When he first arrived on the scene, his White Stripes were a breath of fresh air. Things felt good. The music scene felt rejuvenated. But… there are still tons of great rock bands out there, of various types.
I think when he talks about “wildness” he understands it similarly to me - I was listening to those Detroit bands and similar at the time and prior to the White Stripes coming over here. Gories and Dirtbombs, Bantam Rooster, the Paybacks, the Hentchmen, Flat Duo Jets, Devil Dogs, New Bomb Turks, The Mummies and so on.
So I guess he simply isn’t taking notice, like many people in the mainstream, including those who book festivals, of anything in the “underground” (a term I find dated but what else can I use?). There are some amazingly wild rock’n’roll bands out there, in the US, here, and around the world.
Which bands would you send his way to open his mind up?