The Black Keys

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Black Keys

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Img_capt = The Black Keys performing at Bonnaroo 2007.
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Akron, Ohio, USA
Genre = Blues-rock
Alternative rock
Garage rock revival
Hard rock
Indie rock
Years_active = 2001–present
Label = Alive Records
Fat Possum Records
Nonesuch Records
V2 Records
URL = [http://www.theblackkeys.com/ www.theblackkeys.com]
Current_members = Dan Auerbach
Patrick Carney
Past_members =

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

Biography

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 "", 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. [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/47843-the-black-keys-reveal-danger-mouse-produced-album- Pitchfork: The Black Keys Reveal Danger Mouse-Produced Album ] ] “Some of the stuff we ended up recording sounds like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins,” Carney told Flaunt Magazine, in April 2008. [ [http://drewtewksbury.com/2008/04/23/the-black-keys-and-danger-mouse/] Tewksbury, Drew, Flaunt Magazine May 2008] 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 [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/322512/blackkeys?pageid=rs.Artistcage&pageregion=triple1 CD Reviews : Rolling Stone ] ] . "Time" magazine named them one of the "10 Best Acts of 2003" [ [http://www.time.com/time/bestandworst/2003/music.html TIME Magazine: 2003 Best and Worst: Music ] ] . 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 and 2008. They 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.

Cultural references

The band is frequently compared to The White Stripes, a pop musical duo (drums; vocals and guitar) from Detroit. Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/7287549?pageid=rs.NewsArchive&pageregion=mainRegion&rnd=1115618900214&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.1059 Q&A: Robert Plant : Rolling Stone ] ] , Joshua Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Kelly Clarkson, 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 , 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. "Strange Times" can also be heard during a preview for ABC's "The Mole", and the trailer for season three of the Showtime series Dexter. Their song "Just Got To Be" is used on the soundtrack for the video game NHL 08, made by EA Sports, and "Hard Row" is featured in the premiere episode of the FX show Sons of Anarchy.

Discography

tudio albums

*"The Big Come Up" (2002)
*"Thickfreakness" (2003)
*"The Moan" (2004)
*"Rubber Factory" (2004)
*"" (2006)
*"Magic Potion" (2006)
*"Attack & Release" (2008)

References

External links

* [http://www.theblackkeys.com/ The Black Keys Official Web Site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/theblackkeys The Black Keys official Myspace page]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/blackkeysunofficial An Unofficial Fansite for the band]
* [http://www.urb.com/features/997/TheBlackKeys.php URB Magazine interview with Dan Auerbach]
* [http://drewtewksbury.com/2008/04/23/the-black-keys-and-danger-mouse/ Flaunt Magazine interview with Black Keys and Danger Mouse]
* [http://www.subculturemagazine.com/reviewdetails.php?id=283&PHPSESSID=7279452d89c88bb9e5dce1fc155316aa Review of "Magic Potion" On Subculture Magazine]
* [http://tvspot.blogspot.com/2006/08/sony-ericsson-k800-never-miss-shot.html Black Key's 'Girl is on my mind' sounds in the new Sony Ericsson k800i Commercial - Spanish.]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=798394207069862173 Full-length Live In Austin video]
* [http://www.fabchannel.com/the_black_keys Full-length live in Amsterdam video]
* [http://www.thatotherpaper.com/austin/interview_with_the_black_keys_dan_auerbach Interview with Dan Auerbach in That Other Paper]
* [http://www.theblackkeys.it Unofficial Italian site]
* [http://www.rcrdlbl.com/2008/04/01/exclusive_stream_black_keys_same_old_thing/ SEEN: Download the Black Keys]
* [http://www.billboardenespanol.com/musica/content_display/artistas/artista-destacado/e3i16295f10f8187429caa068c3fbe865a3 Black Keys, Artista Destacado - Billboard En Español]
* [http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid1=125&csid2=946&fid1=33287 The Black Keys at exclaim]
* [http://www.punknews.org/bands/theblackkeys The Black Keys at punk news]
* [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/blackkeys The Black Keys at rolling stone]