Re-tuning the Black Keys

Collaboration allows the grit-rock duo to 'mix it up a little bit'

By Chris Nixon
UNION-TRIBUNE
March 27, 2008

If you haven't heard, the Black Keys are set to invade your radios, iPods and all other forms of musical media.

But drummer Patrick Carney isn't sensing the mayhem surrounding the duo's upcoming release “Attack & Release.” He's currently chilling in his hometown, oblivious to the buzz.

“We live in Akron, Ohio,” said Carney in his best deadpan tone. “There's no real college radio. So we really have no idea what's happening.”

After spending the past seven years building their reputation as a no-frills, bluesy, grit-rock duo, Black Keys vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Carney felt like they needed a fresh perspective. So they turned to Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse, half of Gnarls Barkley and a recent go-to producer for Gorillaz, The Rapture, Sparklehorse and Damon Albarn's supergroup The Good, The Bad and The Queen. The resulting record – set to be released Tuesday – is the duo's fourth full-length album and its first with an outside producer.

DETAILS
The Black Keys,
with Jay Reatard
When: Saturday at 8 p.m.
Where: House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., downtown
Tickets: Sold out
Phone: (619) 299-2583
Online: hob.com

“Brian has a real ear for melody and arrangement,” said Auerbach about the collaboration with Danger Mouse. “And that was a big part of this record, his making suggestions about the arrangements.”

The first single, “Strange Times,” displays Danger Mouse's knack for subtle adjustments to The Black Keys' sound. The producer doesn't mess with the tried-and-true formula much. It's more like a slight filling out of the sound: an additional hand clap here or bubbling organs there.

“We made four records and an EP the same way, pretty much on our own,” said Carney. “On 'Magic Potion' (the band's last album), it felt like we should be making things a little bit more difficult for ourselves. So we decided to mix it up a little bit. I think right now we're onto something new. I think we're beyond whatever hang-ups we had about working with other people.”

In the past, Auerbach has struggled with a ton of Paul Rodgers comparisons. There are worse things than an association with the former Bad Company and Free singer, one of the signature voices in rock for the past four decades. But Danger Mouse seems to give a different treatment to his voice, and Auerbach's pipes are starting to sound more like his own.

“We won't record songs that we don't think are good,” stated Carney. “It doesn't necessarily mean that we have to record in the basement. The first reason we were recording in the basement was out of necessity. We continued to do it there because we had some bad experiences with engineers. We had this idea that working with an engineer is automatically (sounding) like Coldplay. That ended up not being true. We realized we just had to find the right people to work with.”

Those people turned out to be Danger Mouse, along with crack guitarist Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello), singer Jessica Lea Mayfield and multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney (Tom Waits), who also happens to be Patrick's uncle.

After the first taste of the new Black Keys sound, the collaboration with Danger Mouse seems to be fruitful, giving a more realized version of their trademark stripped-down, one-two punch of guitar and drums. But Carney still claims ignorance to the band's burgeoning popularity.

“We know that occasionally we'll get contacted by incredible people like Danger Mouse, and that's mind-blowing,” admitted Carney. “Then we'll go on tour, and we're playing to bigger and bigger places. But we spend 80 percent of our time in a town where the college radio station plays Justin Timberlake. So we don't hear about anything.”


LINEUP
Dan Auerbach (vocals and guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums)

Studio albums
“The Big Come Up” (2002) Alive Records
“Thickfreakness” (2003) Fat Possum Records
“Rubber Factory” (2004) Fat Possum Records
“Magic Potion” (2006) Nonesuch Records
“Attack & Release” (2008) Nonesuch Records

“Attack & Release” track listing
“All You Ever Wanted” – 2:55
“I Got Mine” – 3:58
“Strange Times” – 3:09
“Psychotic Girl” – 4:10
“Lies” – 3:58
“Remember When (Side A)” – 3:21
“Remember When (Side B)” – 2:10
“Same Old Thing” – 3:08
“So He Won't Break” – 4:13

Explosions in the Sky in the U-T

Explosions in the Sky extends post-rock genre

By Chris Nixon
For the Union-Tribune
March 14, 2008

The Texas-based quartet Explosions in the Sky is all about the guitar. Just guitars. No vocals. Some drums. Minimal keyboards.

“These first four records have basically been guitars and drums playing live in a room,” admitted Explosions in the Sky drummer Chris Hrasky.

