Singer-songwriter Neko Case comes to Santa Rosa

Over the past 20 years, singer-songwriter Neko Case has recorded more than a dozen albums, working with her own band as well as the Canadian indie rock band New Pornographers and, most recently, with singer-songwriters k.d. lang and Laura Veirs.

Known for the poignant and powerful lyrics in songs like “Hold On, Hold On,” and for her vibrant presence onstage, Case, 46, has built a loyal following. She toured with lang and Veirs in June and July, and now she’s back on the road again, bringing her own tour to Santa Rosa’s Luther Burbank Center this weekend.

Talking recently by phone from the rural Vermont farm where she has lived since 2007, Case shared her thoughts about songwriting, recording, touring and the “physical joy of singing.”

Q: How do you balance your roles as songwriter and performer?

It’s two parts of the same process to me. The onstage part, once you’re a couple of weeks into the tour, after you put out a record, you can emotionally let the songs go, because the record already has been released. Then you can just feel the physical joy of singing. In performance, my body is busy with muscle memory and physically hitting the notes and feeling the vibrations. I’ve gotta put my whole consciousness into that, and I do live for that. It’s a great feeling.

Q: This is your first solo tour since your collaboration with k.d. lang and Laura Veirs. How many dates are playing this time?

Just like 10. It’s a quick tour.

Q: Are you still working with The New Pornographers?

Yes, I just finished recording with them. They still have more stuff to put on their new record. They might actually be finishing as we speak.

Q: Do you expect to perform and record with lang and Veirs again?

I hope so. One of the things about playing with them is that it took a long time to make that record.

Our schedules were all so full that arranging our schedules was difficult, but I really hope so, because that tour was so much fun.

We all went straight into other projects, like I’m writing for a new record. I’m not sure what k.d.’s up to.

Q: Do you have a time frame for your own new record?

We’re starting to record some tracks in November in Tucson, after this tour.

Q: You recorded “Nothing to Remember” for the “Hunger Games” soundtrack in 2012. How did that come about?

I know T-Bone Burnett, and he was the music producer on that film, and he asked me if I would be willing to write something for the soundtrack. So I went in and recorded with T-Bone and his band, and it was that easy.

But it was a big deal to me, because I love the movie and I love the “Hunger Games” books. It was a real honor to do.

Q: T-Bone Burnett is a favorite producer with a lot of music stars. Why is that?

Well, he works with incredible musicians, and he really can visualize the finished project.

That’s something I don’t have. I generally go in and unravel the songs as I go, where he has a vision of what he wants it to be. He’s great at deciding who should do what.

He has a gift for that. Of course, it helps that he’s an amazing musician.

He’s a natural. And he works hard.

Q: How do you come up with lyrics that are so direct, and yet so full of meaning, like “I spent my life becoming invisible,” from “Nothing to Remember,” or “The most tender place in my heart is for strangers,” from “Hold On, Hold On”?

It comes from desperation, probably. “Nothing to Remember” was a little easier because I was writing that song for the “Hunger Games” movie character of Katniss. I had read the books, so I had a real understanding of that character.

That was one of the great things about the book. It wasn’t a romance. It was about a young woman who was trying to grow up in an apocalyptic time.

Q: When you write lyrics, are you trying to bring out feelings that are common to everyone?

Yeah, I try not to make it too specific to any time and place.

Q: How many songs do you reckon you’ve written?

Oh, God. I don’t know. Good question. I’d have to go count. I couldn’t even tell you.

Q: Do you prefer to have solitude at home while you write, or do you write songs while you’re touring?

I write all the time. It just depends on when the mood strikes. I think about something, and I’ll say, “Oh, I could write a good lyric for that.”

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 707-521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.