Jack White Talks Music, Upholstery With Conan O'Brien


Jack White recently sat down with Conan O'Brien for more than an hour to discuss diverse topics such as the intersection of music and comedy and White's past as an upholsterer. The interview, the latest installment in O'Brien's "Serious Jibber-Jabber" series, wasn't strictly speaking part of Conan, but a more extensive conversation that allowed the two to cover topics they haven't touched on during White's 12 appearances on O'Brien's shows.

White lights up a cigarillo within the first 10 minutes as the conversation goes ever deeper. At one point, White talks about how his background in upholstery influenced his music; he describes three staples as the minimum needed to upholster something, and White says this image has impacted his focus on musical simplicity. "I think about that probably once a week, that image of those three staples, and it's affected everything," White says.

The interview is the fourth in O'Brien's "Serious Jibber-Jabber" series, which has previously featured the talk-show host's conversations with director Judd Apatow and statistician Nate Silver.