Dan Auerbach Quotes & Sayings

My mum's family would all get together, with guitars, harmonica, mandolins and upright bass and play old blues and folk songs. That was normal to me. — Dan Auerbach

I'm not too picky about guitars. I love to collect them, mostly oddballs, but I'm not married to any brand or model. Whatever guitar has the best character for the song is the one I want to use, because if you've got a style, you're going to sound like yourself no matter what guitar you play. — Dan Auerbach

I'm certainly not your typical front-man material. Some people love being on stage 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 on stage. — Dan Auerbach

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. — Dan Auerbach

Dude, everybody wants to be Andre 3000. He's got abs for days. How does that guy get so ripped? — Dan Auerbach

Guitar solos bore the hell out of me. Only a few guitarists interest me, and it's not about the solos they play, it's about the grooves they create. — Dan Auerbach

Everybody always wants to rebel against their parents' music, but nobody listened to music louder than my dad. — Dan Auerbach

The Black Keys is just a band that wants to get on stage and rock it. — Dan Auerbach

You know who we hear about all the rappers from? The bus drivers. — Dan Auerbach

I'm really not worried about what fans think. — Dan Auerbach

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. — Dan Auerbach

The modern video games kind of - they're too three dimensional. — Dan Auerbach

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. — Dan Auerbach

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. — Dan Auerbach

I'm definitely a guitar player, but it's the last thing I listen to in a song, after the singer and the drums. — Dan Auerbach

It's not about success. Whatever happens, it doesn't matter. I would like to not go bankrupt or get some incurable disease, but other than that, I'm just happy to keep going. — Dan Auerbach

When I recorded my solo album, 'Keep It Hid,' in 2008, I'd gotten more interested in songwriting, inspired by reading Charles Bukowski and connecting with unfancy, interesting language. — Dan Auerbach

Bands from Akron have a sense of humor and don't tend to take themselves too seriously. — Dan Auerbach

You get to bring your own sound system when you play an arena, all the lights and visual stuff, which I think is really cool. There's something about those old arenas, where it feels larger than life. — Dan Auerbach

Bombino's a super modest guy, very nice. His whole crew is a bunch of characters and he's definitely the Grand Poobah. I don't think the other guys are that much younger than him, but he definitely feels like the wise man; you just sort of get that sense when you're around him. He doesn't say that much but he's humble and well-respected. — Dan Auerbach

I never listen to Led Zeppelin. But, I mean, I don't think Robert Plant or Jimmy Page listen to Led Zeppelin, either. We all probably obsessed over the same old blues records growing up. — Dan Auerbach

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. — Dan Auerbach

Coming from a smaller place always made things feel more personal, which is really what it's all about. — Dan Auerbach

I am nice to everybody. But people really take advantage of it. — Dan Auerbach

I used to be really nervous when I sang. Like, when I was a kid starting young, 18 and 19, and my dad really had to sort of push me to start singing in front of people. Ever since I got out there and really started doing it, the only thing I've ever tried to do is just sort of is be myself, you know, never put on a voice. Sing naturally. — Dan Auerbach

I'm not afraid of the Canadian tuxedo. — Dan Auerbach

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. — Dan Auerbach

I tend to name albums after one of the songs. — Dan Auerbach

My mom bought me a white Strat, but that wasn't what I wanted, so I went to a guitar store in Cleveland and - the guy told me it was a really good deal - made an even swap for a blue Teisco Del Ray. I loved that guitar and used it a bunch. — Dan Auerbach

I started playing bluegrass with my family, so there were the G, C and D chords. I was playing a Martin acoustic because that's what Carter Stanley of the Stanley Brothers played. Then I got into the really raw blues of Hound Dog Taylor and started on electric guitar. — Dan Auerbach

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. — Dan Auerbach

That culture, of looking at catchy music as a negative thing, is weird. It has nothing to do with me, or the music I was into growing up. The Stones and the Beatles only tried to write hits. Every Motown song, every Credence Clearwater song - they were trying to write hits. — Dan Auerbach

You know, there's always someone in mind when I'm writing. You know, it's all comes from somewhere inside. — Dan Auerbach