A steady adolescent diet of Beatle-y pop, blues ala Son House, alternative rock and lots of jazz and bluegrass is how The Black Keys’ front-man Dan Auerbach accounts for the Akron duo’s crazy-cool sound.
Through a weird (albeit simple) twist of fate, Auerbach, a juvenile audiophile, transitioned into a fine vocalist/guitarist alongside a non-friend from high school.
“Yeah, it was much later and purely by accident that Patrick (Carney, who functions as the Black Keys’ drummer) and I ended up making music together and realized that we had a lot of the same sensibilities.”
The pair’s natural chemistry, shared vision and forceful demos earned these blues-drenched rockers a record deal before they ever played a single note in concert. They now have several stellar albums and countless live outings under their belts that have earned them a rather large following. But Auerbach admits that “it’s kind of a blurred line between having to eat Taco Bell and crash on someone’s floor to opening shows for Radiohead.”
If you’re wondering whether two white boys from Ohio (where both musicians still reside) can possibly be the real deal, consider this: Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin fame) repeatedly turns up at their performances and (before he teamed up with Alison Krauss) had intimated in the music press that he wanted to join the band.
The Keys (sans Plant) will be featured this weekend at the Forecastle Festival.
For more information about the band, visit www.theblackkeys.com.
