The Joe Rogan ExperienceJoe Rogan Experience #1815 - The Black Keys
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:33
New album praise and the secret of Black Keys consistency
Joe opens by raving about The Black Keys’ new record and asks how they stay so consistently “classic Black Keys.” Pat and Dan frame it as two decades of learning each other’s timing, shared taste, and a brother-like bond that keeps the creative engine steady.
- •Joe’s immediate reaction to the new album and its recognizable sound
- •Pat on learning to play together and developing a long-term dynamic
- •Shared taste and “fate” as a theme in their partnership
- •20-year perspective on how the band’s workflow still feels the same
- 1:33 – 3:00
Basement recording beginnings: four-tracks, bathrooms, and DIY gear
Pat and Dan rewind to late-’90s Akron, experimenting with four-track cassette recording, improvised mic placements, and the joy of discovery. The conversation highlights how lo-fi tinkering and self-teaching shaped their aesthetic long before they had resources.
- •1997 era: first exposure to multi-track home recording
- •Using bathrooms and unconventional setups to chase sounds
- •Early fascination with albums and record-making as a craft
- •DIY limitations as a creative driver
- 3:00 – 4:03
How they became The Black Keys (and the Alfred McMoore voicemail story)
The origin of the band’s name comes from an outsider artist who left bizarre, repeated voicemails for their families. That inside joke becomes the instant band name—and a reminder of how tightly their Akron lives were intertwined.
- •The Alfred McMoore folk-art backstory
- •Voicemail threats: “you’re a D flat, you’re a black key”
- •Naming the band in seconds as a shared shorthand
- •Early sense of destiny in their path
- 4:03 – 6:10
First record deal, rat-infested basement sessions, and learning by guessing
They describe landing a small-label deal that paid no money—forcing them to record, mix, and finish everything themselves in Pat’s basement. The “Richmond Place” era is equal parts grim (dead rats, no cell phones) and foundational for their sound.
- •Alive! label deal terms: deliver songs, get vinyl/CDs, no budget
- •Recording in a rough Akron house with rat infestations
- •No cell phones: rocks at the window, honking, showing up daily
- •Mixing/engineering by trial-and-error and getting “hooked”
- 6:10 – 13:26
First tours in a minivan: border lies, hostels, weed paranoia, and Santa suits
The band’s earliest touring is portrayed as chaotic survival travel—paper maps, tiny guarantees, and constant weirdness. Stories include crossing into Canada by lying about work permits, a sketchy hostel haze, and a bizarre late-night encounter with crowds in Santa outfits.
- •Early route sheets with tiny or no guarantees
- •Travel logistics: atlas/MapQuest, no credit cards, barely using a phone
- •Vancouver hostel/weed story and paranoia
- •Seattle show surprise turnout; money-guarding in the van; “Christmas in July” confusion
- 13:26 – 19:31
Outsider music rabbit hole: Tonetta, The Shaggs, and one-of-a-kind blues players
Joe introduces Tonetta’s ultra-DIY music, sparking a broader discussion about outsider art and character-over-fidelity recordings. Pat brings up The Shaggs, and they connect these oddball examples to the tradition of self-taught blues innovators.
- •Tonetta clip as an example of compelling lo-fi artistry
- •The Shaggs’ Philosophy of the World and ‘outsider’ legitimacy
- •Sydel Davis playing guitar via butter knife after polio
- •How imperfections and limitation can create identity
- 19:31 – 24:07
Old blues, Robert Johnson myths, and preserving disappearing juke-joint culture
The conversation shifts to foundational blues figures and how context matters when listening to old recordings. Pat and Dan discuss their Delta Cream project and visiting Mississippi hill country blues sites, including the historic Blue Front Café.
- •Robert Johnson’s legend, scarcity of photos, and ‘sold his soul’ myth
- •How recording ‘fate’ preserved artists who might’ve been lost
- •Delta Cream as a tribute to Mississippi hill country blues (R.L. Burnside, Fat Possum)
- •Playing Blue Front Café and witnessing its time-capsule atmosphere
- 24:07 – 30:55
Why live music is transformative: Link Wray, Hendrix proximity, Sabbath footage
They reflect on the unique “drug-like” power of live performance versus recordings. Dan recounts a life-changing Link Wray show, Joe shares Phil Hartman’s Hendrix-at-the-Whisky story, and they geek out over Black Sabbath live footage and the toll of rock lifestyles.
- •Live music as a synchronized, spiritual experience
- •Dan’s Link Wray story: elderly but devastatingly powerful set
- •Joe’s Phil Hartman/Hendrix story at The Whisky
- •Black Sabbath 1970 Paris footage and rapid decline by 1973; drugs and longevity
- 30:55 – 37:56
Stimulants, modern chaos, and the internet’s toxicity (Adderall to Twitter spats)
From WWII amphetamine history, the talk pivots to modern stimulants and how they may fuel social conflict. Pat tells an Adderall experience that kept him hyper-focused for an entire day, and they explore online negativity, fake positivity, and the pressures social media places on kids.
