Striped: The Story Of The White Stripes

In the last two bonus episodes, we heard a lot of interesting stories about Jack and Meg White's touring escapades in 2000. But in this last bonus episode of the season, we have a couple of stories about other bands: Weezer and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Don't worry though, you'll see how everything connects soon enough.

Last time, we covered anecdotes from Jack and Meg White's first West Coast tour. In this bonus episode, John Baker provides a few extra tidbits from The White Stripes' time in New Zealand and Australia that didn't make it into Season 2.

We weren't able to fit every story from The White Stripes' first West Coast tour in this season, so we've included more of Ben Blackwell's recollections in this Season 2 bonus episode. Some are funny stories, others are important to the band's development, and one even involves a very special bed.

So far this season, a lot of entirely unexpected and stuff has happened to The White Stripes. Through it all, you can see Jack and Meg getting a taste of what it's like being an indie rock band that eeks out a living on the road. Like Ben Swank said when we opened the season, that's the hope. that's the dream! What more could a nobody band from a forgotten music scene hope for? Turns out, a lot more.

From their very first jam sessions in the attic of 1203 Ferdinand, Jack and Meg White were intent on doing their own thing. You can see that through the early shows, the singles, the first album — and turning down some of the coolest indie labels around to maintain creative control. But the biggest example up to this point may be the making of "De Stijl," and album that got The White Stripes mentioned amongst heavyweight up-and-comers in the early '00s.

The White Stripes' trip out west knocked over some dominos that foreshadowed what was to come as Jack and Meg burrowed further into the new millennium — including a jaunt to the other side of the country and a few interesting offers.

A catalyst for many of Jack and Meg White's crucial connections in 2000 was The White Stripes' first real tour, out to the West Coast and back. Those three weeks would play a pivotal role in the rest of the year — and the rest of their career.

As Ben Blackwell says this season, 2000 is a crucial year of connections for Jack and Meg White. One of those connections was the greatest radio DJ of all time. Another was the first member of The White Stripes' "team" — someone who would set them on a collision course with industry heavyweights later in the year.

For The White Stripes, 1999 might have been a bedrock year, but 2000 is when things got real. From winning over the greatest DJ of all time and being pursued by the coolest record labels, to wowing the hottest band of the moment and blowing minds around the world — season 2 of Striped follows The White Stripes as things begin to boil over.

And if you want an even deeper look into the life of the band around 2000, head to thirdmanrecords.com and pick up their latest vault package: the accompaniment to "De Stijl," celebrating the 20th anniversary of The White Stripes' sophomore album.

In the first episode of season one, you heard a little from Wayne Kramer of the seminal Detroit band The MC5. While only a few bits ended up in the episode, there was a lot more Wayne had to say about the city, his career, and The White Stripes. So for the last bonus episode of the season, we're letting you hear it all.