Black Keys singer is on quite a different Arc

As a Grammy-winning producer and member of the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach could work with almost anyone he wants to. But instead of diving into a completely new project or taking a vacation, the guitarist/vocalist turned to a group of musicians he’d already been writing new music with for the last six years.

“The Arcs is new to everybody, but it’s not new to me,” says Auerbach, calling from his native Akron, Ohio, on a recent tour stop with the Arcs. “In between making records with Dr. John or Lana (Del Rey) we just started to compile the catalog of songs.”

Although the Arcs have years of material, its most recent songs were released as “Yours Dreamily,” a garage soul album that rivals his blues-rock rave-ups in the Black Keys.

Rolling Stone bestowed four stars on the record and named it one of 2015’s best.

The group plays Amos’ Saturday.

One element that surprised Auerbach and bandmates Richard Swift, Leon Michels, Homer Steinweiss and Nick Movshon was the female mariachi band that showed up to play on what was supposed to be one song.

The women, who sound like a ’60s girl group, sing on half the album.

“It was a surprise ingredient that we didn’t know we needed until it was on there,” he says of Mariachi Flor de Toloache. “We hired a mariachi band to play 10 seconds of mariachi music. They showed up and it was an all-girl band and ended up singing on (the album). Now they’re on tour with us.”

Going from the stripped down garage blues of the Black Keys playing arenas to a big band playing clubs is a new experience for the Arcs, who play new songs, covers, and “mutating songs from the record” live.

“We’re learning as we go along,” Auerbach says. “We’ve played together for six or seven years and never played on stage. I’ve made so much music with these guys, but this is a brand new experience. It’s totally challenging and it changes every night.”

Although it’s not quite from the ground up, it’s a new experience in many ways.

He and Black Keys partner Patrick Carney “started playing for 10 people and driving nine hours between shows,” Auerbach says. “I’m not starting from that point, but at the same time it’s totally different. The whole crew is different. All my gear and instruments are different. It’s a whole different experience.”

Although he’s discussed playing a similar venue in Paris the same night as the massacre at Le Bataclan, Auerbach isn’t deterred from performing.

“You pick yourself up and move on. I feel so alive paying music, it’s the cure all for me. It’s the thing that makes me feel better,” he says. “These shows, especially the show a few days later in Milan, was very therapeutic for both us and the audiences.”

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Black Keys singer is on quite a different Arc."