Akron’s favorite sons (and one of my favorite bands) has a new home. The Black Keys moved to Nashville towards the end of 2010, set up their own studio, and are at work demoing a follow-up to their 2010 smash, Brothers. The duo, who first played Nashville in 2002 for a $100 guarantee, spoke to Nashville Scene about the move and their reasons behind relocating. Patrick Carney, the Keys’ drummer, said, “Nashville has a similar feeling [to cities in Ohio], but Nashville has much more of an identity. It has a culture and a history, and that culture is a musical one.”
Musical history is a big part of the Black Keys. Dan Auerbach is an avid record collector, and the Keys’ first LP, The Big Come Up contained covers of old blues records. They also recorded their breakthrough album Brothers inside Alabama’s famed Muscle Shoals studio. But don’t fret Akron, Auerbach and Carney will always be Ohioans at heart. Auerbach said, “Well, we will always be from Ohio, and that’s always gonna be a humongous part of who we are and what we are about,” Auerbach says. “That sort of working-class town, small town. If you want to do something you gotta do it yourself. … [The DIY thing] is how we did it. That’s how we started.”
You can read the full article “The Black Keys Have Moved To Nashville” here.