Bio Dan Auerbach is an American vocalist and guitarist born in Akron Ohio. It was at a young age that he discovered his love for music. It started while watching his mothers side of the family play blues music during a family reunion. His uncle Jim was actually the one who taught him how to play the guitar. Although he enjoyed playing music, he was very shy and hated being the center of attention. He credits his father for encouraging him to preform on stage.

When Auerbach was in high school he met Patrick Carney, who played the drums. They started playing together and instantly had a connection. In 2001 they formed the Black Keys. They released their first album, The Big Come Up, in 2002 under a small record label called Alive Records. The two of them recorded the entire album in Patrick Carney’s basement.

With the release of their next two albums: Thick Freakness, in 2003, and Rubber Factory, in 2004, the Black Keys became known for their songwriting skills. They released their moody Magic Potion album in 2006, shortly after signing with a division of Warner Brothers, called Nonesuch Records. As their reputation spread, the Black Keys began drawing larger crowds. In 2008 they released their fifth album, Attack and Release, which hit the top 20.

After releasing five albums Auerbach and Carney decided to take a break and branch out to focus on concurrent solo projects. With his newly constructed recording studio, Auerbach began recording new material that mixed his bluegrass sound with psychedelia and gospel. He recorded and wrote all the songs in between touring with the Black Keys.

In 2009, Auerbach released his first solo Album, Keep It Hid. The album features Auerbach playing a number of instruments including drums, guitar, percussion and keyboards. Not only is he a vocalist and multi- instrumentalist, he produces, collaborates and writes.

In 2010 the Black Keys released Brothers, the album quickly hit No. 3 on the charts, won three Grammys and sold nearly a million copies. The song Tighten Up launched the band from underground to mainstream music. "Before 'Tighten Up' [from Brothers], we'd never had a real song regularly played on rock radio” (The Black Keys). In 2011 the Black Keys released their seventh album, El Camino, which ranked number two on billboard top 200 and sold 206,000 copies in the first week. This was their highest charting album the band had ever seen. The album also won a Grammy Award for Best Rock album.

” I never stop working, which is a blessing and curse, I guess. I'm pretty obsessed with making music and with recording, I'm always thinking about it. It drives my family crazy. But it's what I do.” -Dan Auerbach ” I never stop working, which is a blessing and curse, I guess. I'm pretty obsessed with making music and with recording, I'm always thinking about it. It drives my family crazy. But it's what I do.” -Dan Auerbach

History Dan Auerbach’s musical inspiration came from listening to old spiritual songs, blues and folk music as a child. He finds a lot of classic rock boring and too normal.

Auerbach’s solo album, Keep It Hid, was more influenced by psychedelia, soul music, and country harmonies. The album was also recorded with a full band unlike his previous albums with the Black Keys and features Auerbach playing a variety of instruments including drums, guitar, percussion, and keyboards.

0:00 Intro Chorus The intro starts with a soft acoustic guitar. The sound is raw and dry. It sounds like folk music. The first chorus vocals come in soft and slow. Then the organ and drums come in and establish a sense of rhythm. It has a low fidelity sound, and the organ gives a gospel feel to the music. 1:06 Instrumental Bridge The song then takes on a more electrified feel with an amplified guitar. The chunky guitar riffs give a more blues influenced feel to the song, and the drums are played in a forte style with much more cymbals. The rhythm is more snare driven. The bridge has a four over four meter and is repeated four times. 1:27 Verse The verse sounds similar to the chorus in the intro, but this time it is accompanied by loud amplified guitar, and hard drums that drive the rhythm. The vocals in the chorus maintain a softer feel that counters the music. There is no organ in the verse. 1:47 Chorus In the main chorus the vocals are backed up by a vocalist that keeps the sound balanced. The hard blues sound persists with the drums and guitar. The organ also joins the ensemble along with the additional vocals. The organ and the backup vocals add an additional melodic element to compliment the rhythm section. 2:13 Instrumental Bridge In this instrumental break the guitar goes back to a chunkier riff and the drums maintain a hard sense of rhythm similar to the previous bridge. The guitar has a sustained sound that resonates and makes way for the oncoming solo. 2:23 Musical Solo In the musical solo the electric sound dominates with more of a pick and hammer style of playing guitar. A bluesy instrumental is paired with a different rhythm that has more fills with the toms. 2:43 Outro Chorus In the outro chorus the organ and backup vocals return alongside the drums. Musically it is very similar to the body chorus but it ends abruptly with the bridge sound.