- •Hitler footage, meth in WWII, and state-driven stimulant culture
- •Pat’s Adderall story: ‘up till 5 PM the next day’
- •Online fighting vs. performative niceness; Twitter as a negativity trap
- •Concerns about social media’s impact on teens; Jonathan Haidt references
- 37:56 – 46:54
High school stories turned into art: fights, sex-ed shock tactics, and dark scandals
Pat describes a pre-smartphone high school environment filled with intense fights and chaotic personalities—material they later channeled into a video concept. The tone turns darker with stories of school staff crimes, prompting Joe to discuss predation and cycles of abuse.
- •Pre-cell-phone high school culture and “Wild Child” video inspiration
- •Sex-ed class: graphic STD photos as ‘Scared Straight’ for teens
- •School counselor sexual abuse case; soccer coach shoe scandal
- •Joe on the frightening minority of predators and trauma cycles
- 46:54 – 1:07:28
Drugs, MKUltra-era lore, UFO believers, and billionaire yacht conspiracy vibes
They veer into psychedelics, CIA experiments, and how easy it is to become a ‘believer’ in conspiracies. Pat recounts Tom DeLonge’s UFO monologue before a show, then the discussion balloons into oligarch yachts, armed dolphins, cat toxoplasmosis, and the surreal theater of extreme wealth.
- •Ketamine drips, LSD microculture stories, and ‘overclocking’ the brain
- •Operation Midnight Climax and CIA LSD brothel experiments
- •Pat’s Tom DeLonge encounter and ‘believer-first’ mindset
- •St. Barts superyacht world: Abramovich, celebrity parties, security/weapon rumors
- •Navy-trained ‘assassin dolphins’ and cat toxoplasmosis as pop-conspiracy fuel
- 1:07:28 – 1:21:34
Nature anxiety tour: alligators, invasive pythons, rats in toilets, and owl attacks
A long run of animal stories connects fear, fascination, and modern ecological imbalance. Pat’s Charleston-area alligator encounters lead into Florida’s python invasion, then they riff on rats, owls as ruthless predators, and viral bird-on-bird hunting footage.
- •Alligators near golf courses; selfie fatality nearby as a cautionary tale
- •Everglades pythons: ecosystem devastation and giant-snake footage
- •Rat infestations, poisoning consequences, and ‘rats in toilets’ reality check
- •Owls’ silent flight, predatory behavior, and the ‘Staircase’ owl theory
- •Bird predation video: owl snatching a hawk from a nest
- 1:21:34 – 1:27:08
Toxins and the Rust Belt: leaded gas, asbestos, Rubber Factory, and deindustrialization
They connect environmental contamination to public health—leaded gasoline’s IQ impacts, lead paint, asbestos exposure, and industrial waste. The conversation returns to Akron’s tire-industry rise and collapse, the eerie abandoned spaces where they recorded Rubber Factory, and how union dynamics and outsourcing reshaped cities like Akron and Detroit.
- •Leaded gas as actual lead; global exposure and cognitive costs
- •Lead paint/asbestos anecdotes and unsafe renovation histories
- •Recording in abandoned tire factories: atmosphere, reverb experiments, ‘exploded lab’ imagery
- •Detroit/Akron as Rust Belt case studies; gear bargains from a collapsed middle class
- •Union demands, right-to-work shifts, outsourcing, and environmental offshoring
- 1:27:08 – 2:12:25
Scams, belief, and music business realities: prank calls, cult logic, ‘sellout’ myths
Pat shares elaborate prank call stories that reveal how easily people buy into authority, fantasy, and manipulation—mirroring broader scam/cult dynamics. They tie this to entertainment, from evangelist grifts to Theranos, and then to their own early-career fears about licensing songs and being labeled sellouts.
- •Prank call craft: KFC/Olive Garden ‘corporate’ chaos and the Egyptian artifact saga
- •Popoff/evangelist grifts and why people want to believe
- •Theranos as elite-scale belief and marketing failure
- •Early Black Keys management pressure to reject lucrative ad placements
- •Changing norms around licensing: does ‘selling a song’ still matter?
- 2:12:25 – 3:42:12
COVID-era recording and getting sick: Delta variant, treatment access, monoclonals
Near the end, Joe circles back to the album’s creation during COVID restrictions, and both musicians describe catching COVID while recording. Dan details a severe stretch with fever and frustration over accessing treatments like monoclonal antibodies, underscoring how uncertain medical pathways felt at the time.
- •Writing/recording during lockdown as a return to hanging out and storytelling
- •Both members got COVID during sessions; timeline (late August)
- •Dan’s symptoms: prolonged fever and recovery details
- •Difficulty getting physician support; trying to obtain monoclonals
- •Pharmacist as the most responsive healthcare contact
