Dan Auerbach
By Christopher Hollow
With his heavy beard Dan Auerbach looks like an American Civil War general. By co-incidence the day we talk is the 144th anniversary of the fall of the Confederacy at Appomattox (although we find neither of us can pronounce Appomattox).
Auerbach, singer-guitarist with the duo Black Keys, has released a solo record, Keep It Hid. It’s a ripper and shows how much his sound informs the Black Keys.
The last time we spoke for the Black Keys it was more a Dada experience than interview.
We don’t do interviews, we do experiences. Patrick doesn’t allow anyone to be serious.
You’ve done a solo record but your band is only a duo - did you have to get away from Patrick?
Yeah. Have to get away? I don’t know. It’s fun. It’s a nice change of pace.
What could you do as a solo artist that you couldn’t do in The Black Keys?
Folk songs. Big arrangements with full band, stuff like that. Never been able to do harmonies on stage. Never been able to do acoustic quiet things on stage, never been able to do much percussion on stage. Those are all things I love to do. Before I was playing with Pat I was playing bluegrass music with my family doing harmonies and all those things are a big part why I wanted to do music in the first place.
Last time we spoke I asked for mellotron in your music, now there’s a mellotron in “When The Night Comes In”. Can I claim influence over your music?
That instrument is pretty amazing isn’t it? Crazy instrument, who would thought of that? Yeah, it was all you. I was definitely not influenced by old albums or anything - it was really just you.
Tell us about that track, it’s a very beautiful song.
That was the only song not recorded in my own studio, it was recorded in San Diego, California. I was on tour with The Black Keys and I went over to a friends house, Mark Neil, who’s got a studio and we recorded that song in an hour and a half before I had to go play a show.
Are these songs you tried out with Black Keys?
I tried “The Prowl” out but that was after I’d recorded it already. Not really, they were all pretty much solo songs first and stayed that way. The only difference is Pat’s not in the equation. I got to play with other people. Even when the Black Keys got popular and started touring I’d always play with other people when I got home. This is just the first time anything’s been released. So the idea of me doing something outside of the Black Keys is new to everybody else but it’s not new to me.
Your old man is involved with this record, (co-wrote ‘Whispering Words’) what’s your relationship been like with him?
He’s a good guy. He’s funny. He’s a good cook and he writes songs. He’s not musical, as in he doesn’t play an instrument but he’s got into writing in the last few years. He co-wrote a song on The Black Keys second record - “Hard Row”. He helped me write that song. He gives me piles of lyrics, and it’s cool ‘cos I can do whatever I want with them. Musically I can take them anywhere and it’s fun, it’s a fun exercise.
Have you always had a strong relationship?
Yeah. We would nerd out on music all the time. We’d go on trips down south. When I was 17, 18 we’d drive 25 hours to Nashville, Memphis, Mississippi and listen to country music, bluegrass and blues music. We’ve always had a good relationship.
You never felt the need to rebel?
My dad is a little different. He listens to music louder than most anybody I know. He’s probably done more drugs than I’ve ever done (laughs). How do you rebel against that besides becoming a lawyer or a dentist?
Tell us about your cousin Robert Quine (Voidoids, Lou Reed etc) - a fantastic guitar player, made looking bald incredibly cool.
He did, didn’t he? He grew up a block from where I lived. He came home a few times from New York City and my family would have dinner once a week with his mum and dad, Bob and Rosalie. When he came into town after I started playing guitar regularly my parents hooked me up with him. And I think he was bummed out and really didn’t want to. I’m assuming he thought I was going to bring over some Green Day record and go, ‘show me how to play this’ or something. I turned up with my 60s Japanese guitars, a shitty little amp that sounded great and a bunch of weird soul and blues records and he was so happy. When I showed him all this stuff he lit up. He would mope around, a very dark person. He was on heroin at the time. I didn’t know that, I don’t think many people did. But once he realized I was into this music he just lit up and started talking my ear off about all these albums that he loved and he wished he had time to put together a mix tape to play me these different things. We played guitar a little bit and he basically told me that everything he does is really just Chuck Berry licks and that’s it. He’s a cool guy, he was really nice. But I could see why people might get frustrated with him in his personal life because he was so obsessive about music. I don’t think he a lot of time for anything else, you know what I mean.
What criticism of your music do you accept?
I don’t accept any criticism. I will fight you if you criticize my record. I don’t play that.
Dan Auerbach’s Theme Time Radio Hour: The Ultimate Mix Tape.
Keen to find out where Dan’s heart lies, musically, I ask him to unsheathe his iPod. The conversation ranges from ZZ Top to Ronnie “The Blond Bomber” Dawson to Keef Hartley, Inca Rock and beyond.
“I’m the Iron Chef on the iPod,” he says. “I can go all day.”
Happy downloading.
Jon & Robin - I Want Some More
Written by Wayne Carson Thompson (‘The Letter’) originally recorded by Texas duo Jon & Robin. Their 1967 album Elastic Event often pops up on those ‘worst album cover’ lists. Dan’s version appears on Keep It Hid.
