The Raconteurs Article Index for
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Information About

The Raconteurs




  Img JackWhitebySteveHopsonjpg
  Img Capt Jack White in concert with The Raconteurs at the Austin City Limits Music Festival , 2006
  Background group_or_band
  Origin United States
  Genre Indie Rock <br> Alternative Rock <br> Blues Rock <br> Hard Rock
  Years Active 2005 &ndashpresent
  Label Third Man Records <br /> XL Recordings <br /> V2 Records
  URL wwwtheraconteurscom
  Current Members Brendan Benson <br /> Patrick Keeler <br /> Jack Lawrence <br /> Jack White


The Raconteurs, also known as '''The Saboteurs''' in Australia , are a Grammy -nominated Rock band, featuring four members previously known for other musical projects.

According to the current definition, The Raconteurs qualify as a rock-and-roll Supergroup , featuring the songwriting of Jack White of The White Stripes and Brendan Benson , who are both from Detroit, Michigan . In the band's own words, however, they are not a Supergroup , asserting that the term implies something pre-planned, whereas they are actually "a new band made up of old friends."JH (2006). "Jack White and chums drop an album" MTV2.co.uk (accessed May 18, 2006)

The Raconteurs are one of the few non-Irish bands to star in the popular web-cartoons of '' Eyebrowy.com ''. {Link without Title} In December 2006, the band's only album, ''Broken Boy Soldiers'', was awarded the title Album of the Year by Britain's Mojo magazine.


MEMBERS



BIOGRAPHY


Formation

According to the 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.


"Steady, As She Goes"

"'', 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 video for "Steady As She Goes," directed by Jim Jarmusch , premiered on MTV Two on March 10 , 2006 . It was also available for streaming on the band's website. An alternate video, featuring the band racing each other in a soap box derby, with a rare appearance from Paul Reubens as the bad guy out to sabotage the race, premiered exclusively on Yahoo! Music June 19 , 2006 .

'' Entertainment Weekly '' ran an article discussing how the song has the exact same bassline as Joe Jackson 's " Is She Really Going Out With Him? ".1

The closing seconds of the track have been used to close "Saturday Live" on BBC Radio 4, generating a lot of interest as to what the song is.


''Broken Boy Soldiers''


The Raconteurs' full-length debut, titled '' Broken Boy Soldiers '', was released on May 15 , 2006 in the UK on Third Man Recordings/XL Recordings and May 16 in the US on Third Man Recordings/V2 Records. It entered the UK charts at #2 and the US charts at #7. The album was recorded at Brendan Benson's in-home studio located in Detroit.

On November 3 , 2006 , the Raconteurs performed 'Broken Boy Soldier' and 'Store Bought Bones' on Later With Jools Holland . According to reporters from '' Planet Sound '' who attended the show taping, during 'Store Bought Bones' Jack White's guitar broke down and they had to re-play the song. This eventually happened four times, with the band breaking up in laughter by the 4th take. The TV airing used edited pieces from all four performances and cut out any laughter.

Recently, The Raconteurs have been nominated for two (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


Future Plans


The band is currently recording songs for their next album at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee . They have twelve songs written, and plan on releasing the album in 2008. Billboard.com "Raconteurs In The Thick Of Recording New Album",http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003575716

The Raconteurs have also recorded a new song that contains the sounds of Pelle from The Hives walking into a room, probably slated to be on the new album. {Link without Title} "5 on the 5," a song the band played live, is likely to be on the album.

Along with those tracks, it's possible one of the many covers the band played live (or an entirely different one) will be on the album.

Other possibilities would be one of the leaked Brendan Benson demos. One reason for this was that both "Call It A Day" and "Together" were supposed to be on a solo album of his, as well as "Store Bought Bones" which was supposed to be a Get Behind Me Satan song. If a demo of his appeared on the new album, it would be likely to be "Feel Like Taking You Home Now" since critics have pointed out a Raconteurs influence.

Also, the title "Monkeys Have It Easy" was placed on the White Stripes site in the press release for Icky Thump with "discarded" after it. It's unlikely, but the song could be a new Raconteurs song now.

The band recorded for a three week period before they prepared for individual releases with their other bands, though Jack said they might not finish by then.

The band's cover of " Teenage Kicks " by The Undertones will appear on a 40-year old anniversary of the BBC live compilation. They played it live on a John Peel tribute.


DISCOGRAPHY


Albums


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