Dan Auerbach

Dan Auerbach, best known as the singer/songwriter/guitarist of The Black Keys, will be releasing a solo album called Keep It Hid on February 10, 2009 via Nonesuch Records. I guess he was cheating on his most recent album, Attack & Release; also writing songs that would become Keep It Hid. We can now add adulterer to the list of adjectives describing Dan Auerbach.

The backing band on the album is Hacienda (we showed them lots of love) and Auerback describes the sound as a mixture of music he listens to – psychedelia, soul music, country harmonies. Sounds like a recipe for greatness to me.

In February Auerbach will begin a national tour with performances in New York City, Boston, and Washington, DC. Opening acts for the tour will include Those Darlins and Hacienda.

Here’s some more background on the upcoming release:

Keep It Hid was produced and engineered by Auerbach at his studio, Akron Analog, and features him playing a variety of instruments, including drums, guitar, percussion, and keyboards. Many of Auerbach’s friends and family play on the album, including his uncle James Quine, who contributes vocal harmony and electric guitar on the track “Street Walkin.” Other musicians include fellow Ohioans Jessica Lea Mayfield, who sings on the track “When the Night Comes,” and Bob Cesare, who plays drums on “Whispered Words,” a song originally written by Auerbach’s father. Of the recording process Auerbach states, “I wanted a live, organic sound. Nothing was too plotted or planned, just a lot of spontaneity.” The record was mixed by Auerbach’s good friend Mark Neill at Neill’s Soil of the South studio.

We’ve been all over Dan’s jock lately, but have shown no love for Keys drummer, Patrick Carney. Here’s an entertaining backstage interview from Lolla 2008. The interviewer asks several questions about working with Danger Mouse, who produced the band’s last album, Attack and Release.

The best exchange:

Interviewer: What’s it like working with him? What does he bring to a recording session that kind of blew you guys away?

Patrick: Chick-fil-A. That’s what he brought.

The second best exchange:

Interviewer: I thought the crowd at the show last night was just electric. They were so into it. I had the pleasure of introducing you and it was thundering.

Patrick: Right after you introduced us, we put some PCP in the fog machine. Seriously. Just a couple drops. Driblets. People flip out on that stuff. They love it.

We got a Lee Corso-esque email from a reader named Chris saying “Not so fast my friends.” It actually said “You shouldn’t finish up with Dan without going back to his earlier band, The Barnburners.” I didn’t know that such a band existed, thus proving that I’m not a stalker.  Dan, you can hold off on filing the restraining order. Chris goes on to say:

The Barnburners were around in 2001 and 2002.  They sold The Rawboogie EP.  Six tracks of great covers.  I’ve included mp3s of Train I Ride and Back To Georgia.  The band consisted of Dan Auerbach (guitar/vocals), Jason Edwards (drums), Johnny Belvedere (bass).

Here’s a bio by the band: The Barnburners play music the way it’s supposed to be played - raw and with feeling. It’s not your stereotypical local blues band. These guys can play and they definitely know their shit - burning through songs by Hound Dog Taylor, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Hank Williams and Mississippi Fred McDowell. They play American roots music with fire and intensity, cutting their teeth in every run-down, hole-in-the-wall joint they can find. After playing together off and on for years, these three boys decided to get together and lay it down with conviction! Find them before they find you - you’ll be glad you did.

Chris Johnson also hosts the Deep Blues Festival up in Minnesota each year, so make friends on MySpace and stay in the loop. They’ve been struggling to break even on the festival, so if you are potential sponsor, you should reach out to him. The lineup has been great and they deserve a big audience.

The Barnburners - Train I Ride

The Barnburners - Back To Georgia

I received some horrible news last week. I saw a message on Facebook that a good middle school friend of mine died of a stroke in his apartment.  His body wasn’t discovered for days. I don’t know if it was the news of his death at the age of 30, that he died alone, that he left a child behind, or maybe that no one bothered to check on him for several days, but the news really shook me.

Johnny was a big guy. He was big in stature, big in personality, and he had a heart that was bigger than both. He always respected others, knew right from wrong, and sometimes actually did what was right. My contact with Johnny faded when I moved away from Oregon to Ohio, but I thought about him and heard through others that he had battled heavy drug addiction. Unfortunately his demons finally got the best of him. I didn’t know Johnny during his troubled years and in my mind I can only see the 8th grader, always with a wide grin and a joke at hand.

Why am I writing this? Partially because its cathartic, but mostly because on the same day I heard the news about Johnny, I also received Jessica Lea Mayfield’s debut album With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt in the mail. I put on the headphones and took a long bike ride around Shoreline Park while the sun was setting, listening to the stunning album and thinking about my old friend.

Jessica Lea Mayfield is only 18 years old and hails from Kent, Ohio. Although she’s young, she doesn’t lack experience. She’s performed with her family band One Way Rider since the age of eight and last year, she provided backing vocals on The Black Keys’ track “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be” off of Attack and Release.

With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt was produced by (you guessed it) Dan Auerbach and recorded over two years in his Akron, OH studio and Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken and Frank McElroy assisted on backing vocals. Oh, and she’s become a favorite of Scott Avett of The Avett Brothers. Her sound is meloncholy and paints a picture of the sky just before a big Ohio storm. It’s a combination of Mazzy Starr, Loretta Lynn, and Neko Case as it weaves folk, blues and country around her tales of failed romance that are oddly somewhat uplifting.

Not one of our typical album reviews. This was just one of those fucking days.

MySpace

Jessica Lea Mayfield - Kiss Me Again

Backstage video of “We’ve Never Lied”

As far as I know, there has never been a Dan Auerbach appreciation week outside of his house, but that’s about to change. Today is the beginning of Dan Auerback week at HearYa.com. Why you may ask? Well, I was going through our pending posts that are begging to be published and noticed that Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys produced at least three of them. I figured why not just make it officially unofficial and dedicate the whole week to the fellow-Ohio native?

If you don’t like The Black Keys, then we’re not friends. Not only do they consistently put out amazing records, but they go above and beyond to help other emerging artists get their music recorded and distributed. Pat Carney started Audio Eagle Records with the fantastic tag line, “Going Out of Business Since 2005.” Meanwhile, Dan has worked with several Alive Records bands and a select Ohio songstress to produce albums and even provide some backup on guitar and vocals.

Stay tuned for some great music certified with Dan’s seal of approval and, in the meantime, enjoy a few live tracks from The Black Keys Live EP.

The Black Keys - Girl Is On My Mind (Live)

The Black Keys - 10am Automatic (Live)

The Black Keys - Elevator (Live)