Rarely can you sit down with a friend, record the conversation, and think people might want to hear what you’re talking about. But if your friend is the lead singer of The Black Keys, things change a bit.

Our friendship came about despite the circumstances of our first meeting. Dan was walking around the shop in sunglasses, inspecting one of the early Imogene + Willie collections, and I thought, Who the hell is this guy?

At that time, a year and a half ago, Dan still lived in Akron but was contemplating a move to Nashville. Fast-forward to today. Dan has moved to town, released a hit record with the Keys (Brothers), and opened Easy Eye Sound studio, where he’s producing the new Dr. John album. It’s the same place where the Keys recorded their seventh album, El Camino, out this week. I can say this for Dan: He’s put on Nashville, and it looks real good on him.

I sat down with Dan one morning a few weeks ago at our usual hang: the store couch, where we normally get together to watch YouTube videos, like the world’s worst rap battle and reruns of Workaholics. Here’s what came up.

Is there any difference between what you wear every day and what you wear on stage?
No. I mean, I have a couple of shirts that I wouldn’t wear out and about, unless I was drunk—you know, those cowboy shirts with fringe on them. But other than that, the shit that I put on when I wake up every day is the shit that I wear on stage.

So as you get more successful, do you think this will change?
Nah. We’ve been together as a band for 10 years; we’re on our seventh record.

And you guys are doing what you want to do.
We always have. And we’re going to stick to that. I think that’s kind of our appeal, that we’re from the Midwest. The band is not based on some sort of style or aesthetic other than music and hard work.

I know your personal style because I know you, but what I don’t know is where it comes from. Was there anyone when you were growing up that you were like, "That dude—that’s who I want to dress like"?
Probably my grandpa—my dad’s dad. He would wear those Hanes V-neck T-shirts and put his glasses right in the middle, and it’d sag all the way down to mid chest. [Laughs.] He wore the Red Wings—always in Red Wing boots, always in workwear. He owned his own landscaping business, so that was his shit. That’s what he did. He had a buzz cut—always had a buzz cut—and a mustache. He rocked the mustache. He was viciously prickly.

If he were still alive, he’d either love me or he would think I was the biggest pussy in the world. [Laughs.] Or maybe a combination of the two. He was great. He had a real bad temper. I loved everything about him.

What’s the longest you’ve ever kept a piece of clothing?
Dude, I wear the clothes I had in high school. I was just saying this morning that I have on a T-shirt today I had in high school. That engineer’s jacket—the one with all the railroad patches on it? I’ve had that for almost 10 years and still rock it.

That definitely speaks to the idea that you find something you like, and you stick to it. Man, I love that shirt you wear—the black one with all the pockets on it.
I’ve been wearing guayaberas since I was a kid. My uncle gave me my first one. He was Cuba-crazy—obsessed with Cuban music. He’d go on trips to Cuba and photograph stuff. And he brought me back one of those. I love those things.

I want one. I’m totally going to make one of those.
I’ve got a whole closet of them. The only problem with guayaberas is that, man, they’re made for dudes with big-ass bellies. So you can’t ever get them to fit, like, proper. 

You’ve been at this game for a long time, and now that the band is getting so popular and so well-known, do you have any fears?
I don’t think so. I mean, what can we do about it?

Obviously, Nashville is a great place to live and raise kids because people here just tend to ignore the fact that there are famous people around them. But how do you think it’s going to be going out in other places and being recognized?
The other thing that happened with us is that we’ve never acted like rock stars. That’s worked for us and against us. Like, if you act like a rock star, people will treat you like one. They’ll freak out when they see you. We could do that if we wanted to—hire a bodyguard. It doesn’t cost shit to have a bodyguard. You just hire any big guy to follow you around and make you feel important and stuff like that.

But I think our fans know that we’re just two knuckleheads. And when they see us on the street, they say, "Hey, what’s up? I like your shit." We don’t get bothered in that way. I think it’s because of how we’ve represented ourselves.

We never acted like we were better than anybody. And a lot of times [when you act that way] you get treated better, you get paid better. It’s that whole perception game: If you act bigger than you are, sometimes you get treated bigger than you are, you get paid bigger than you are, you know what I mean? We’ve never acted like anything other than ourselves, and I think, in the short term, may have shorted ourselves a little bit. Because we’re the shit. [Laughs.] But we just don’t act like it. I think, in the long run, it’s better for us. It’s finally paying off.

I’ve gotten emails at 3:15 a.m. that say, like, “Dan Auerbach wants you to check this out on eBay,” and it will be some amazing old shirt or jacket. How did that become an obsession?
I think it goes hand in hand with liking old guitars and liking old music. And then you just look at the kind of shit that those guys were wearing back in the day. It’s not so much that I like retro shit: I just like classic shit. There are certain things that will just never go out of style. And that’s the kind of shit I want to associate myself with—musically, artistically, and style-wise. I don’t want to be caught dead in some MC Hammer pants, you know what I mean?

I know that. Is there anyone—whether they’re a celebrity or not—that you think just has the greatest style?
Man, Dr. John wore a guayabera [to the studio] every day.

Dude, that’s so dope!
I was talking to him about his guayaberas. He was like [assumes a low, growly voice], "I can put shit here, I can put shit here. I can put shit over here."

I always love guys who have no idea that everyone around them is making fun of them and still just look so fresh. You know what I mean? I just love that.
Let me say that when the Fabulous Thunderbirds started, back when they were super-cool—'cause they were cool for a hot minute—and [singer/harpist] Kim Wilson used to wear a turban, and it looked awesome! [Laughs]. I used to f--king love that. I could never do that, though ...

The Black Keys' latest record, El Camino, is out now on Nonesuch Records. Head to theblackkeys.com to learn more and buy the album.