"We accidentally took off," remarked TBK's drummer, Patrick Carney. "We weren't expecting that." Nevertheless, they've had to get used to it as record sales and popularity have climbed steadily ever since, to the point where their eighth album, Turn Blue, released in May 2014, debuted at number one in Canada, the US and Australia, the band's first record to top the album charts anywhere. The band is currently in the midst of their Turn Blue worldwide tour complete with a full panoply of Sennheiser microphones specified by their long-time FoH engineer, Jason M. Tarulli, and fully endorsed by monitor engineer Rob Elliot.
Tarulli has been with the band since their early days, starting out in small Ohio clubs and living out of the back of a van. He clearly did a good job as Carney and the other half of the duo, guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach, have remained loyal to him throughout. Tarulli experienced the meteoric rise to fame right alongside the band, learning as they learned how to transition from small and medium-sized clubs to sold-out 10,000-seater arenas.
Naturally, that has had a certain impact on the kind of gear available to the band... "It's great to be able to choose what we want after so many years of having to make do with anything and everything!" said Tarulli. "As far as Sennheiser is concerned, this is the first tour where we've had Sennheiser gear throughout, and so far it's been great."
The Black Keys' production manager Anthony Pitcher is a long time Sennheiser friend and was instrumental in cementing the relationship with Jason Tarulli and Rob Elliot. "I've used the Sennheiser line exclusively for years," said Pitcher. "It wasn't a tough sell with my audio team - they're brilliant engineers who already had a thorough knowledge of the product line. It was just up to me to bring it to the table for this band."
"Overall, I'm really into the classic sound and feel of Sennheiser mics like the MD 441, 421 and the e 906," said Tarulli. "
Rob Elliot, an experienced UK monitor engineer (The Cure, Gomez) has been working with The Black Keys since July 2013. He cheerfully admits that Tarulli was responsible for specifying all the mics. "Jason has been with them forever, so it's perfectly natural that he should specify the gear. That said, I think he made an excellent choice, so I'm more than happy."
The final word went to Sennheiser Canada's Chris Isaac who handles artist relations and has been looking after the band: "It's great to have The Black Keys on board," he said. "They are a fantastic rock duo with great stage presence who never fail to bring the house down with their live performances wherever they go. They also happen to be really cool guys, along with their team, who are a pleasure to work with."
The Black Keys are currently working their way round the US before breaking for Christmas and a month off. In February they will embark on a second European leg and finish in Australasia.
(Jim Evans)
