Black Keys Say Steve Miller Didn't Know Who They Were

When Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of the Black Keys agreed to induct Steve Miller into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they had no idea that they would be honoring an artist that didn’t even know who they were.

The induction speeches at the ceremony are usually made by those who are friends, professional partners or extreme fans of the artist. How Auerbach and Carney were selected is not clear, but it certainly didn’t mean anything to Miller.

To make matters worse, the singer who the Black Keys had just honored went backstage and ripped into the Rock Hall and its organization even telling his press agent to sit down so that he could finish.

Auerbach spoke with Rolling Stone since Friday night, telling them “We got a really uncomfortable feeling when we first met Steve. He had no idea who we were. No idea. The first thing he told us was ‘I can’t wait to get out of here.’ He knew that we signed up to do this speech for him. And he made no effort to… even figure out who we were.

“Pat and I were both definitely disappointed, to say the least… It’s almost like [Miller] doesn’t have respect for the younger generations and how hard it is in the business today.”

Auerbach went on to detail how he hoped he and Patrick would act when they were at Miller’s point in their career “Because as we get older, I hope that when I’m in my twilight years, I can look back and be grateful to the people who have appreciated me and to be able to give back. Because music is about sharing and passing on inspiration and that was his opportunity to do that; not just lashing out in a way that was just completely unfocused.”