The Akron Blues

I don't have enough superlatives for Dan Auerbach's first solo record.

Living here in Columbus,Ohio I have been lucky enough to see the Black Keys close to ten times(the boys are from Akron - aboout an hour and a half Northeast) and it makes me so happy to see them blow up. I remember the first time I saw them. There were probably 50 people in a bar called Little Brothers. The show was six or seven years ago and I think we were all blown away by hearing these two skinny white kids from Ohio churn out one killer song after another of their blues infused rock. Fast forward to 2009 and they are near the top of the bill at Coachella. God bless them.

And as if the Keys records weren't great enough, Dan Auerbach released an amazing solo album this week - 'Keep It Hid.' It's been playing on a constant loop here for days. Same powerful, soulful voice of Dan's, but this time fleshed out with an entire backing band - as opposed to JUST one powerful drummer and his thrashing lead guitar. The results are stunning. A must have.

Below is a video of my favorite track on the album, 'Trouble Weighs A Ton'...that is Dan's uncle James Quine sitting in with him. James is the man who taught Dan to play guitar. I have four nephews, and after watching this I feel like getting in my car and driving as fast as I can to the nearest pawn shop to buy a guitar to teach them how to play...then I remember that i don't know how to play. Ah...the amazing power of rock n' roll :-)














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