Black Keys on First Rock Hall Ceremony: ‘It’s Like a Viagra Commercial’
What are you guys up to now? Are you working on a new record now?
Auerbach: No, we’re just taking some time off to finish the tenure. [Laughs] We’ve just taken a little bit of time off, yeah.
Still recovering from the whole France incident? [Ed. note: Auerbach performed in Paris with the Arcs on the night of the November 2015 terrorist attacks.]
Auerbach: Well, luckily we didn’t see any of the awfulness. It was very tense.
Carney: It was fucked up. I was texting Dan that night. I saw it.
It’s so crazy.
Carney: I was actually asked to play drums on that tour for Eagles of Death Metal.
Auerbach: We know the guy that was drumming. He was from Nashville. We toured with him.
Carney: Josh asked me if I would do it, and I recommended Julian [Dorio]. And also our merch guy was working that … our European merch guy. It’s fucked up.
They caught the guy today, the mastermind. They arrested him today in Belgium.
Auerbach: Really? Wow. I didn’t know that.
Yeah. So do you have your speech prepared? Did you write it in advance?
Auerbach: Yeah
Did you both write it?
Auerbach: Yeah, we both wrote it. Pat’s got the best joke of the whole thing. It’s the second line. Pat’s first line is to pay attention.
Who is going to do the speaking?
Auerbach: We both are.
Back and forth?
Auerbach: Yeah.
Carney: This is kind of a nightmare for me, public speaking. I still remember when we won a Grammy and [were] on TV. He went up and spoke. [To Auerbach] I don’t remember what you said. I don’t know if I said English afterwards.
Auerbach: This one is not live on national television.
Carney: That’s true.
“People who are really vocal about not getting in, it’s funnier to keep them out.” —Patrick Carney
It will be.
Auerbach: Shut up.
Carney: Is it on cable? It’s on cable though, right? No one watches TV.
You can edit it out. …
Carney: When you binge all the Rock Hall ceremonies, wait until you have 25 of them and then you put them on Netflix.
Do you watch them every year on TV?
Auerbach: I’ve never seen it.
Carney: Most of the time I’ll hear Howard Stern talking about it on the radio. He’ll never know most of the bands.
Auerbach: Of course not.
What do you make of this year’s lineup? It’s a very Midwestern. Cheap Trick …
Carney: There’s a lot of Wisconsin going on. [Are] Cheap Trick from Wisconsin?
They’re from Illinois.
Carney: So it’s a lot of Milwaukee and Illinois.
Seventies and Deep Purple …
Auerbach: I don’t care about [who’s not in] the Rock Hall, except for Link Wray. He’s not in the Rock Hall.
Carney: Have you ever been to www.chubbychecker.com?