Two full-fledged recording and touring bands aren't enough for the primal force of musical virtuosity that is Jack White. With the ongoing White Stripes hiatus and the Raconteurs between albums, White teamed up with the Kills femme fatale Alison Mosshart, Raconteurs bassist Jack Lawrence, and Queens of the Stone Age/Raconteurs member Dean Fertita to form the Dead Weather.
Guitar heroes can stop slobbering for a second-- Jack apparently plays drums (and sings) in the new group, which made its live debut at the opening of White's Third Man Records building in Nashville, Tennessee. And, because Jack doesn't fuck around, the Dead Weather's debut LP, Horehound, is already in the can and due for a June release via Third Man.
In a related story, Jack White hasn't slept in six years.
Ever the old-schooler, White gave out hand-painted 7"'s of the new band's first single, "Hang You From the Heavens", to the 150 attendees at the debut performance. The single is backed by a cover of Gary Numan's "Are Friends Electric?". Both songs are streaming on the Dead Weather's website and also available on iTunes.
Of course, any excuse to see White on stage or recording music is a good thing-- I've seen him save even the worst Raconteurs songs live, and that is a feat. But the Dead Weather could work. Considering Mosshart's involvement, this marks the first time White is teaming up with a sex-charged and charismatic singer who can put up a fight with his engulfing stage persona (sorry, Brendan Benson). And no, that duet with Alicia Keys doesn't count. Let's just pretend that never happened, OK?
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