Before The Black Keys' headlining set at Audacy's Riptide Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale, FL this weekend, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney dropped into the Hard Rock Artist Lounge to chat with host Ashley O about band dynamics and lessons learned from their musical peers.
LISTEN NOW: The Black Keys at Audacy’s Riptide Music Festival
Together as a band since high school, “we've known each other since we were nine years old,” drummer Patrick Carney explains. “We started the band 22 years ago... making music's never been difficult,” he admits. “Getting people to listen to it, that was difficult, maybe. Figuring out how to get clubs to let us play there, that was difficult. Being a musician is kind of difficult to get started, you know?"
Although you never would have guessed that was the case, with high profile collaborations under their belts now with the likes of Alt icon Beck, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, rocker Alice Cooper, and more. “All we did is we dug up dirt on all these people and just sent a couple of text messages,” Carney jokes. “We created our own dossier.”
Asked who they would pick as their neighbor, roommate, and potato sack race partner, “Alice Cooper is the neighbor,” both Dan and Patrick agree. “He's famous for living next door to Groucho Marx... they would hang out all night and watch movies. Potato sack race is Noel Gallagher,” he continues. “Absolutely. Scrappy,” says Auerbach. “And Beck's the roommate. That was really easy”
Musical collaborations, of course, are another matter. “Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not,” Auerbach says. “Depends on the person and the day, and whatever's going on. But, I feel like more often than not, we have a really good experience when we invite somebody in who we really respect already.” Carney adds, “If you let the person do what they're good at, then you're gonna get something good.”
“Every time we get in the room with somebody, we learn something,” Dan continues. “I mean, Beck brought us out on tour when we were young. He taught us a lot of things about touring and being a band, and living off the road. He was one of our earliest supporters back in the day."
“Beck taught us a lot,” Patrick agrees. “And then Dan, the Automator taught us a lot, and also where to get the best tacos in Los Angeles.”
Listen to The Black Keys Radio on the free Audacy app
Speaking of lessons learned -- Ashley O brought up a funny story she heard about The Black Keys’ run-in years ago with fellow Riptide performer Jelly Roll. Carney explains: “What had happened was, I met Jelly Roll 13 years ago, before he was famous and he's just like right out of prison probably, it was 2010. I was with this friend of ours, Harmony Korine, we were in Nashville at this Hip Hop show. Yelawolf was just coming out starting to perform and I went and Jelly Roll was there. I didn't know who he was.”
Carney continues, "Harmony was joking around about something. Jelly Roll thought we were making fun of him, and he just rolled up to me and just scared the living crap out of me. Like, ‘Do you wanna go...?’ And I was like, ‘Nope, I'm good dude. Nice to meet you though.’"
“He seems a lot different, he was very angry then. He was a rapper then,” Carney explains. “We had just made a Hip Hop record that came out like a year earlier. So, I guess we were kind of on his radar and he might have, I don't know. He just, he kind of flexed on me and I was like, ‘Oh, you don't realize I'm a wimp.' I mean, I can talk some smack,” he laughs, “but I, I'm not backing it up.”
Listen to Ashley O's full chat with The Black Keys above, and stay tuned for even more conversations with your favorite artists right here on Audacy.
Listen to Riptide Music Festival Radio and more on the free Audacy app