Photo by Alyssa Gafkjen

By Ed Condran, Special to The Oregonian/OregonLive

It would be easy for Dan Auerbach to be complacent. The cerebral singer-songwriter fronts the Black Keys, a Grammy-winning band popular enough to sell millions of albums and pack arenas courtesy of its visceral, bluesy garage rock.



After Black Keys completed its world tour in 2014, Auerbach decided to work on his second solo album, "Waiting on a Song."



"We didn't have to take a break," Auerbach said in a phone call from his Nashville studio. "We could have plowed through."



Now Auerbach is back on tour, this time with his band the Easy Eye Sound Revue, appearing Sunday, Feb. 11, at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland.

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In making "Waiting on a Song," Auerbach, 38, was compelled to expand his musical palette with an album of breezy, melodic songs that wouldn't sound out of place following a Seals and Crofts hit.



"It does sound like that and I think it sounds like that because of the musicians I worked with on this album," Auerbach said. "Their personalities shine through. You hear the guys who played on these great records. They played on some of my favorite songs of all time. They played on these weird, soulful but catchy songs. Those are the guys I was hanging out with last year."



Guitar legend Duane Eddy, Memphis session players Gene Christman and Bobby Wood joined Auerbach in the studio. The Akron native wrote with country singer-songwriter John Prine and Johnny Cash associate David "Fergie" Ferguson. The result is an album that doesn't sound like a contemporary Nashville release.

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"This album evokes a certain feeling thanks to these guys," Auerbach said. "These guys are a huge part of that sound."



Auerbach is generally concerned about what's up ahead sonically since the musicians who taught him so much are part of a dying breed.



"I worry about the future of music since there aren't a lot of these guys left," Auerbach said. "Younger musicians learn from these kinds of guys in the studio."



Musicians of the caliber that lent their skills to "Waiting on a Song" typically don't doctor tracks. "They just play," Auerbach said. "They keep what they lay down and so you have that human element, which is so important. When I make a record, I would rather have you feel it than hear it. The human touch is a magical thing. So what if you make a mistake?"

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The Black Keys played the Moda Center in October 2014. (Photo by David Greenwald/staff)

Auerbach has morphed as a musician, trading the Black Keys' raw, bluesy rock for his own breezy, sunny sound. He has become a more diverse recording artist as he soaked in everything from his mentors.



"I feel that taking the last couple of years off (of the Black Keys) was one of the best things that I've ever done," Auerbach said. "I learned so much in the last couple of years. I know I'm not the same person that I was two-years ago. I worked on my craft with people who have been doing it for decades. These are people who are not cut from the cookie cutter musical world. There are less and less of them left."



Auerbach is most grateful for writing with the acclaimed Prine. "It was incredible," Auerbach said. "We were together for the same reason, to write great songs."

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Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler, who is one of Auerbach's heroes, contributed to the single "Shine on Me." "When I listened to the playback of the early form of the song, I could just hear his guitar in there," Auerbach said. "So I asked him if he could add something to the song. Two days later he contributed some guitar for the song."



Expect Auerbach to work on a follow-up solo release soon. "I took a few years between (2009's "Keep It Hid") and this album," Auerbach said. "I definitely will release a solo album sooner than later. That's why I started my own label (Easy Eye Sound)," Auerbach said. "That way I can release more music. I've been recording songs at a rapid clip and so I would like to share what I've been doing."



Auerbach says he and Patrick Carney, a pair of childhood friends, will eventually resurrect the Black Keys. "We don't have a timeline but we will be back with the Black Keys," Auerbach said. "We talk all of the time, but in the meantime, I'm focusing on the solo material."

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Concert details

Dan Auerbach and the Easy Eye Sound Revue

With: Shannon and the Clams

Go: 8:30 p.m. Sunday, McMenamin's Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside.

Tickets: $35-$37, 503-225-0047 , www.crystalballroompdx.com