Jack White's Band Came to Play Detroit — Then Stumbled Into Its Most Storied Garage

“Do you want to give Jack White and his band a tour of The Heritage Fleet the day before Thanksgiving? They're in town to play the Lions Thanksgiving game halftime show.”

How long do you think it took me to say yes?

The crew met Ford Heritage Fleet Manager Matt Korczyk and me at the Glass House garage. Matt knew the band’s drummer, Patrick Keeler, and had shared a photo of the Denimachine — one of the newest additions to the fleet — with him. It sparked Patrick’s desire to see that van and the rest of the fleet, and he brought the whole band along.

The crew enjoyed all the vehicles in the fleet and posted some images on their social channels, but they paid special attention to the Denimachine.  

It made sense why when Patrick pulled out his phone and showed us a photo of a young Jack Lawrence — his bandmate and bass player in The Raconteurs, one of Jack White’s many projects — in a Denimachine from the late 1970s.

The band sent photos of themselves posing with it to Jack Lawrence, who then let us know it was his grandfather’s. Around 1979, his family took a road trip in the van, and that’s where the Jack Lawrence + Denimachine photo originated.

It was an incredible day to meet the band and give the tour, and the cherry on top was learning the personal connection they had with the newest member of the fleet.