A word with ... King Khan

"I once wore the same suit for a whole month straight," said frontman King Khan, 30, on his way to the Atlanta airport to pick up other band members. "But I didn't stink because I believe you smell how you feel, so I smelled great."

The irreverent Khan (real name: Arish Boa Khan) has been bringing his psychedelic R&B to Europe for the past decade - with his current group, the Shrines, a 10-member garage-rock family based in Berlin and Montreal, as well as with the Space[expletive] and the King Khan & BBQ Show.

"We started the band in Germany, and I have met most of the [band members] during late-night hours when I was in a strange state of mind," he said. "It is pretty amazing how we function; we have only one cellphone for the whole band and we manage to communicate fine."

Khan, who just returned from a family vacation with his wife and two daughters in China, "where they have stinky tofu," started the US tour in Washington, D.C., this week, where the band plans to "paint the White House in zebra stripes."

"Europe is a beautiful place, but coming to America is always a breath of fresh air," Khan said. "We are bringing in old music that we got tired of playing back home but it is getting a rebirth in the States."

He's excited to come back to Boston next week, for unexpectedly thrifty reasons. "Last time my wife and I got a ton of awesome stuff at your Goodwill, and I plan on going back. Who wouldn't want a really cool cheap sweater?" DANNY DEZA

King Khan & the Shrines play the Paradise Rock Club May 7 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12.50 at 877-598-8689 and www.livenation.com.