The Black Keys News

Kurt Vile fit three shows into a recent two-day NYC trip . The first was a solo performance at an invite-only party at Public Assembly early Tuesday night .

Back in May, Damon Dash , Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder and Jay-Z 's old business partner placed a call to some new friends: singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney, they of Akron -spawned bluesy rock duo the Black Keys .

AS STRANGE AS it sounds, the genesis of The Black Keys is due, in part, to Wu-Tang Clan .

Blakroc ,"On The Vista" Feat. Mos Def : So I've been geeked about Blakroc -- a project headed by Damon Dash that brings together The Black Keys and eleven luminary emcees as features for a full album-- since I happened upon their website a couple of months ago.

BLAKROC TO BE RELEASED BLACK FRIDAY 11.27.09 The brainchild of The Black Keys and Damon Dash, BlakRoc Records will release BlakRoc on "Black Friday," November 27, the day after Thanksgiving .

I hadn't done one of these in a long time, so now seemed as good a time as any. 1. "I Can't Get Started" - Charlie Parker 2. "Cheree" - Suicide 3. "Hold On, Hold On" - Neko Case 4. "Do The Rump" - The Black Keys 5. "Armanar " - Muhammad Dammou 6. "Cabocla Jurema/Ponto de Janaina" - Maria BethA nia 7. "Is This It" - The Strokes 8. "The Big Green ...

Rap-rock, as a genre, has a bad connotation. In many cases, rightly so. The music world has been exposed to plenty of hip-hop-meets-rock incarnations since Steven Tyler busted through Run DMC's wall back in the day.

Yet another leak off Damon Dash's latest musical venture BlakRoc! This time The Black Keys are teaming up with M.O.P's very own Billy Danze, soulstress Nicole Wray and legendary Q-Tip for the superb cut Hope You're Happy .

Camera Obscura performs Wednesday at Tipitina's. Bassist James Singleton's Quartet features Garage A Trois saxophonist Skerik and vibraphonist/percussionist Mike Dillon , plus keyboardist Brian Coogan , at Snug Harbor.

Capo Satus Jim Jones on a Blues record? Sounds about as likely as a Dipset Christmas album... All cynicism aside, this reminds any doubters why Jimmy got himself a major label deal off of talking sidewalk executive wisdom.

After his band flirted with major-label success , A.A. Bondy found happiness as a solo act Joseph Lord Velocity November 12, 2009 Boozy, rocking and slightly countrified, the band Verbena would have fit nicely in a music culture led by The Black Keys and My Morning Jacket.

Of note: Schneider gained fame on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." B.B. King Where: House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St., Chicago Tickets: $33 and $36; on sale 10 a.m. today at www.LiveNation.com Of note: King scored with "The Thrill is Gone" in 1970.

A weird band name usually has one of two effects on the average, unsuspecting music buff.

Dan Auerbach headlined an early show at the Phoenix on Saturday evening, flawlessly translating his eclectic solo songs into bluesy, full band numbers.

Kurt Vile @ Woodsist/CT Fest on July 4th At [D.C.'s] the Black Cat Backstage [Nov. 5th], [Kurt] Vile ambled through the final date of a month of shows with his three-piece band, The Violators, for what he said was the largest crowd he'd played.

Blues-Rock band The Black Keys have teamed up with former Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Dame Dash to create BlakRoc .

The Black Keys will play a hometown show at Akron, OH's Musica on November 27. Billed as The Wild World of Alfred McMoore: A Multimedia Retrospective To Benefit Community Support Services, the charity gig will take place the day the group releases its new hip hop album Blakroc .

's Saturday show at the Arizona State Fair's Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix was all about that voice.

As half of the Akron blues-rock duo the Black Keys, guitarist Dan Auerbach tends to receive plenty of the same music-critic adjectives: rough , gritty , soulful .

Dan Auerbach 's Keep It Hid might be his solo album debut, but he's far from alone.