“I found the song, I just stumbled on it. It’s amazing, ridiculous. It’s as fun as hell to play live with that jungle beat. It’s classic American songwriting.”
Gary “U.S.” Bonds - I Wanta Holler (But The Town’s Too Small)”
“One of the people I’ve been listening to a lot lately is Gary “U.S.” Bonds. He’s got a song called “I Wanta Holler (But The Town’s Too Small)”. It’s so good. This is what I wanted the whole record to sound like, jungle drums. Beautiful, goddamn. Unfortunately, I didn’t know anyone that did horns.”
The Sir Douglas Quintet - “Nuevo Laredo”
“I definitely ripped off them only by the fact they had a permanent maraca player and if I went on the road I really wanted someone to play maracas. That is rock n’ roll. The maraca is more rock than the guitar. Once they added the maraca to the guitar then it became rock n’ roll.”
The Birds - How Can It Be
The British Birds featuring a young Ron Wood on guitar playing slashing open chords.
“How Can It Be” came out well before “Brown Sugar”, maybe 1965 with Ron Wood on electric guitar. Check this shit out. Sound familiar?
Tommy Youngblood - Tobacco Road
Ampeg baby bass, beautiful.
Link Wray - Pancho Villa
Have you ever heard “Pancho Villa” by Link Wray? So good. There’s about eight versions of this but this is the raunchiest one.
Keef Hartley Band - Leaving Trunk
D – “You want to see where the Black Keys stole “Leaving Trunk”, you heard that?”
C – “The Taj Mahal version?”
D – “No, bud, Keef Hartley.”
C – “I love how he spells his name K-e-e-f.”
D – “And how he’s the drummer and the band leader also. I ripped that straight up. I couldn’t believe no one had heard this record. It’s one where he’s dressed like an Indian on the front (Halfbreed, 1969).”
C – “It’s great that all those English blues guys went to California and became Indians.”
D – “Turned into Indian hippies? Yeah, and they made good records too. I think when you start dressing like an Indian you make good albums, no doubt about it.”
Mickey & Sylvia – Dearest
Mickey & Sylvia doing their best Buddy Holly impression.
C - “Buddy Holly still sounds incredible today. It’s basically punk.”
D - “Norman Petty would follow him around with a tape recorder. Tape him in his hotel room, wherever.”
Tommy Roe - Sheila
Tommy Roe doing his best Buddy Holly impression.
“Classic. I’m addicted to floor toms and maracas. Everybody hates me when I tell them to play drums.”
Bob Landers - Cherokee Dance
Bob Landers and his infamous unitar.
C – “What I love about all these tracks is they’re blues inflected but not straight blues.”
D – “I don’t like straight blues music. I never really liked Chicago Blues. Everybody just assumed that but I don’t think they’d listen to a lot of blues music. I was obsessed with it so it was different. It had to be strange or in open tuning or something for me to even want to get into it. Some people thought I was crazy. How can you not like Muddy Waters? It seemed too normal to me.”
C – “What about Muddy Waters going psychedelic on Electric Mud?”
D – “Amazing. One of the best psychedelic records ever made.”
The Allures - We’ll Make It Someday
Also known as Colly Williams & The Allures.
“This has not been sampled yet by any rapper but it will be. I’m just going to rip that off directly.”
Charles Mann - Red, Red Wine
Written by Neil Diamond but the best version is done by Charles Mann.
“So good. Some Louisiana hillbilly singing ‘Red, Red Wine’.”
Black Merda – Cynthy Ruth
This is the 45 that got Black Merda signed to Chess. They re-recorded it but the original is the one to get.
“These guys in Memphis, these kids, these two guys who are big into collecting 45’s put together this compilation Chains and Black Exhaust and it’s the best mix I’ve ever heard in my life. They made this 45 and then they got signed by Chess Records and Chess recorded them way too clean but this is just raw.”
Crimson & Clover – Aguaturbia
I ask about favourite Southern Hempishere bands. He chooses South America.
“Aguaturbia means waterfall. They from Chile. They had a girl singer, she was real pretty, and in 1968 she posed naked on their album cover on a crucifix, in communist Chile! A great version of ‘Crimson & Clover’.”
Ladies W.C. – People
“They’re from Peru. It’s a Beatles rip, great sound though. This guy has better English than I have, what’s that all about? You can literally understand him more than you can on my record.”
Thomas Wayne with the DeLons – Tragedy
Thomas Wayne recorded “Tragedy” with the DeLons. A Mississippi native, he died in an auto accident in 1971, age 31. His brother, Luther, Johnny Cash’s guitarist died at age 40 in 1968 when he fell asleep while smoking.
“The best line is the last line and it could probably inspire me to write a whole record – ‘blown by winds, kissed by snow all that’s left is the dark below’. Holy shit, that’s insane.”
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©2009 Christopher Hollow