Joe Rogan and The Black Keys discuss the idea of selling out
Joe Rogan had blues rock band The Black Keys on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, and they had an interesting discussion on the concept of 'selling out' as an indie band.
Drummer Pat Carney brought up the early days of the band where they were completely broke but being told by millionaire label executives not to sell out. He said:
"When we started the band there was definitely decisions we were making based on what we thought we should do. At one point we were offered to put our song in a mayonnaise commercial in the UK. Keep in mind, we might have had a couple hundred dollars in our bank account. We were destitute ... And we were convinced fully by someone who was working with us as a manager that if we took that money and had a song in a commercial we would be branded as sellouts and we would no longer have a career. So we didn't."
Guitarist Dan Auerbach added that 'selling out' doesn't seem like a big issue bands have to deal with any more, although Carney noted songs could be ruined if they ended up in "omnipresent" commercials. He said:
"I think certain songs were ruined by commercials like 'Heard it through the grapevine.' Although I still love the song."
For me it’s the California raisins commercial with them singing the Marvin Gaye version of I Heard it Through the grapevine stays in my mind 😂 https://t.co/sYWc3Knzb3
Rogan replied:
"That is true, you do now have to think about the grapes dancing around ... I've done a total 180 now that you've brought up the grapes. Now I agree it can f*** up a song, I guess. I didn't think it could. I didn't think selling it to a commercial could and then I thought about the grapes and I was like eeeeeh."
Watch the clip where Joe Rogan and The Black Keys discuss selling out below:
The Black Keys explain why they played at Triller's Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren event
Combat sports promoter Triller is now known for mixing concerts and fight events together, but it was all rather confusing when their first major event featuring Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren also featured an insane line-up of artists like Justin Beiber, Major Lazer, Doja Cat, and The Black Keys.
Asked about the event by Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Dan Auerbach explained that it was a good opportunity for The Black Keys to perform together after a year apart due to COVID-19. He said:
"Yeah, we just, we played a pay-per-view event and it was fun. We hadn’t played together a long time. So it was cool. Got the band back together."
TOMORROW: The Black Keys will be performing at #TrillerFightClub in Atlanta on Saturday, April 17th at 9pm ET.
Get tickets to the PPV now @triller: blackkeys.afy.ai/YRhr3 https://t.co/Qf5mHsV4RX