Black Keys' Auerbach Turns Solo Album Into Family Affair

Posted on Mar 4th 2009 3:00PM by Jolie Lash
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In the last year, Black Keys mainman Dan Auerbach has produced or played with just under a dozen bands so it's fair to say, the Buckeye doesn't often get a chance to slowdown. Except on the day Spinner calls.

"I'm stuck in traffic in Ohio," he says from Akron. "I'm literally going two miles an hour on the highway."

It's a rare moment of near-non-movement for Auerbach, who recently released his debut solo album, 'Keep It Hid.' Auerbach made fresh recordings of older material in his Akron studio for the release, which features a composition from his father.

"There's just a few songs that I really liked that had never seen the light of day," he notes of the album's cuts. "My dad's song 'Whispered Words,' the last song on the record -- 'Goin' Home' -- are both songs that are kind of old, but I really liked a lot, so I thought they were worth it."

And the family affair extends to his uncle too -- James Quine.

"It's me and my Uncle on the first song, ['Trouble Weighs a Ton'] -- just he and I singing harmony, playing acoustic guitar," Auerbach says. "He also plays some electric guitar on 'Street Walkin'' and 'Mean Monsoon,' he plays rhythm guitar. He's the guy that taught me how to play. And he taught me how to sing."

While it's Auerbach's solo effort, he decided to recruit his family because they share more bonds than just similar DNA. "We've always been on the same wavelength," he says. "There's lots of musicians in my mom's family especially, and we can relate to each other because we're all music obsessed."

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