One of my goals this summer has been to learn more about the local music scene in Durham. Mark Cool.I started on this journey in earnest a week ago, when I heard Durham singer/songwriter Mark Cool play some of his stuff on Frank Stasio’s “The State of Things.” It was one of those NPR moments where I could not leave the car and go to my destination until I had listened to the songs and interview the whole way through. Mark Cool, 43, who is also a carpenter in Durham, is a mix between folk and alternative country, sounds a little bit like Johnny Cash, but with his own distinct style. What really interested me about him was the stories he told through his music. In short songs that are both sweet and familiar, he spins rich and layered narratives - about his father’s second wife, his own rocky former marriage, and his sadness for people who have to ditch their dreams for jobs that carry too many obligations.

I caught a performance by him at the Six Plates Wine Bar Txakoli Fest on Saturday and decided to schedule a quick Q & A for my blog readers. I met with Mark and his girlfriend Catherine Hart this week at Parker and Otis, which they rode their bikes to from their Old West Durham neighborhood.

He is performing at 8 p.m. today (Thursday) at The Cave in Chapel Hill and at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Daisy Cakes trailer at the Farmers’ Market. His latest CD, "Pie" came out in May. You should check him out – and please pass on any other local musicians who you think should be on the blog to lisarossi@durhammag.com – or any story ideas for that matter.

Q: It seems like you cram big stories into the small space of your songs, which as a writer I appreciate. Is this a big reason why you play?

A: I’m very lyric-driven. My favorite artists are people who tell very good short stories in short spans of time. I edit and re-edit, and figure out what’s important, and try to hone it down, and try to figure out something that connects with me … so hopefully I can connect with someone else.

Q: How long have you been writing songs and playing in Durham?

A: I moved to Durham in 2002. I had lived in L.A. for 10 years before that doing music. When I moved here, I had two little kids and I was married, so I kind of was still doing music, but I wasn’t. There was a certain point where I said, “I’m going to take a break and try to make my marriage work,” and that didn’t work, so then this time I rededicated myself was since 2005.

Q: What’s it like being a musician in Durham?

A: I love Durham as a home base. We just rode our bikes here, we rode our bikes to the Farmers’ Market on Saturday. There are a ton of great restaurants, lots of places to get out to the woods. I just love the culture here, the small-town feel with all the amenities we have.

Q: I mean, don’t you feel different cities are more inspiring for musicians than others?

A: There’s a great tradition of music in this area. I love the connection to the place where Elizabeth Cotten wrote “Freight Train” - that’s in Carrboro. There are a lot of musicians here. I lived in L.A. - there are a lot of great musicians there too. Sometimes it’s style over substance in L.A., whereas here, it’s almost the reverse. There are so many good musicians who are really talented, but don’t necessarily care about being famous … they just play music for music.

Q: Talk about your name: Mark Cool. Is that the L.A. influence?

A: Cool is my mother’s family name. When it came time to pass on my name, I thought, I could pass on the name from my dad’s family, which was dysfunctional and weird, or I could pass on the Cool name, so I changed my name to Cool.

Q: You tell personal stories in your songs. “The Ballad of Mike and Mary” is about your father’s second wife, their troubles, and his subsequent death from cancer. How does your family react to these songs?

A: This piece was my child’s eye view of my dad’s relationship with my stepmother around his death. I don’t know where my stepmother is [now], but my mom cried when I played her that song. She just broke down and cried. She just thought it was right on.

Q: Some of your other songs touch upon some of the weaknesses in our culture, such as “Dream Time,” which talks about what I perceive to be the difficulties of working in America. You sing about truckers that have to log miles, and teachers that have to pay $50 for a day off. Talk to me a bit about what you are trying to say here.

A: It connects with me personally. I do carpentry work. I’m a single dad, half-time. My girlfriend’s a teacher – I watch her going, “I have to pay $50 to have a day off – to pay this [substitute teacher.]”

 Q: How does that work?

A: They don’t have a union in North Carolina. If she’s not taking a sick day, [rather], a day for vacation, she has to pay $50. And that’s for a teacher – and teachers are one of the notoriously underpaid and under-funded professions. The thing that sparked that song was that I had read this interview with Ray Davies in Rolling Stone. He. … felt like, especially in modern times, it was harder for people to focus on their dreams, to think about their dreams.

Q: Do you feel like it’s getting more popular for people to glorify Type-A personalities?

A: It’s become an acceptable excuse in our society: “I was too busy.” To me, if it’s important, I’ll make time for it. I don’t want to say to someone, “I’m too busy.” I want to tell the truth.