The Black Keys

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The Black Keys
The Black Keys performing at Bonnaroo 2007.
The Black Keys performing at Bonnaroo 2007.
Background information
Origin Akron, Ohio, USA
Genre(s) Blues-rock
Garage rock
Hard rock
Years active 2001–present
Label(s) Alive Records
Fat Possum Records
Nonesuch Records
V2 Records
Website www.theblackkeys.com
Members
Dan Auerbach
Patrick Carney

The Black Keys are a blues-rock duo consisting of Dan Auerbach (vocals and guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums and percussion) from Akron, Ohio.

Contents

[edit] Biography

The band's name was inspired by an artist friend of the band in Akron with schizophrenia, who used the term "black keys" to describe people who weren't quite right. A double meaning lies in the fact that the black keys of a piano comprise a pentatonic minor scale when starting on E flat, which is often associated with blues and rock music.

One of their trademarks is their preference for "medium fidelity" recording techniques such as using tape recorders and analog effects. The band does most of the recording, producing, and mixing themselves. The majority of the album Thickfreakness was recorded in 12 hours during one day. The band often experiments with odd recording and production techniques, such as leaving in background noises.

The band released their first album, The Big Come Up, in 2002, followed by Thickfreakness in 2003, and Rubber Factory in 2004. October 2005 saw the release of the DVD Live, recorded live at The Metro Theatre in Sydney, Australia March 18, 2005. In 2006 they released Magic Potion and the lesser known Chulahoma EP, as well as a single version of Your Touch.

Their fourth album, Magic Potion, was released on September 4, 2006 in the UK and September 12, 2006 in the United States. It was their first recording for Nonesuch Records.

According to an interview in Pitchfork Media, the band was collaborating on an album with Ike Turner, to be produced by Danger Mouse and released in 2007, but the idea was rendered impossible with Turner's death in December 2007.[1] “Some of the stuff we ended up recording sounds like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins,” Carney told Flaunt Magazine, in April 2008. [2]Ultimately Attack & Release, their fifth album, was produced by Danger Mouse and released on April 1st 2008, having leaked onto the internet by March 4th. The first single from the album was "Strange Times," with a supporting video featuring Auerbach and Carney appearing as themselves shooting "real" laser guns at one another during a game of laser tag.

The Black Keys have achieved increasing critical acclaim and recognition since their debut album, which was praised by Rolling Stone magazine[3]. Time magazine named them one of the "10 Best Acts of 2003" [4]. They have supported a number of bands, and toured with Sleater-Kinney in 2003, as well as a short stint opening for Beck, and performing at Lollapalooza 2005. They have recently opened for Radiohead on the American leg of their brief 2006 tour. In addition to this, they were supported by the influential British radio DJ John Peel and appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and The Late Show with David Letterman. They have recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "The Wicked Messenger" for the I'm Not There soundtrack, and have recorded "If You Ever Slip," a song written by Jesse Harris for The Hottest State soundtrack.

[edit] Cultural references

The band is frequently compared to The White Stripes, another blues-based Lo-fi musical duo (drums; vocals and guitar). Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant [5], Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead are fans of the band. Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has also stated in an interview that he enjoys listening to the band. Arctic Monkeys' Drummer Matt Helders can be seen in a Black Keys T-Shirt in an interview on MTV's RAW. Their song "When the Lights Go Out" was featured on the film starring Samuel L. Jackson, Black Snake Moan and can be found on the soundtrack. The Black Keys were included in the soundtrack of the 2003 movie School of Rock with their song, "Set You Free." The song can be heard when Jack Black takes Joan Cusack to a bar for "coffee."

One of their songs, "Girl is on My Mind", was used in a 2006 Sony Ericsson advertisement, starring the tennis players Ana Ivanović and Daniela Hantuchova, gaining the band more commercial recognition. It was also used in a 2006 Victoria's Secret commercial featuring Heidi Klum and could be heard in the movies Rest Stop and Cashback. Their song "10 AM Automatic" was used in the video game MLB '06: The Show, The O.C, and was also used in a 2007 American Express commercial starring Shaun White. "Your Touch" was featured in a 2007 Lee's jeans commercial, and can be heard in an episode of NBC's Friday Night Lights. Their cover "Grown So Ugly" can be heard in the background of the going away party in the 2007 film "Cloverfield". "Strange Times" is used in Grand Theft Auto 4 on the in-game radio station, Radio Broker.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Official bootlegs

[edit] Videography

[edit] DVDs

  1. Set You Free

[edit] Music videos

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pitchfork: The Black Keys Reveal Danger Mouse-Produced Album
  2. ^ [1] Tewksbury, Drew, Flaunt Magazine May 2008
  3. ^ CD Reviews : Rolling Stone
  4. ^ TIME Magazine: 2003 Best and Worst: Music
  5. ^ Q&A: Robert Plant : Rolling Stone

[edit] External links


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The Black Keys
Dan Auerbach · Patrick Carney
Studio albums
EPs
Live bootlegs