Yesterday, The Daily reported that William Morris Endeavor Entertainment had barred OU from hosting any of their other artists after The Daily published Jack White's contract and tour rider.
Today, Monotone Inc., Jack White's management company, released a statement saying that it was "untrue" that Jack White would never perform at OU again.
According to their statement, neither White or his management personally blacklisted OU, but the booking company WME did.
Monotone Inc. also noted that White did not write the tour rider himself--they said they were "not even sure he likes guacamole."
WME, White's booking company, has not released a statement at this time.
Read the full text of the statement from Monotone Inc. here.
Holy Guacamole!
To the students and staff of University of Oklahoma:
Jack White would love to thank all the concert attendees at his performance at the University of Oklahoma. The crowd was incredible and Mr. White played an extensive two and a half hour show for them. The students who helped organize the event were wonderful. Playing in, and for, the people of Oklahoma is one of Jack White’s favorite tour stops. At no time did Jack White or White's management say that we would never play there again, that is untrue.
The incidents with the OU Daily student newspaper reporting the financial terms of the show, the private tour rider information, along with unsolicited photographers from their staff were unfortunate, unprofessional, and very unwelcoming. The show was one of many on this tour directed at playing for university students in their own environment. And the band were all completely thrilled with the performance and the crowd.
Incidentally, the most important function of a rider is that it lays out optimal technical specifications to ensure the audience has the best experience possible. For that, Jack hires a team of very qualified touring professionals who write the rider and attempt to execute a professional and pleasant experience for all involved. Part of that is making sure that the tour personnel of about 30 people plus the local venue staff are fed. Contrary to what some believe, Jack doesn't write the rider nor make demands about his favorite snacks that must be in his dressing room. We're not even sure he likes guacamole but we do know that the folks who work hard to put on the show do enjoy it.
(By the way, now that's it out there, we recommend you try Lalo's guacamole recipe. It's delicious.)
We hope those present for Mr. White's performance are able to maintain their good memories from the experience and he looks forward to seeing them again soon.
Sincerely,
Monotone Inc.
(Jack White’s management)
Editor's note: The letter from Monotone Inc. refers to Jack White's tour rider as "private" information. The rider was part of the contract between White and OU. Because OU is a public institution, the contract (and the rider) is a public document, and it was retrieved lawfully under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
