When Ike Turker passed on just under a month ago, some of you, after guffawing at this New York Post headline and subsequently hating yourself for it, may have wondered what would happen to the pending collaboration between the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer and contemporary Akron-based genre practitioners The Black Keys. The man and the duo were set to record an album produced by Danger Mouse, so anticipation was a’bubblin like magic potion.
However, many months before emphysema claimed Turner's life, guitarist-vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney said they already realized the record would be their own. Titled Attack & Release and set to hit shelves April Fool's Day on Nonesuch Records, the LP is still distinct from their four previous efforts in two ways. One, Danger Mouse is still twisting the nobs on the record, and two, the duo recorded in an actual studio (Suma Studio outside sunny Cleveland, in fact) instead of Carney’s reputedly gross-ass, likely carcinogenic basement. Will the result be less gritty and stripped-down? Certainly. Will the boys suffer permanent lung and brain damage from exposure to toxic-black mold? Less likely!
Carney added in a statement: "The place is covered with dust, it smells like a moldy cabin, and it looks like a haunted house. I think Dan and I were intrigued to work with somebody as a producer, and with an engineer like Paul [Hamann], because we both realized we couldn’t teach ourselves anything more and it was best to start learning from other people."
Some guests (who Aeurbach and Carney might have otherwise been too embarrassed to let into their basement) show up on the record, including guitarist Marc Ribot and Carney’s uncle Ralph, both of whom have backed Tom Waits. Meanwhile, eighteen-year-old bluegrass singer Jessica Lea Mayfield lends her pipes to the final track, "Things Ain’t Like they Used to Be."
Here’s a schedule of Black Key affairs:
March
27 - Tucson, Ariz. @ Rialto Theatre *
28 - Tempe, Ariz. @ Marquee Theatre *
29 - San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues *
30 - Pomona, Calif. @ Glasshouse *
April
1 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Wiltern Theatre *
2 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Warfield Theatre *
4 - Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom *
5 - Seattle. Wash. @ Showbox SoDo *
6 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Commodore Ballroom *
9 - Denver, Colo. @ Ogden Theatre *
10 - Omaha, Neb. @ Slowdown
11 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue *
12 - Chicago, Ill. @ Riviera Theatre *
13 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ The Vogue *
15 - Royal Oak, Mich, @ Royal Oak Music Theatre *
May
12 - Washington D.C. @ 9:30 Club
13 - Washington D.C.@ 9:30 Club
15 - New York, N.Y. @ Terminal 5
16 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Fillmore at Theater of Living Arts
17 - Boston, Mass. @ Orpheum Theatre
* with Jay Reatard
Related links:
TheBlackKeys.com
DangerMouseSite.com
NoneSuch.com
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