68 • UNCUT • JULY 2019
hisrecordingstudioandbusinessoutofhishome,”says
Auerbach,noddinginthedirectionof a squat building
witha slopinggreyasphaltroof.
“DidyouknowthatCowboyJackcametomystudio
beforehedied?”hecontinues,gunninghisnew 1985
CadillacSevilledown16thAvenue.“There’sBobby’sIdle
Houroverthere.The‘idlehour’wasthehourbetween
sessions,somusicianscouldpopoutfora drink,”he
explains.“There’smydivorcelawyer’soffice,”hesays,
indicatingtowardsa redtwo-storyhousewithdormer
windows.“There’sa linearoundtheback.”Helaughs.
Eventually,drivingthrougha warrenofapartments,
wearriveata semi-industrialstretchofnondescript
storefronts.Here,a charcoal-greybuildinghouses
Auerbach’sEasyEyeSoundstudio.Inside,loungingon
a sofa,is DavidFerguson,a veteransoundengineer
whosecreditsincludeJohnnyCash’sAmericanRecordings
albums,andthelinchpinforallAuerbach’smusicalfriendshipsin
own.A spindly-lookingstaircasefestoonedwithEasyEyeSound
omic-booklogosleadsupstairstothestudioitself.Thecontrolroom,
withitsstate-of-the-artboardanddecks,is decorated with curios
drawnfromvintagemarketsandantiquestalls.
Onthewalloppositethemixingboardis a shelffilledwithdime-
storearcana,includingtwounnerving-lookingpiecesofchalkware- plaster-of-Parisfigurinesfromthe1940s– whilea standofguitars
is lineduplikeartilleryracksinonecorner.Onthefar
wallsarepen-and-inkdrawingsofEttaJamesandAretha
FranklinbyEasyEyeartistShannonShaw.There’sa
signedsinglefromTheSonics,proppedupina cubby
whereAuerbachkeepshisalphabetisedvinyl,butpride
ofplacegoestoa drawingfromhisdaughterinscribed,
Daddy,I loveyou.XOSadie.”Ritualcandlesarescattered
roundtheroom.“DrJohnmadeusbuythem,”says
uerbach.“Hewouldn’tworkuntilwegotthem.”
A banjois hungona farwall.There’sa lineofcolourful
motorcyclehelmetslinedupunderthewindow,while
eather motorcycle vests and jackets are hung on the walls.
process,DanandI endedupmakinga lotofmusic
witha lotofotherpeopleand I think it made us
betteratwhatwedo.”
Duringthehiatus,Carneyproducedand
recordedmorethana dozenrecordswithartists
includingCalvinJohnson,DamsOfTheWest,
Tennis,JessyWilson,*repeatrepeat,SadPlanets
andMichelleBranch.Duringthecourseof
recordingBranch’sHopelessRomanticalbum,
thetwobegana relationship,gotengagedand
hada son,RhysJamesCarney.Butatsomepoint,
Carneystartedgettingantsyaboutthefutureof
theband.“Thelastshowweplayedwason
August8,2015,”hesays.“Weheadlined
OutsideLandsinSanFrancisco.I realised,
‘Fuck,everybandplaystheirlastfucking
showinSanFrancisco.TheSexPistols.
TheBand.TheBeatles.’I wassittingthere
sayingtomyself,‘Thiscouldbea curse.’
“ItwasDan’sdecisiontotakethebreak,
andI knewI couldn’targuewithhimabout
it,becauseit madesense.OnetimeI had
totellhimtofuckhimself,butit wasn’t
becauseofthebreak.It wasbecauseofjust
notcommunicatingclearly.Thatdidn’tgo
overwell.ButI figuredthataddedanother
yeartothetotal,”laughsCarney.“What
worriedmewaswehadgottentoa place
wherewewerethinking,‘What’sthepointofmaking
anotherrecordanddoingthesametouroverandover
again?’I wouldn’tsayit wasgettingboring,but it was
theriskofit startingto...Sowestopped.”
“So we stopped,” echoes Auerbach.A
uERBACHdrivesbackfromthedinertohis
EasyEyeSoundStudioviaMusicRow.“Over
Monica Schipper/Getty iMaGeS; Jeff Kravitz/filMMaGicthere,that’swhere Cowboy Jack Clement ran
PlayingtheOutside
LandsMusic& Arts
FestivalatSan
Francisco’sGolden
Gate Park, August 2015Carneywith
MichelleBranch,
nowhiswife,in
2016;(below)
JohnPrine’s 2018
albumfeaturing
DanAuerbach;the
latter’s 2017 solo LP