The Black Keys have released two albums since they last played Phoenix in 2019.
Hearing Dan Auerbach describe the thrill of being in the studio with drummer Patrick Carney 20 years later, you’ll get the sense that he’s happy to keep making records while the amps are warm.
“Even now, we’re just totally addicted to recording,” he said. “I don’t know what it is. But we go in there and create something out of nothing, make songs out of thin air. It’s like magic we learned to do at 16 and we never stop. We never get tired of this trick.
Black Keys restore their mountain roots with ‘Delta Kream’
The first of these two albums, last year’s “Delta Kream,” was The Black Keys’ re-rooted sound of their mountain country blues in Akron, Ohio, covering RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Fred McDowell, Mississippi and tomorrow.
They didn’t have a lot of time to think about song choices, and within a day they tracked down what Auerbach said was a whim.
He just made an album for Louisiana bluesman Robert Finley with bassist Kenny Brown and lead guitarist Eric Deaton at his Nashville studio, Easy Eye Sound.
“This is my first time working with Kenny,” Auerbach said. “Hearing him play reminds me of some of my favorite records like RL Burnside’s ‘Too Bad Jim’ and Junior Kimbrough’s ‘Sad Days and Lonely Nights’.”
These are the records he and Carney listened to “over and over” as they drove the minivan across the country. So he called Carney and asked if he would be free to record with Brown and Deaton the next day.
“I knew he was going to have fun with it,” Auerbach recalled.
“So he came over and we cut the record in a day. Then we sat for months without even listening to it.”
A year and a half later, they released the songs in ragged, unkempt glory.
“We didn’t touch it at all,” recalls the guitarist producer.
“It’s totally raw improvisation. We’ve never played with a bass player before. We’ve never played with Kenny Brown. We’ve never played with a percussionist. So all of this is new thing.”
They played those familiar old songs before, but not since they started.
“It’s the music we were obsessed with when we were young,” Auerbach said. “It’s been great for us. Reset our mainframes. And I think we’d prefer to record the extra raw and keep the rough first recording, which is what we did in ‘Dropout Boogie’ Three or four songs are the full debut.”
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They made “Dropout Boogie” with the help of some friends
The rest of their latest releases require more skill.
“Some of the songs are a little bit more pop and think about it in terms of ‘how do we make something catchy?'” he said. “We wanted to have some of that on the record. We also wanted to have some very raw improvisation. I think we got a healthy mix.”
They were also hit. “Wild Child” was the first single from “Dropout Boogie,” which hit Billboard’s Rock and Alternative Airplay charts in May.
“As soon as we cut out the instrumental, we knew it was special,” Auerbach recalled.
“We finished the chorus pretty quickly. The instrumental music just came out of the speakers. So we took some extra time. We also got a couple of friends to help us with the writing. That’s really a difference maker.”
Being open to outside opinions is something they’ve learned from working with Danger Mouse on a string of hit albums, from 2008’s mainstream breakout, “Attack & Release” to “Brothers,” “El Camino” and 2014’s “Turn.” Blue”.
It doesn’t hurt that Carney nailed the grooves while allowing the record to breathe.
“Pat was just a crazy good drummer,” Auerbach said. “He was able to play very loose. He was also able to play super rock. And he was also able to play very danceable. I think the older he got, the more confidence he had on the drums. He was one of the best guys. The drummer I used to play with.”
Then Billy Gibbons showed up with a bottle of wine…no guitar
On “Dropout Boogie,” ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons also participated in a track titled “Good Life.”
Surprisingly, given his age of 46 and his love of the blues, Auerbach was late to ZZ Top.
“Honestly, I don’t think either Pat or I know much about ZZ Top,” Auerbach said. “I think we’ve known since childhood that they were people in music videos, ‘cheap sunglasses’ or something. My dad doesn’t listen to ZZ Top. So I don’t really know their first few albums or their first album record .I’ve never heard of it.
The Black Keys were already on tour Opened the early ZZ Top.
“It really took me by surprise,” he said. “I didn’t realize what an amazing drummer Frank Beard was, how great they sang together, how catchy their songs were, but how raw everything was. So it was really cool to hear that.”
He got rid of that exposed feeling that he found like-mindedness.
“I could hear Billy’s records on guitar and stuff like that because I was obsessed with those blues records when I was younger, and it was really cool to hear them spin on those records,” Auerbach said. “I think we must be drinking from the same well.”
Over the years, they became friends.
“I heard Billy was in town,” Auerbach said. “He came to Nashville a lot. So I texted him. I said, ‘I’m jamming with Pat in the studio. If you have free time, why don’t you stop?’ I didn’t hear it for hours. His message, and then all of a sudden, I got a text. He said, ‘I’m here, man.'”
Gibbons showed up with a bottle of wine and no guitar.
“I handed him a guitar and plugged it straight into the amp, no pedals, nothing,” Auerbach recalls.
“Tuned the speakers to max, poured him a glass of wine, and we started playing for about an hour and a half. I think we came up with three or four song ideas. One of them was ‘Good luck.'” That’s just Improvisation. “
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Why the black keys are still powerful
It’s been 12 years since “Tighten Up” became their first song. 1 on the rock and alternative charts. After all these years, they can still be counted on to make their mark on these charts, an impressive feat for Auerbach.
“I mean, it’s definitely a testament to how much touring we’ve done and built our fan base and how great our fans are,” he said.
“But we also put in the work. I think there’s a reason for that. We’re always willing to do crazy (expletive) to try and be successful in this business, like driving 9, 10, 11, 12 hours a day for months on end Over the years. Every year, life gets a little better.
‘like magic’: Dan Auerbach reflects on his chemistry with Patrick Carney
“Dropout Boogie” hits the streets in May, one day before the 20th anniversary of The Black Keys’ debut album, “The Big Come Up,” Love as always.
“We learned how to play music together, how to record together, how to write songs together,” he said. “Every time I hear our records, I hear that we’re learning and growing. I know where our heads are and so on. It’s funny. I hear records like this, I can hear the sound of the basement. The walls of cinders .”
He said it feels good to still be outside making music and touring with the Black Keys after all these years. “It’s just a real blessing.”
“I could play music with my best friend from high school. Black Keys allowed me to achieve my dream of owning a studio, making records and running a record label. And I didn’t have to just think”
black key
when: Monday, October 7th at 7pm. 10.
Where: Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix.
Admission: $34.50 and above.
detail: 602-254-7200, livenation.com.
Contact the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495.follow him on twitter @EdMasley.
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