"The Black Keys without percussion? Might as well play Die Zauberflöte without strings," says Sherlock with a slight, feline smile. The Brit's rich, all right, though perhaps not any more, now that he's taken to standing on streetcorners with a violin--which he loves very much, it's obvious. It's in mint condition. "All right. You can beatbox, can't you? Beatbox for me, I'm not playing half a song."

He's busy with mental arithmetic on the subject of the American, so while he plucks out the opening chords of Lonely Boy on the bridge of his violin, he says, sharply, "Nevada, isn't it?"