agent warned the college that other artists might
not
book shows there? of course they did, it’s bad business
what
that school paper did and really rude. of course they are going to tell them to
wise up.
am
i pissed at the students at oklahoma university? absolutely not. am i
dissappointed in young journalists at their school paper?
absolutely.
but i forgive them, they’re young and have learned
thier
lesson about truth and ethics hopefully. all they have to do
is
google
this to know that it’s not worth it. look for real problems
instead
next
time. look for the truth, not fake drama. i got pissed during my show and
berated
the
crowd? no. sorry, didn’t happen.
i
made jokes about the paper publishing that info, so which of us is thin
skinned?
they
have freedom of speech but i dont? at my show? ok. i guess the rules change
for different
people.
the crowd were amazing and we played for 2 and a half hours that night.
people
were told to delete
photos
on their camera? : i dont know much about that but it must
be
a miscommunication about what was
public
property at the college and the contract we had with the university
to
let
us do our work in peace; but i’ll give you an example,
if
someone working at a theater we played at started taking pictures of all
of
our
workers and our gear they’d probably get fired by their theater or
promoter.
sorry
to the student paper budding press papparazi on that one, but is this a tmz
assignment or can
you
give us some peace while we try to put on a show for the students? give us a
break man.
i
know it’s a fun thing for people to try to turn me into a jerk and a diva, but
in
this
case it’s pretty ridiculous and has almost nothing to do with me. my
relationship
with
the fans at that show and how we got to a new place together through music
remains intact
and
i’d love to do it again with them.
i
think that’s everything, can i go back to making music now? no? ok. crochet
it is.
jack
white
III
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