66 • UNCUT• JULY 2019
“What are you going to order?” asks Carney,
peering at his partner over the top of the
restaurant’s oversized menu. Lately, Carney
has been on a strict diet prior to his wedding- just two days earlier – to singer Michelle
Branch in New Orleans. As a consequence, he’s
looking lean and healthy; clearly hesitant to
despoil his waistline with too much souvlaki
and spanakopita.
Without looking up, Auerbach says, “I’m
getting what I always get.” This, it transpires,
is a basic ham-and-cheese omelette.
“OK, I guess I’ll just get eggs,” says Carney,
before confiding: “I never know what to order.
Usually, I just get what the other person is
ordering. That’s how I got to Nashville. Dan
moved, so I said, ‘I’ll have what he’s having...’”
Wearing a dark-blue mechanic’s shirt with
“Clarence” embroidered over the breast
pocket, Auerbach is as matter-of-fact about
his food choices as he is about the process of
making The Black Keys’ ninth studio album.
“Honestly, we just went in and did it like we
always did,” he says. “You know what they alysse gafkjen
Axes all areas:
Carney and
Auerbach at
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