The Raconteurs

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Raconteurs


Img_capt = Brendan Benson and Jack White, of the Raconteurs in Stockholm, 2006
Img_size = 250
Landscape = Yes
Background = group_or_band
Origin = United States
Years_active = 2005–present
Label = Third Man, Warner Bros., XL
URL = [http://www.theraconteurs.com/ www.theraconteurs.com]
Current_members = Brendan Benson Patrick Keeler Jack Lawrence Jack White
Past_members =

The Raconteurs (also known as The Saboteurs in Australia), are a rock band formed in 2005, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White (of The White Stripes), Brendan Benson (solo), Jack Lawrence (of The Greenhornes and Blanche), and Patrick Keeler (also of The Greenhornes).

Members

* Jack White – vocals, guitar, keyboards, stylophone
* Brendan Benson – vocals, guitar, keyboards
* Jack Lawrence – bass guitar, banjo, backing vocals
* Patrick Keeler – drums, percussion

Touring members / guest musicians

* Dean Fertita (2006) – keyboards, percussion, guitar
* Mark Watrous (2008) – keyboards, fiddle, percussion, violin, vocals

Biography

Formation

The band is based in Nashville, Tennessee. According to the band's official website, "The seed was sown in an attic in the middle of a hot summer when friends Jack White and Brendan Benson got together and wrote a song that truly inspired them. This song was 'Steady, As She Goes' and the inspiration led to the creation of a full band with the addition of Lawrence and Keeler." The band came together in Detroit during 2005 and recorded when time allowed for the remainder of the year. Due to the various members' success in other bands, they were quickly dubbed a supergroup. The band, however, asserted they were not, saying that the term implies something pre-planned or temporary, whereas they are actually "a new band made up of old friends."JH (2006). [http://www.mtv.co.uk/mtv2/music/article.jhtml?articleId=75132981 "Jack White and chums drop an album"] MTV2.co.uk (accessed May 18, 2006)]

The band has played a number of music festivals in Europe, Asia, and North America (including Oxegen in Ireland, Reading Festival, Leeds Festival and Glastonbury Festival in the United Kingdom also T in the Park in Scotland, Heineken Open'er Festival in Poland, Vegoose in Las Vegas, Lollapalooza in Chicago, Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee, Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas), and Coachella in Indio, California, headlining many.

The Saboteurs

The Raconteurs were renamed as "The Saboteurs" for the Australian market when it was discovered that a Queensland band was already using the name "Raconteurs". The Queensland band refused to give up their name for the amount they were offered, and instead asked for a higher price from the Raconteurs' record company, who refused to pay the greater amount. [http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18734967%255E28957,00.html Double-up forces switch] , "Herald Sun", 2006-04-07] A member of the Queensland band said that they had not been informed of who was trying to buy their name and asked for the larger sum of money to see what would happen. [http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s1613948.htm Saboteurs of Raconteurs] , "Triple J Music News", 2006-04-11]

"Broken Boy Soldiers"

The Raconteurs' full-length debut, "Broken Boy Soldiers", was recorded at Brendan Benson's in-home studio located in Detroit. The first single was "Steady, As She Goes/Store Bought Bones" and was released as a limited-edition 7-inch, 45 rpm vinyl record in Europe on January 30, 2006, [http://www.nme.com/news/white-stripes/22043 The Raconteurs confirm first single] , "NME", 2006-01-24] and in North America on March 7, 2006. A CD version of "Steady, as She Goes" was released on April 24, 2006, with the B-side "Bane Rendition".

The Raconteurs first performed live at the Academy in Liverpool, UK, on March 20, 2006, launching a short British tour. Their first American date was the next month, on April 20 at New York City's Irving Plaza. Nearly nonstop touring followed, bringing the band to audiences around North America and Europe. The high profile of Jack White meant that even though the band was new, they were able to sell out mid-size venues—a rarity for a band's first tour.

"Broken Boy Soldiers" was released on May 15, 2006 in the UK on Third Man Recordings/XL Recordings and May 16 in the U.S. on Third Man Recordings/V2 Records. It entered the UK charts at #2 and the U.S. charts at #7.

In November 2006, the Raconteurs played eight dates as the opening act for Bob Dylan on the north-eastern leg of his U.S. tour. On November 3, 2006, the Raconteurs performed the song "Store Bought Bones" and the title track, "Broken Boy Soldier" on "Later with Jools Holland". According to "Planet Sound" (who had reporters in attendance), during "Store Bought Bones" White's guitar malfunctioned and they had to re-play the song. This eventually happened four times, with the band breaking up in laughter by the fourth take. The TV airing used edited pieces from all four performances and cut out any laughter. The band's cover of "Teenage Kicks" by The Undertones appeared on a 40-year anniversary of the BBC live compilation. They played it live on a John Peel tribute.

The band has performed a number of covers during live shows. For instance, the set list usually includes renditions of "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" (a song written by Sonny Bono and popularized by both Cher and Nancy Sinatra) and "Headin' For the Texas Border" by The Flamin Groovies. Other songs the band has covered include Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy", Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?", The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks", Ron Davies' "It Ain´t Easy", and Love's "A House Is Not A Motel". The band has also covered the song "Floating" by the Irish band Jape, and "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" from the soundtrack to the film "The Wizard Of Oz".

In December 2006, the band's debut album, "Broken Boy Soldiers", was awarded the title Album of the Year by Britain's Mojo magazine. In 2007, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. The Raconteurs were nominated for two awards at the 49th Annual Grammys: one for Best Rock Album for "Broken Boy Soldiers", and another for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Steady as She Goes". [ GRAMMY.COM - 49th Annual Grammy Awards Nominee List, http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/49th_Show/list.aspx]

"Consolers of the Lonely"

The Raconteurs released their second album, "Consolers of the Lonely" on March 25, 2008. The first single, "Salute Your Solution", was released the same day. The album was announced only a week before its release date, purposely leaving no time for critics to review it before it was available for purchase.

The band has also announced tour dates including: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 25, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 4, Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 13, [Sisario, Ben (2008-02-06), "Metallica And Pearl Jam and Kanye West and". "New York Times". :2] T in the Park in Scotland on July 12, Oxegen festival in Ireland on July 13 and The Open'er Festival in Poland. They played at "The Pyramid Stage" at the Glastonbury Festival 2008 on June 28 and on the main stage of Reading and Leeds Festival 2008 on August 23 and August 24, also at Austin City Limits Music Festival September 26-28th 2008. They played "The Eden Sessions" at the Eden Project in Cornwall on June 29th. The band will also tour the U.S. during summer 2008.

The Raconteurs played their first Montreux Jazz festival on the 7th of July, 2008.

Discography

Albums

"Note: They have also released live performance albums in limited quantities at their respective concerts."

ingles

Audio sample

References

External links

* [http://www.theraconteurs.com/ TheRaconteurs.com] , Official website (Flash required)
* [http://www.myspace.com/theraconteurs The Raconteurs official MySpace page]
* [http://theraconteursfans.com/ The Raconteurs Fan Club] Meet fans all over the world
* [http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000944462 "White, Benson Make A Racket With Greenhornes"] , from Billboard.com
* [http://www.avclub.com/content/node/52559 The Onion A.V. Club's interview with The Raconteurs] , September 7, 2006
* [http://dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/the_raconteurs_salute_your_solution_consolers_of_the_lonely_review.aspx "Salute Your Solution - review"] , Daily Music Guide
* [http://webinfront.net/?p=237/ Podcast of Raconteurs entire 2008 Coachella performance]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20080515_raconteurs.shtml Raconteurs @ Hammersmith Apollo, London 14/05/08.] BBC live review.