There’s no bigger champion of vinyl than Jack White, whose Third Man Pressing (TMP) is ‘Making Vinyl’s’ hometown sponsor.
All delegates will be given the opportunity to tour the new vinyl factory, which opened this past February.
“Jack White is the perfect keynoter for ‘Making Vinyl’ because he knows first-hand what it takes to set up a new vinyl factory,” commented Bryan Ekus, president of Colonial Purchasing Co-op, the producer of Making Vinyl.
TMP is the latest piece of White’s vertically integrated music-making empire. He’s ushered in such “nothing-can-stop-us” innovations as the “fastest record ever made” (Record Store Day 2014) to shooting a playing phonograph into space for Third Man Records’ 7th anniversary in July 2016. The record? TMR’s 45-rpm single release of Carl Sagan’s “A Glorious Dawn.”
Always achieving new levels of vinyl manufacturing ingenuity, White’s solo album Lazaretto – the biggest selling vinyl album of 2014, at various places on the record played at 33, 45 and 78-rpm, among other astounding features.
Jack is also a member of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather, in addition to his vibrant solo career. His talents have garnered 12 Grammy Awards and 35 career nominations.
Jack’s achievements extend far beyond music. His White Stripes song, “We’re Going To Be Friends,” has inspired a new children’s book, published by Third Man Books, of the same name.
As the 2013 ambassador of Record Store Day (a sponsor of ‘Making Vinyl’), Jack explained, “We need to re-educate ourselves about human interaction and the difference between downloading a track on a computer and talking to other people in person and getting turned onto music that you can hold in your hands and share with others. The size, shape, smell, texture and sound of a vinyl record; how do you explain to that teenager who doesn’t know that it’s a more beautiful musical experience than a mouse click? … You put the record in their hands. You make them drop the needle on the platter. Then they’ll know. Let’s wake each other up … As Record Store Day Ambassador of 2013 I’m proud to help in any way I can to invigorate whoever will listen with the idea that there is beauty and romance in the act of visiting a record shop and getting turned on to something new that could change the way they look at the world, other people, art, and ultimately, themselves.”
“There seems to be no limit to Jack’s pioneering creativity and unbridled passion,” recently commented Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy, whose Producers & Engineers Wing honored White at the Grammy’s in January. “It’s with great pride that we honor such a talent who is committed to working diligently to ensure that the quality and integrity of recorded music are captured and preserved,” Portnow added.
Jack debuted with The White Stripes in 1997. Their album Elephant in 2003, produced the hit “Seven Nation Army,” which has arguably become among the most popular chants in sports stadiums around the world.
In 2009, White opened the doors to his own Nashville-based label, Third Man Records, which has released more than 300 titles, with a catalogue from artists as varied as Jerry Lee Lewis to Stephen Colbert and wildly innovative vinyl configurations, including the GRAMMY-winning Rise & Fall of Paramount Records Volumes 1 & 2 box sets. Third Man Records has produced 3.5 million records since its inception.
Photo: David Swanson