Using the guitar as a centerpiece, Hrasky and guitarists Mark Smith, Munaf Rayani and Michael James (who also picks up a bass guitar occasionally) all build upon a single guitar line with layers and textures, creating five-to 10-minute post-rock mini-symphonies.

Following in the tradition of post-rock icons like Chicago's Tortoise or Scotland's Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky continues to explore musical territory outside the three-minute pop song format, bringing ambient music (traditionally a keyboard-driven genre) to a more rock-oriented instrumentation.

“When we started, it was kind of understood that we were the tail end of this post-rock instrumental stuff that grew up in the early '90s,” said Hrasky form his home in Austin, Texas. “Bands like Tortoise and Mogwai getting big in the '90s. We were considered to be the last gasp of all that. But it just seemed to take off from there.”

Along with bands like San Diego's Tristeza, Explosions in the Sky has extended the reach of post-rock instrumental music. By using songs with no vocals and a long, slow-developing arc often described as cinematic, Hrasky and company's music fits well into TV and film.

Explosions in the Sky scored the movie “Friday Night Lights” and much of its music is used for the highly acclaimed television series of the same name. The music has also been featured in such diverse settings as Cadillac commercials and the artsy 2007 film “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.”

DETAILS
Explosions in the Sky
When: 7 p.m. tomorrow
Where: SOMA, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway area
Tickets: $14
Phone: (619) 226-7662
Online: somasandiego.com

The group's fourth album is titled “All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone.”

As the music world gravitates toward Austin this week for the SXSW festival, Explosions in the Sky – one of the college town's best exports – will visit San Diego at SOMA tomorrow. Hrasky said he thinks hailing from a smaller town like Austin has actually helped it to spread the word.

“We've got huge metropolises around us, but they're not exactly known for particularly strong music or art communities,” said the EITS drummer. “Austin is an oasis in Texas. People are so supportive of music down here. A lot of bands from here go on to do pretty well. So, something's working in this town's favor.”

Explosions in the Sky may never land on the pop charts, but the audience for instrumental music continues to grow, he said.

“We're still pretty amazed at the size of places we're playing on this current U.S. tour,” said Hrasky. “There will be 13-year-old kids in Fall Out Boy T-shirts and emo kids and punk rock kids. But then there will be 50-year-old ladies and frat boys. So, this music seems to have crossed over to a lot of different types of people. It's something we take pride in: We can communicate to a lot of different types of people.”

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

St. Pat's: A new tradition

Young Dubliners headline ShamRock festival for second year in a row

By Chris Nixon
For the Union-Tribune
March 13, 2008

Immigrating to the United States for Young Dubliners lead singer Keith Roberts turned out easier for him than for the Irish folks that came before him.

Instead of surviving a long boat ride across the Atlantic, he simply hopped a jet. And rather than settling in a crowded, dirty tenement building in New York City, he found himself in the sunshine of Southern California.

DETAILS
12th annual ShamRock with Young Dubliners
When: Monday, 4 p.m. to midnight
Where: Gaslamp Quarter
Tickets: $20-$25
Online: mcfarlanepromotions.com

“America's always been the big golden egg for Irish people,” said the Young Dubliner about the relationship between Irish and the United States. “We heard about America growing up and it was always the place to visit.”

Since coming to America, Roberts has built a name for himself through the blend of traditional Irish and rock of the Young Dubs. When he first came to the West Coast, he went through a little culture shock.

“I had come out here to L.A. to visit (my sister) a couple of times on summer holiday,” added Roberts. “I was blown away by California, definitely. When you're coming from Dublin, it's definitely an eye-opener.

“She had all of her friends and it was a small, tightknit Irish community developing here (in Los Angeles). So, it was really open for what ended up happening to us: starting the band and whatnot.”

For the second year in a row, the Young Dubliners are headlining the 12th annual ShamRock festival on St. Patrick's Day in downtown San Diego. The festival features 60,000 square feet of AstroTurf, two stages, five bands, three DJs and many gallons of green beer.

Longtime San Diego favorites, the Young Dubs are supporting their 2007 release “With All Due Respect – the Irish Sessions,” a collection of traditional songs and more recent favorites by The Pogues and others.

“We ended going national pretty quickly because of the leg up we got here in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco,” remembered Roberts. “So my trip here was a lot smoother than my forefathers.”

