After releasing her beautiful Dusty Springfield tribute album “Just A Little Lovin’” in 2008, vocalist Shelby Lynne is back with an equally fine collection of original songs, “Tears, Lies, and Alibis.” I’ve been a fan of Shelby’s work for quite a while and still get goosebumps recalling the time she and her band appeared on my midday show at WDET some 7 years ago and delivered a knockout performance of “I’m Alive,” from her then-current release “Identity Crisis.” And I still chuckle to this day about the affectionate remark she made that afternoon about a member of her road crew: “I love you, you sucker.” Except she used another word for “sucker.”

Lynne is a genre-blending artist who is not the easiest to categorize, something which hasn’t helped her attain a ton of mainstream radio airplay or other media exposure, I’m sorry to say. She can sing country, pop & rock with equal ease, and has remained steadfast in her defiance of fly-by-night trends. Lynne performs tomorrow night at The Ark, and it was a pleasure to speak to her by phone recently from her home in California.

Q: I just saw you singing “Tragedy” with Peter Wolf on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and you sounded fantastic. How did you come to work with him on that tune off his new album “Midnight Souvenirs?“ A: He called me 3 or 4 years ago and asked me if I could sing on the album. We got to be good friends ever since then.

Q: “Tears, Lies, and Alibis” is the 1st release on your own label, Everso Records. What led to you starting your own label? A: It had to happen, ‘cos (my former label) Lost Highway passed on releasing this album. I quit to start my own label. You know, I’m not staying way from telling anyone about this. They’re not interested in somebody who doesn’t try to sell a lot. You end up being on the back burner to everything, and I was tired of it.

Q: How long did you spend working on the album? A: I started working on it a year ago January, started recording at that time, but I was writing before that and I guess I finished it in September of last year. When you do an album of covers, you don’t have a lot of time to think about writing your own songs; it’s simple as that. Doing interpretations on the Dusty project was taking up all my time. I can’t sit down and try to write a song at 4 o’clock and come up with something. I’m more of an inspirational type of writer; I write when it hits me.

Listen to the Shelby Lynne album “Tears, Lies, and Alibis”:

Q: Two of the most impressive songs on “Tears, Lies, and Alibis” are “Loser Dreamer” and “Rains Came.” What inspired those? A: “Loser Dreamer” is about me and all the musicians I know. I was inspired by the hook and wrote that 1 in an hour. “Rains Came” is autobiography; I live in Palm Springs and it so rarely rains here. One day the sky opened up all of a sudden, out of the blue. It didn’t last very long or anything like that, but rained really hard and really fast. That’s where the song came from. I walked out in my pajamas and had a pad of paper and wrote it on the spot. That’s usually the way it is for me when I write; it’s spur of the moment.

Q: You also wrote a drinking song that’s an instant classic, “Old #7.” How did that one come about? A: “Old #7” I wrote because I just love traditional country songs. I don’t know, I was probably drinkin’ while I wrote it! I started that 1 3 or 4 years ago and thought it was time to put this baby to rest. That 1’s just me on vocals and guitar, then we added Ben Peeler on the steel guitar and that made it perfect for me. The trick to producing is not producing; it’s just calling the right people to the party and picking out that tasty spot for them to play. It’s about making good decisions, leaving air, leaving room to breathe, knowing when to let it be and making it comfortable on the ears.

Q: You’ve had nice roles in the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk The Line” and the television drama “Army Wives.” Any other acting gigs on the horizon? A: I mean, maybe, if the right thing comes around. I don’t go around looking for roles, but I would if the right thing came along. I get asked all the time, but it doesn’t mean it’s always a good thing to do, especially if it’s something that’s too much of a stretch. I do a lot more passin’ than saying yes.

Martin Bandyke is the 6-10am morning drive host on Ann Arbor’s 107one. Follow him on Twitter @martinbandyke and at his website.