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Sitting in his Denver-area home, Casey Frazier quickly changes the albums on his record player.  Switching from Pink Floyd to Ernest Tubbs, it's obvious his influences reach far and wide.  He settles on "Tumbleweed Connection" from Elton John, whom he calls "a great inspiration."

One album into a burgeoning career, Frazier has given breath to an engaging batch of well-crafted songs, made complete with his easy, upper-register lilt.  Frazier is currently working on a new ream of songs to record this spring as the followup to his debut, "After Autumn," which was released in 2006.

In the vein of the classic troubadour, "After Autumn" features songs like "Elysian Fields," "Me, Myself and I," and the instrumental "Crazy (City Lights)" that hint at the potential and the future.

"I write songs for people who love music, for people who love to listen," Frazier said.  "I never want my records to be two radio hits and a bunch of throwaway songs.  Each one, to me, is its own complete work." 

Growing up in rural Colorado, Frazier started playing the drums at age 3 before moving on to the guitar at 5.  Soon he was writing songs in between his studies and learning popular favorites to fill out his guitar-prone sets at local events as the preface to his current career arc.

"I've really gotten away from the girl-broke-my-heart songs," Frazier said. "I mean, how much of that can you go through in one life?

"I'm really focused on coming up with a story in my songs.  It definitely spins more from what I've been through in my life, new experiences and things I want to reach for."

Before Frazier decided to shoulder the mantle once carried by Woody Guthrie and Tom Waits, he spent a season in Nashville, honing his chops amidst that city's bustling music scene.  Working with various songwriters, Frazier spent many a night simply playing his songs in smoke-filled halls.

But instead of being swept up by the machinations of Nashville, Frazier eschewed the Country-music fast track in an effort to be true to his artistic nature.  Frazier has steered himself in a different direction, that of a singer-songwriter in the mold of the greats like Bob Dylan and contemporaries like Josh Rouse and Ryan Adams.

"I did my share of long sets in Nashville," Frazier said, "and I'm not afraid to play out, now.  I know you can't just release a CD and expect people to hear it.  I learned that you have to play all over the place.  Bars, bad venues, whatever, you just have to keep playing, writing and making music."