IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Jack White says Detroit turned against him

Jack White has become one of the most famous faces on Detroit's music map, but the rocker said he had to quit his hometown because it turned against him.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Jack White has become one of the most famous faces on Detroit’s music map, but the rocker said he had to quit his hometown because it turned against him.

White, who now lives in Nashville, Tenn., with his wife, model Karen Elson, and their baby daughter, Scarlett, told The Associated Press in a recent interview that he needed to leave Detroit because “I couldn’t take the negativity anymore.”

“It was so supernegative,” said White, 30, leader of White Stripes and a member of the rock quartet The Raconteurs. “It was draining me, I had to get somewhere where I could breathe again.”

White told the AP that although he tried to help boost the city’s rock scene — working with unknown bands and acting as its musical ambassador — some in the community didn’t appreciate it.

“I was just trying to fight a losing battle, trying to keep a community of musicians together and keep it positive at the same time,” he said. “I did that part of trying to be nonegotistical, I tried to not make it about myself.”

White said the White Stripes aren’t the only band to get ill treatment from their native city. He also griped about a recent article in a New York publication that lambasted the homegrown band The Strokes.

“When that happens, you can’t stay in your hometown,” he said. “Because they’ll just turn on you.”

The Raconteurs, which just released their first album, “Broken Boy Soldiers,” will tour this summer.