You didn't go in there for any reason.

You definitely didn't go in there to get food.

Before closing it out with Conan in 2009, before it might get loud with Jimmy Page and the Edge in 2008, before the Simpsons in 2006, before S&L in 2002,

before the six Grammys and the 11 nominations,

before the platinum records, the gold records, the vinyl records,

before pavement, before the blowout, before the gold dollar,

and before that idyllic Detroit scene we talked about last episode,

it even crystallized.

There was a frenetic boy learning how to play music in his attic

and a quiet, artistic girl, entirely unconcerned with playing music at all.

I'm Sean Cannon from Third Man Records and Nevermind Media.

This is Striped, the story of the White Stripes.

Now, Jimmy, whether you want an explosion now. of the White Stripes.

And you know, while a young Jack White put in plenty of hours practicing and listening to classic rock records, his brothers fed him,

things didn't really start coming together until he became an apprentice to a master upholsterer named Brian Muldoon.

Brian's family was another big Catholic family and grew up next door to Jack's family. So when, but Brian's a lot older. He's maybe 20 years older than Jack. And he had started his own upholstery shop. And I think one of his brothers, one of Jack's brothers had said, hey, Brian needs some help at the upholstery shop. So Jack started when he was, I think, a teenager in high school, had started helping Brian out after school. And you're thinking, oh, that's fine and all,

but what's upholstery have to do with the white stripes?

Well, it just so happens that Brian Muldoon had, as Blackwell says here.

Great musical taste, you know, into 60s garage rock and 70s punk

and always really up to date on that stuff.

And so he exposed Jack to a lot of stuff that he, you know, his brothers weren't exposing him to. And it wasn't just listening to music. Brian played music too, which meant, you know, they'd regularly jam after a long day's work. A day full of upholstery. And then afterwards it's like, all right, let's push everything aside and let's pull out the guitar amp and the drums and let's record.

In talking to Blackwell about this era, it really seemed like this is what ultimately prepared Jack for things to come.

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