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→Formation, The Big Come Up, and Thickfreakness (2001–2003): X'ed out 'sold poorly'. Not everyone sells like Justin Bieber, or wants to. |
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Auerbach attempted to make a living from performing at small bars in town, but realized he would not be able to book shows in other cities without a [[demo (music)|demo]]. To record one, he asked for help from Carney, who agreed to provide recording equipment and allow his basement to be used if Auerbach recruited the other musicians. However, none of Auerbach's backing band showed up on the recording date.<ref name="amsong"/> Instead, Carney and Auerbach jammed, eventually leading to the duo forming a band in mid-2001.<ref name="amsong"/><ref name="bluesexplosion">{{cite journal|url=http://www.spin.com/#articles/blues-explosion-black-keys|title=Blues Explosion!|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|first=Dorian|last=Lynskey|date=September 2010|accessdate=August 30, 2012|pages=60–63|volume=26|issue=8}}</ref> Together, they recorded a six-song demo consisting of "old [[blues]] rip-offs and words made up on the spot".<ref name="amsong"/> After sending the demo to a dozen [[record label]]s, they received and accepted an offer in 2002 from a small indie label in Los Angeles called [[Alive Naturalsound Records|Alive]],<ref name="nor" /><ref name="relix">{{cite web|url=http://www.relix.com/articles/detail/the_black_keys_feature|title=The Black Keys: Chart-Topping Blues|work=[[Relix]]|publisher=Relix Media Group|first=Jaan|last=Uhelszki|date=August 29, 2014|accessdate=September 3, 2014}}</ref> as it was "the only label that would sign [them] without having to see [them] first".<ref name="intoblack">{{cite news|title=Into the Black; Keys unlock a raw, bluesy sound|newspaper=[[Boston Herald]]|publisher=Herald Media Inc.|first=Larry|last=Katz|date=October 7, 2003|at=sec. The Edge, p. 47}}</ref>
According to an interview on [[NPR]]'s ''[[Fresh Air]]'', the group's name "the Black Keys" came from an artist diagnosed with schizophrenia, Alfred McMoore, that the pair knew; he would leave incoherent messages on their answering machines referring to their fathers as "[[black key]]s" such as "D flat" when he was upset with them.<ref name="freshair">{{cite episode|title=The Fresh Air Interview: The Black Keys|url=http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=133276978&m=133369165|series=Fresh Air|serieslink=Fresh Air|credits=[[Terry Gross|Gross, Terry]] (presenter)|network=[[NPR]]|station=[[WHYY-FM]]|location=Philadelphia|airdate=January 31, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohio.com/news/sept-28-2009-akron-artist-alfred-mcmoore-dies-cried-for-people-he-never-met-1.136667|title=Akron artist Alfred McMoore dies; cried for people he never met |work=Ohio.com|publisher=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|date=September 28, 2009 |accessdate=April 22, 2012}}</ref> On March 20, 2002, the duo played their first live show at Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom and Tavern to an audience of approximately eight people.<ref name="relix"/> The band's debut album, ''[[The Big Come Up]]'', was recorded entirely in Carney's basement on an [[8-track tape]] recorder in [[lo-fi]] and was released in May 2002,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/1067489/the-black-keys-el-camino-track-by-track-review|title=The Black Keys' 'El Camino': Track-by-Track Review|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard.com]]|publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]]|first=Jillian|last=Mapes|date=December 6, 2011|accessdate=February 19, 2013}}</ref> three months after they signed to Alive.<ref name="relix"/> The album, a mix of eight original tracks and five cover songs, forged a raw [[blues rock]] sound for the group; the covers included tracks originally by blues musicians [[Muddy Waters]], [[Junior Kimbrough]], and [[R. L. Burnside]]. Two tracks, covers of the traditional blues standard "[[Leavin' Trunk/She Said, She Said|Leavin' Trunk]]" and [[The Beatles]]' song "[[She Said She Said|She Said, She Said]]", were released as a [[single (music)|single]] on [[Isota Records]]. The track "I'll Be Your Man" would later be used as the theme song for the [[HBO]] series ''[[Hung (TV series)|Hung]]''. In order to help fund a tour, Auerbach and Carney took jobs [[Lawn mower|mowing lawns]] for a landlord.<ref>{{cite episode|title=Keeping it Primitive with The Black Keys|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-131704772.html|series=Morning Edition|serieslink=Morning Edition|credits=[[Steve Inskeep|Inskeep, Steve]] (presenter)|network=[[NPR]]|airdate=November 24, 2006}}</ref>
Within days of signing to Fat Possum, the Black Keys completed their second album, ''[[Thickfreakness]]''.<ref name="fuzz freak" /> It was recorded in Carney's basement in a single 14-hour session in December 2002, an approach necessitated because the group spent its small [[advance payment]] from Fat Possum on rent.<ref name="bluesexplosion"/><ref name="intoblack"/><ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Thickfreakness|others=The Black Keys|year=2003|publisher=[[Fat Possum Records]]|type=CD booklet}}</ref> The group had recorded sessions with producer Jeff Saltzman in San Francisco but ultimately aborted them, as they were unhappy that the results sounded too much like "modern-rock radio".<ref name="bluesexplosion"/> In March 2003, the group played at one of its first music festivals, [[South by Southwest]] in Austin, Texas, after driving for nearly 24 hours from Akron.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seattleweekly.com/2003-03-19/music/sxsw-2003/|title=SXSW 2003|work=[[Seattle Weekly|SeattleWeekly.com]]|publisher=[[Village Voice Media]]|first=Leah|last=Greenblatt|date=March 19, 2003|accessdate=August 23, 2012}}</ref> Much as they did for the festival, Carney and Auerbach spent their early tour days driving themselves from show to show in a 1994 [[Chrysler]] van they nicknamed the "Gray Ghost".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohio.com/the330entertainment/abram/march-13-2003-black-keys-head-for-south-by-southwest-success-in-their-sights-1.274353|title=March 13, 2003: Black Keys head for South By Southwest, success in their sights|work=Ohio.com|publisher=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|first=Malcolm X|last=Abram|date=March 14, 2012|accessdate=August 23, 2012}}</ref>
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