A Grammy is really nice, but having lots of fans is really nice, too. I think just getting a record out is a success on its own.
I'm definitely a guitar player, but it's the last thing I listen to in a song, after the singer and the drums.
You know, there's always someone in mind when I'm writing. You know, it's all comes from somewhere inside.
Being 16 years old and getting an electric guitar is never going to get old. There's always going to be kids making music. There's always going to be kids in bands.
Well, when The Black Keys make a record, I never really feel limited. To me, it seems the possibilities are always endless. The big difference has been playing live and being able to recreate every little part of the record.
I tend to name albums after one of the songs.
Coming from a smaller place always made things feel more personal, which is really what it's all about.
Devo and The Cramps didn't get big until they went to New York City. Chrissie Hynde didn't get big until she moved to London. When I was growing up, there wasn't even a place to play - just one little bar. If we wanted to have a gig, then we had to drive 45 minutes up to Cleveland.
Some people love being onstage and really open up, and I'm sort of the opposite of that. I don't crave the spotlight. I'm still not comfortable even talking onstage.
I'm not afraid of the Canadian tuxedo.
People will say, 'Just one picture please.' That is how it starts. There is just one picture and then somebody else wants another. And when I say 'No' I feel guilty.
When I learned to play music, I was listening to blues music. And all the blues music I liked was super simple and stripped down. And then all the hip hop I liked was super simple and stripped down and we always heard that connection.
Hip hop is the new rock n' roll, you know what I mean? And anybody who doesn't think that is just sort of living in the past. It's all just American music, really, when you get right down to it.
