It's not exactly a unique experience for Depping, who has spent years performing as part of various projects. Most recently, he was a member of the power pop outfit Partly Dave. Thanks to the quartet's hiatus, however, he's returned to his solo artist roots and the out-of-state trek serves as a chance to see how other audiences respond.
There's little question that the singer is fond of the Partly Dave lineup and that comes through when he talks about the foursome, but it's also clear that he's enjoying his current situation. Unlike in a band, where compromise becomes essential, the solo route brings with it the ability to explore musical fancies that previously may not have been given a chance.

"Being the bandleader or whatever, there's a certain amount of liberty to that," Depping says. "You have the freedom to run the show the way you want to with less democratic input."

Backing him up as he goes solo is a musician he's worked with for quite some time, Partly Dave bassist Dave Stump. Together, the pair have recorded "Go By Train," Depping's fourth solo release.

Produced by Jeff Stuart Saltzman (Death Cab For Cutie, Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus), the set is 13 simply presented songs that add minimal instrumentation for accents. After spending the past four years in a group, the stripped-down approach appealed to the singer.

"I wanted them to be able to stand alone so that the character of the song would have its own little integrity," he says.

Unlike many artists who write the music first and add lyrics later, Depping tends to start with the lyrics. He's usually inspired to write when he hears an interesting phrase; he then uses that to build a song. Much of the time he says he starts writing the song without even knowing what direction it will take stylistically.

"I didn't sit down to write a funny song or a song in three-four time," Depping says of the songs on "Go By Train." "I usually start with some kind of a lyric idea and I sit down to flesh that out. Very often, what ends up happening is that I think the song is going to go one direction and it ends up going a completely different direction based on -- sometimes I'm not really sure what it's based on."

In many ways, it makes sense that the lyrics serve as the foundation for Depping's songs. By his own admission, he was a "lonely, nobody-understands-me kind of guy" in college and that compelled him to write poetry. Eventually, however, he realized he was a "lousy poet."

Between his freshman and sophomore years of college, 19-year-old Depping picked up a guitar and made a discovery that gave him a new outlet for his poetry.

"Like a lot of college kids, I found Jim Morrison. Here was the quintessential poet putting his stuff to music and I thought, `This is maybe a direction I can go.' As it turned out, my Jim Morrison phase lasted a very brief amount of time because it was self-limiting, but I got into writing."

That love of songwriting will be on display later this month at the Blue Pepper when Depping has his official release show for "Go By Train." Making the evening even more significant is that his bandmates from Partly Dave will be joining him to perform a few songs. It's an evening to which he's looking forward because, as much as he enjoys going out on his own, he still has a love for the companionship of a band.