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Here's the lineup for the 12th annual ShamRock, kicking off at 4 p.m. Monday in the Gaslamp Quarter downtown:

MAIN STAGE PERFORMANCES

4:30-5:30 p.m.: Raggle Taggle and the Field Irish Dancers

6-7 p.m.: the Stuart Martz Band

7:30-8:30 p.m.: the Down's Family

9-10 p.m.: Top 40s from The Trip

10 p.m. to midnight: Young Dubliners

The 28th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival: The annual festival and parade takes over Balboa Park along Park Boulevard and Presidents Way from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Traditional Irish food and music on two stages highlight the festival, while the parade (starting at 11 a.m.) features enough fife, drum and bagpipes to last another year. This is a free event.

Hooleyfest: Also on Saturday, East County hosts this annual St. Paddy's institution in the parking lot of Hooleys at 955 Jamacha Road in El Cajon, (619) 670-7468. Music, food, and of course beer will be on the menu. Tickets are $25 at the door, 6 p.m. to midnight.

For more information on these and other St. Patrick's Day events, log on to www.signonsandiego.com/feature/st-patricks-day.

– CHRIS NIXON

Greg Laswell: Expansion plans

Laswell's songwriting chops are gaining notice beyond the Southland

Chris Nixon
March 6, 2008
For the Union-Tribune

Defections from the San Diego music scene are almost a cliché: an artist grows up in the local scene, reaches a plateau and then wanders to greener pastures for a larger slice of the music industry pie.

While technology has made recording and distribution easier from our town tucked in the corner of the country, sometimes musicians need to sit in record label offices or lay down tracks in a bigger studio.

For Greg Laswell, his recent move to Los Angeles is more a matter of temporary convenience than a formal emigration: “I think the stage I'm at, there isn't a limit, careerwise, to living in San Diego. It's just easier timewise and travelwise. Once a few more things are in place, I'd like to move back (to San Diego) permanently. I don't think there's a limit built-in. For me, the commute to L.A. three or four times a week takes three or four hours each time. It's just a bit much.”

Before cutting his commute to mere minutes, Laswell served a short tenure (a couple of years) as San Diego's unofficial media darling.

DETAILS
Hotel Cafe Tour with Ingrid Michaelson, Cary Brothers, Greg Laswell, Kate Havnevik, Jessie Baylin, Jim Bianco
When: 7 tonight
Where: Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach
Tickets: Sold out
Phone: (858) 481-8140
Online: bellyup.com

His first recording, “Good Movie,” won a 2004 San Diego Music Award for Best Local Recording. His excellent 2006 release, “Through Toledo,” was nominated for Album of the Year in 2007, and the single “Sing Theresa Says” won Song of the Year. Not to mention airplay on local radio stations and buzz in local publications, including Night&Day.

Local interest led to regional interest, as Laswell signed to Vanguard Records along with a publishing deal with Sony. Now, it appears regional interest is leading to national interest.

His deadpan, beautiful songwriting and textured compositions are gaining notice beyond the confines of Southern California. Laswell's upcoming EP, “How the Day Sounds” (due out Tuesday on Vanguard), will serve as a precursor to a new full-length album with a release date in July.

“I feel like, with this next record, it's his time,” said musician Cary Brothers of friend and fellow Hotel Cafe tour-mate Laswell. “He's earned it. He's already done what he's done in San Diego and he's getting a lot of great attention in Los Angeles. I feel like with this next record, he's going to make his presence known nationally. He's conquered Southern California and he's ready to roll on.”

Brothers added: “In his heart, he's still Mr. San Diego.”

In the past, the independent-minded Laswell would have hunkered down his home studio and emerged when the album was finished. While signing with a record label gives him the boon of added distribution and marketing, Laswell faces a new problem: deadlines.

A week ago, a tired and haggard-sounding Laswell contemplated his final countdown: “I have a little bronchitis flaring up on me, so I'm not in the highest of spirits. The album is due (to the record label) on March 5, so I'm in the recording and mixing and being sick and stressing out stage.”

For fans familiar with “Through Toledo” and its ethereal bittersweet pop songs, both the EP “How the Day Sounds” and the as-yet-untitled full-length disc should sound easy and intimate like previous recordings. Lyrically, the newer material shows a progression: from Laswell's condition during the writing of “Through Toledo” to his present state of ascendance both professionally and personally.

