“When you’re writing from your own perspective, there’s only so many things that can come out of that.” Photo courtesy of Chris Staples

Chris Staples’ new album, American Soft, is due for a late March release. Cover art courtesy of Chris Staples

Few musicians live to feed the kind of music habit that Chris Staples has formed over nearly two decades in the industry.

From his work with Twothirtyeight and a solo-esque venture he calls Discover America, Staples has fed his love of the craft by recording indie artists in his basement – a studio he calls “the Snake Ranch,” which has operated everywhere from Pensacola to Seattle. The portable studio stands as a testament to his malleable writing style, which basically goes anywhere he goes – from the darkly personal Twothirtyeight, to the full-on electronic rock of Discover America, right up to Staples’ current stripped-down solo work. And like the porta-studio, his songs have had the same quality output, no matter how different the input.

Where he’s going right now is a number of living rooms and small venues, taking his most recent set list and drummer Tim Very (of Manchester Orchestra) with him. If you happen across Artspace Perkins on Feb. 11, you’ll find him performing after Peter Simón and Barrett Black, both of Baton Rouge.

Dig caught Chris at his family’s home in Florida, where he’s taken a vacation of sorts to record his new album, American Soft.

Dig: You’re at home in Seattle, or at home in Florida?

Chris Staples: I’m actually in Florida right now, working on the record that I’m almost done with – about another week of recording, and then I’m done with it. I usually live in Seattle; I’ve lived there for five years, but the house that I grew up in here…my parents still own it, and it’s empty. So it was a chill place to come set up and work on music. There’s absolutely no distractions here. There’s nothing going on in the town I’m in, so I get way more done here than I would if I was in Seattle.

Dig: Tell me about your portable music studio – is that the one you say is in your basement? How is it portable?

CS: I have a bunch of recording gear, and I always wind up moving it around. I keep calling it the same name wherever it’s at – the Snake Ranch – it’s more of a joke. I just keep toting around my studio with all my stuff in it and recording things. It was in Nashville for awhile, and it was in Florida for awhile, Seattle for awhile…now it’s back in Florida again.

Dig: Have you recorded bands in every city you’ve brought it to?

CS: Yeah, pretty much. Not so many in Seattle, but I recorded people in Texas and the Dallas area, and I did some stuff in Nashville while I was there. I lived there in 2002, and I recorded a bunch of bands when I lived in Pensacola. There weren’t any studios open at the time down there, so there was a good market for it. I did that for a couple years as a job. Seattle is completely oversaturated with studios and engineers, so it’s really hard to get work – if you’re really serious about it, you can get work, but if you’re just casually working, it’s pretty competitive.

Dig: Do you think recording other peoples’ music has made you better at your own?

CS: I think so. You’re just trying to listen to what people want and trying to help them get a certain sound they’re looking for, and that helps me recording, for sure. It made me more fluent at the software because I was using it so much, so yeah, I would definitely say it helped, for sure.

Dig: I read an interview with you from awhile back where you mentioned the good parts of living next to a crack house. Where were you living?

CS: That was in Pensacola, actually…when you live in a bad neighborhood, having drug dealers as your neighbors is actually a good thing – they don’t want the cops around. We would have parties and stuff – like, really late, until the sun came up. Really loud, obnoxious parties, and no one ever called the cops.

Dig: The new album you’re about to drop – are you going to play some of it in Baton Rouge?

CS: About half of the songs on that record, I’ve been playing during the last couple of tours I’ve done. So yeah, I’ll be playing stuff off of it. At the end of this tour, me and Tim Very [of Manchester Orchestra], my friend who’s been drumming for me on this tour, are going to Nashville to track a couple of songs that are going to end up on this record. So I’m sort of in the middle of working on it during the tour, and we’re going to get those songs. Kind of a cool way to end a tour – all the work you put into tightening the songs for a tour will then be recorded.

Dig: What are some of the things that ran through your mind while you were writing this album?

CS: In the past, I’ve written a lot of more personal songs, and I’m trying to get away from that. I’m trying to get new ideas from songs – I’ll ask a friend to suggest an idea, or I’ll ask people on Facebook to throw out some ideas, and I’ll try to write sort of a story based on something someone else gives me. It’s a cool exercise to try and write something different. I feel like I’ve written so many personal songs, I’ve written the same song a million times. When you’re writing from your own perspective, there’s only so many things that can come out of that.

Dig: Was Discover America a sort of solo project? Or do you still make Discover America stuff?

CS: It was sort of a band – it was more rock and electronic oriented. It’s kind of on hold right now. I started releasing records under my own name, just because the music was more…folk style. It’s probably something that’ll pick up again, but I’m not actively doing anything with Discover America currently. It’s sort of like a solo project, but I have friends that play with me on tours and stuff.

Dig: So it’s different from recording under your name…

CS: Yeah, I just realized how confusing this all must be for someone who hasn’t been around for the past ten years [laughs]. The stuff I’m doing now is more roots-oriented music.

Dig: This tour is mostly house shows. Is there a reason you did that, or did it just happen that way?

CS: I think it just works out. It’s more economical. For a lot of venues, if you draw 30 or 40 people, it’s hard to make any money because the club takes money for the door guy and the sound guy, and stuff like that. With house shows, for me, the expenses aren’t there. It just works out.

I really do like playing houses. It’s just way more personal; you get to meet people in the cities you’re going to, and you get to know them. There’s something really interesting about it, and I always end up with good stories. I’ve been to some crazy places…it’s always fun to look back on them.

I played in this house in Shreveport on my last tour, and this house was totally condemned. Basically, this guy inherited it from this woman who died, who had like…chickens, living in the house with her for 20 years. Whenever I was getting to the house, I didn’t know the promoter, so I was like, “Oh God, what are we getting ourselves into? Are we going to get murdered out here?”

Dig: Last question – what’s the first CD you ever bought with your own money?

CS: I think it was Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever.

The show at Artspace Perkins (1284 Perkins Rd.) on Feb. 11 is only $8 per ticket, but the space is small, so snag yours at www.AmericanThrift.TicketLeap.com. Chris Staples’ new album, American Soft, which he’ll be playing material from, is due to drop in late March. After he plays it for you live, you’ll want to get in on it early.

Listen to his solo venture at www.ChrisStaplesMusic.com.

Two Opening Acts You Should Not Miss!

Peter Simón is one of Baton Rouge’s best-kept secrets. This past year, he released a masterpiece in This Side Alone – the album haunts long after it ends. Hear more at www.PeterSimonMusic.com.

Barrett Black has been writing music in Baton Rouge for years, but it’s rare to catch him performing them live…and it’s not because he hasn’t been keeping himself practiced. Hear his 2009 release (of which only 100 hand-numbered copies were made), A Remnant EP, at www.BarrettBlack.Bandcamp.com.