The following is a guest contribution by the head honcho of Alive Records, Patrick Boissel.
Every week is Dan Auerbach’s appreciation week at Alive Naturalsound records. Thanks to our collaboration with him and with Patrick Carney, Alive was put on the underground map a few years ago with the release of the Black Keys’ debut The Big Come Up. Since then the label has been striving to put out the best music we can find, often with Dan’s generous help and encouragement.
In retrospect it was a big come up for all of us. These days not only are the Keys recording one great album after another, but as of late Dan has been spending time helping other artists by recording and producing them in his own studio (while Patrick has started his own label Audio Eagle). Many of these records have been released on Alive and they are helping to launch these artists’ careers. Simply said, Dan is a force for good in a world where rock’n'roll is still struggling to survive.
Lester Bangs once said :
To me, good rock ‘n’ roll also encompasses other things, like Hank Williams and Charlie Mingus and a lot of things that aren’t strictly defined as rock ‘n’ roll. Rock ‘n’roll is like an attitude, it’s not a musical form of a strict sort. It’s a way of doing things, of approaching things.
Dan Auerbach is rock’n'roll indeed.
My song picks:
Brimstone Howl: I’m A Man (from Guts Of Steel)
SSM : Dinosaur (from “s/t”)
Hacienda : Another Day (from “s/t”)
Buffalo Killers : Heart In Your Hand (from “Let It Ride”)
About the Author:Patrick Boissel is the owner of Alive Records, based in Los Angeles, CA. He has a blog, website and MySpace page.