“The first album was about a painful time in my life,” admitted Laswell, who went through a tough breakup with his wife during the writing of “Through Toldedo.” “This EP and the new album are about getting through that time. This album still sounds like me. It still looks and feels and smells and sounds like a Greg Laswell record.”

Once the album gets done, Laswell sets sail on the Hotel Cafe Tour with Brothers, Ingrid Michaelson, Kate Havnevik, Jessie Baylin and Jim Bianco. The tour stops at the Belly Up tonight. Then, he embarks on many months of touring and promotion for the new disc. But eventually, Laswell wants to settle back in San Diego.

“I'm kind of a man between two cities right now. But my dog-sitter is still in San Diego.”

Cast of characters

March 6, 2008

Now in its fourth year, the Hotel Cafe Tour brings the artists most likely to wear their hearts on their collective sleeve on a tour through the nation. Along with Greg Laswell, here's a quick rundown of musicians coming to San Diego this year:

Ingrid Michaelson: After toiling in New York City for years, this 28-year-old sweet-voiced chanteuse is winning the hearts and minds of fans nationwide with spots on “Grey's Anatomy” and Old Navy commercials. Her single “The Way I Am” swings with simple instrumentation and earnest sweetness, a la Feist.

Cary Brothers: Propelled into the spotlight by the hit from the “Garden State” soundtrack “Blue Eyes,” Brothers got his start on the Hotel Cafe stage. Full of effortless mellow pop, the Nashville-based artist released his first full-length album, “Who You Are,” last year.

Kate Havnevik: This Nordic beauty wields sweeping down-tempo electonica as her main weapon of choice on her U.S. debut album “Melankton.” She comes by this honestly: She's worked closely with Guy Sigsworth, half of the electro-pop duo Frou Frou.

Jessie Baylin: This New Jersey-bred, L.A.-based vocalist strikes a more traditional singer-songwriter pose than most on the bill, with strummy, accessible folk songs with just a hint of country twang. Her 2007 debut album, “You!,” features a star-studded cast of musicians: drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Lee Sklar, keyboardist Larry Goldings and Van Dyke Parks.

Jim Bianco: Bianco sounds like an internationally inclined Tom Waits. A worldly growl that's seen many a bar fight and pickup line in smoky joints from Argentina to Tennessee. His latest single, “I Got a Thing for You,” is classic Parisian swing complete with accordion and husky vocal swank.

-- CHRIS NIXON

On stage, 'have a blast with all your friends'

Six years ago, musician Cary Brothers walked into a tiny Los Angeles music venue in Hollywood and his life changed.

Originally from the songwriting hotbed of Nashville, Tenn., Brothers had been toiling in L.A.'s tough local music scene, surrounded by thrash metal and angry hip-hop.

Once he experienced the community of songwriters gathered around this small Hollywood club, he knew he'd found his place.

“It's like a clubhouse for musicians,” said Brothers, who has been playing to hushed crowds at Hotel Cafe since that evening six years ago. “Even if you're not playing a show there, the back bar has a communal, clubhouse environment.

“I never expected to find anything like that in Los Angeles. I grew up in Nashville around these little songwriter rooms like the Bluebird Cafe, which has that communal vibe. It's just nice to have a noncompetitive, nonthreatening support system in Los Angeles.”

Hotel Cafe, smack in the middle of Hollywood on Cahuenga Boulevard between Hollywood and Sunset boulevards, helped the many careers of Los Angeles singer-songwriters, among them former San Diegan Gary Jules and Brothers, whose song “Blues Eyes” graced the “Garden State” soundtrack and lifted the singer-songwriter to national notoriety.

From this support system sprang a tour organized by Brothers, featuring artists from the informal clubhouse bringing their communal vibe around the country: “It's appealing for artists because, for six week a year, you can get on a bus and there's no real pressure. There are no real headliners. Everyone's sharing the show. There are no egos. You just get to go up on stage and have a blast with all your friends. So it's a unique experience for artists as well as the audience.”

Now in its fourth year, the tour features a house band (much like the Motown and Stax revues of the 1960s) fronted by a handful of singer-songwriters. And those singer-songwriters seem to love the experience: “The great thing about this tour: Everyone who's done it wants to come back and do it again.”

– CHRIS NIXON