The Black Keys on the LA hangout that led to their funky new album
LOS ANGELES — Twenty-four hours or so before the release of their new album, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of the Black Keys are sipping old fashioneds at the Chateau Marmont as they reminisce about the days when the two of them ran a lawn-mowing business with one lawnmower between them.
"And one weed whacker," Carney says.
"One lawnmower and one weed whacker," Auerbach confirms. "And one gas canister. All in the same minivan we used for gigs. So all of our s— smelled like gasoline and grass clippings all the time."
This was in the early 2000s, when they formed this once-scuzzy blues-rock duo in their shared hometown of Akron, Ohio — Auerbach on guitar and vocals, Carney on drums — and immediately began playing every deserted bar they could.
Two decades later, the Black Keys' lives are very different, with four Grammy Awards, a pair of double-platinum albums and, thanks to Carney's colorful marriage to singer-songwriter Michelle Branch, a level of tabloid scrutiny the members never even thought to dread back in Akron. (More on that marriage in a minute.)
On this recent evening, Carney, 43, and Auerbach, 44, have returned to the Chateau after a day of hand shaking and meeting taking while in town from Nashville, Tennessee,, U2 and Jon Bon Jovi.
