Jack White, formerly known as John Gillis, is on his road to solo success. The American musician played guitar, piano and sang for the White Stripes with ex-wife Meg White before the group split in early 2011. Jack later played for the The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather before he released his debut solo album Blunderbuss last month. The 36-year-old punk-blues poet opened up to Interview Magazine where he shared his insight on love, growing up in Michigan and naming is album.

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On his hometown in Detroit:
White admitted growing up in Detroit was rough. “It’s got a stiff upper lip, that town…I think you learn how to walk down the street in a certain way. I think you just learn to have a way about yourself, a style of walking down the street, that keeps people away from you…I grew up in the city. I don’t think there have been too many musicians who have made it out into the mainstream who are actually from the inner city of Detroit—except for the Motown artists, really.”

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On choosing “Blunderbuss” as the title of his album that released in April:
“I’ve always loved the word blunderbuss. I’ve always thought that it was a beautiful word and that it could mean several different things.” So we are all aware; a blunderbuss is a type of gun that can blow someone’s head off. “I was hoping maybe that some of these songs might blow people’s minds, too.”

On writing about love:
“As a songwriter, it’s really dangerous to use the word love in a song. It’s a word that has been used in songs so many millions of times before, and it’s the most popular topic to ever write about. So I thought that if I was going to be brave enough to actually use the word love in a song, I better be trying to make people think about it—and make myself think about it. I really wanted to stir up the notion of what love could mean, and what we really want when we say that word. It’s a very powerful word.”

On working with other artists:
“For some reason, I don’t like the word collaboration. It makes me think of some silly compilation tribute album for sale at a bookstore. When I produce someone’s recordings, that’s all it is: I’m producing.” White admitted he doesn’t write with the people he produces with. “I have to feel like I can add something to the mix, bring something out of an artist by working on the record. Sometimes I turn down working with people I’ve loved since childhood because I can’t find my place in the production.”

VIA: Interview