Before The Raconteurs could plan the June 21 release of, their first album in 11 years, White had to once again find his place within a band after five-plus years touring on his own, even as that group was often described in headlines as his -- or, even worse, his side project. “There are these boxes that people mentally put things in,” says White. “It’s a strange concept.
Making a whole album was never an explicit goal. Neither Benson nor White can really remember how the band got back together -- the pair recently joked about making up a different story every time -- but one thing they can agree on is that a couple of years ago, White had Benson come over to play him a new song in his car. White was in the midst of recordingand felt one song, a glitzier piano-rock track, didn’t fit. It sounded too much like a Raconteurs song.
in Nashville’s Pie Town. “It was a little rough,” says Benson, remembering their return to the stage -- which was also his first time performing sober with the band. “But it felt good. It was just one of those moments where afterward, we were all very exhilarated and stoked about the future.”