The Black Keys

Auerbach and Carney grew up in the same neighborhood in Akron Ohio, and both went to Firestone High School. They weren't good friends, but did jam a bit in Carney's basement toward the end of their high school careers. They both went to college but dropped out, and they formed The Black Keys when they found themselves each kicking around town trying to make music. They were both destitute, and took odd jobs where they could. Auerbach found out he was allergic to grass after taking a lawn mowing job one summer - his eyes and nose became itchy and he felt like he had hay fever.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney slammed Nickelback, saying "rock and roll is dying because people became okay with Nickelback being the biggest band in the world." In response, Nickelback mocked Carney on Twitter, writing: "Thanks to the drummer in the Black Keys for calling us the Biggest Band in the World in Rolling Stone. Hehe."

Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney's Uncle Ralph is also an accomplished musician. Ralph Carney got his start playing with Tin Huey and went on to play the saxophone with artists like Tom Waits, The B-52's, Elvis Costello, and They Might Be Giants. Dan Auerbach also had a relative with a musical background. His second cousin once removed, the late guitarist Robert Quine, was a former member of proto-punk band The Voidoids. He also worked with Lou Reed in New York (notably on 1982 album The Blue Mask), where his idiosyncratic style gained him the sobriquet "The King of Skronk Guitar."