Photo: Gareth Cattermole (Getty Images)
Band feuds are all fun and games until someone produces a song for another musician’s ex-wife. The bad blood between the Black Keys and Jack White goes all the way back to 2013, when TMZ published emails where the former White Stripes frontman refused to let his kids go to the same Nashville school as The Keys’ Dan Auerbach.
“That’s a possible 12 fucking years I’m going to have to be sitting in kids chairs next to that asshole with other people trying to lump us in together,” White wrote at the time. “He gets yet another free reign to follow me around and copy me and push himself into my world.”
Also: On Record & Road: Jack White’s Band Share Their Stories
Ouch! The Black Keys took the high road until 2015 when The Key’s outspoken drummer Patrick Carney claimed that White had threatened him in a New York bar and called him (via Twitter) a 40-year old bully who was “basically Bill Corgan’s dumb ass zero t-shirt in human form.” What did poor Billy Corgan have to do with all this?
The tweets went viral of course, but the beef was squashed when both Carney and White (via Third Man’s Twitter account) both Tweeted out that everything was “all good.”
Not so fast as things have gotten personal. Carney is named as a producer on Karen Elson’s single off her upcoming album Double Roses (out April 7 via H.O.T Records Ltd).
“Distant Shore” is a nice haunting (if harmless) rootsy-folk song, but what does it have to do with all this? Well, Elson happens to be the former Mrs. White (as in Jack’s ex-wife). Although White produced the British singer’s debut album, the relationship ended badly, with both suing each other over in a custody battle.
I’m very interested to see White’s reaction to the latest shots fired. For what it’s worth, Elson’s release show for the record will be held in Nashville at White’s Third Man Records studio, so maybe all’s well that ends well.
