Story time.

It's early 2001 at a snowy New England college campus. Collegiate-Aged Bostonist takes in a set by San Francisco-based Matt Nathanson in the campus student center. It is Nathanson's birthday and Sister Helen Prejean (of "Dead Man Walking" fame) is also appearing on campus.

Did we mention that this is a Catholic college? Nathanson winds up performing a very, very intimate two sets and, we imagine, having a pretty sucky birthday. But Bostonist is charmed.

Last week, Nathanson burst into laughter when we mentioned that show six years ago. "Oh man! It was a Saint school. The saints are all against me. Holy shit! That's so rad!"

Nathanson is set to perform to what we imagine will be a much larger crowd on Thursday, when he and Jonatha Brooke will close out WBOS's Free Summer Concert Series at Copley Square. His latest album, "Some Mad Hope," drops tomorrow and Nathanson said he has experienced both nervousness and excitement as the release approaches.

"I'm super excited for people to hear it. We've been playing a lot of these promo shows and most of the material has been new to people," Nathanson said. "I just can't wait for the moment when people know all of the songs. Right now, it's kind of like dating someone new. You're testing things out, feeling things out."

The album's first single, "Car Crash," has been generating regular radio play on 'BOS and introducing new listeners to Nathanson's sound. Boston, however, is a city with a large population already tuned in to the man and his music.

The album, in many respects, is an offering to two audiences - those who have never heard of Nathanson before and those who have been waiting to hear familiar live songs delivered in a studio setting.

No wonder he's feeling a few jitters.

Click on the jump to read Bostonist's Q&A with Nathanson! Photo by flickr user Jason Tang Photography.

So you're appearing at Copley on Thursday and then have some time off before a fall tour. What are you doing between now and then? Promotion? Relaxation? Prep?

The prep for this tour is going to be the most extensive it's ever been. I just want the show to be the most together it can be. I used to have this self-conscious feeling about preparing for a tour, where getting ready to play isn't important, it's all about being there.

But these songs, this album - I feel it's given me this confidence. I want to represent the songs well. I'm playing electric on a lot songs, acoustic on a lot of songs, and I want to dial in to all the sounds and make sure that there's a real dynamic to the band. So we're going to spend a good couple of weeks preparing the material, our cover songs...

Haha, that was going to come up. What to cover during this tour? (Note: Nathanson has a penchant for leading his audiences in singalongs of songs by Warrant, Journey, et al.)

We should figure out some Loverboy songs. Laughs

This feels like the real start to something, as opposed to just another tour. It's a fresh start, a chance to get out there and have these new songs and a band that's fucking dialed in so that we can do really old songs, stuff from my entire catalog, and be more prepared to enjoy the event of the shows. These are great times to connect with a band and connect with the folks that come to a show. We've always given our all, but it's been more of a "by the seat of our pants" all, so there's a feeling that this is important in a way that no other record I've done has been.

You hear that a lot - the idea of the fresh start. Artists will say, "This is the album I wish I could have made from the start." But they couldn't make that album if they hadn't had the experiences that got them to that point.

It's funny, I think that I really want to start...taking having fun really seriously. Before it was always this feeling of just getting out there and having fun playing. But the shows lately that we've been playing, it feels really inspiring and, um, I don't know why.

That's been amassing all these years. I'm in a place where I'm ready to be inspired by my band. I might have been a little bit hesitant before. I've always had fun with the audience - that part has always felt easy - but I haven't felt the importance of (the band connection) until now. It's really kickass. Sometimes there's the feeling that I get a little scared when there's a band involved. Is it all going to work? Now I just have faith that I found the right guys, I've got the right tone.

Speaking of tone and feeling, playing in Boston. We've seen you play other cities, but it seems as if there's something different, bigger, about your Boston dates. Is that something that's just felt in the audience or do you sense that from the stage as well?

Boston is the shit! Because I grew up here, I feel like I am Boston. Laughs Seriously, I've lived in California for 16 years and every time I'm around someone from Boston -- Boston is just the shit! Maybe you'd feel that way if you grew up in New York or Texas or something, but...I met this manager the other day. I'd never met this kid before, but right away it was, "Where'd you grow up? Oh, I grew up in..." Boston has this thing where there's a tough exterior. But when you break through it, they're all just fucking puppies.

Boston has just always been a great fucking connection. I wish I could play Paradise every fucking night. I just love that room. I don't get it, I don't know why. But it just vibrates.

Is there something extra in having family accessible for those shows?

Not really! Laughs It's independent of my family and the people I grew up with. That's an added bonus. It's really just the people. I feel that way when I get to Boston. When I get to WBOS, I just get on with those folks in the most natural sense.

Pop-culture references come up regularly during your shows and also on the journal on your website. What is your ultimate pop-culture guilty pleasure?

I just love lots of shitty stuff and I like it out loud. I was talking the other day about Bret Michaels' "Rock of Love" show. They might be guilty pleasures, but when I can say I have all the "Dawson's Creek" DVDs...that I've watched Olsen Twins movies more than once on fucking cable when they come on...I'm just cheesy.

It's all the same thing. You just want to get off, you just want to be moved. It can happen with a great Bob Dylan record or it can happen with a New Kids on the Block song. To me, it's all the same stuff. I just want to be moved, so I'm constantly taking in all sorts of stuff in hopes of having my mind blown.

As someone who's done the independent thing, who's had the major label deal and has worked at all the stops in between, what's your definition of success?

I guess it depends on how I'm feeling at the time, what my self-esteem is like at the time --

The state of your psyche --

Yeah. When I'm feeling dialed in and correct in terms of my psyche, the success comes in the form of the songs on "Some Mad Hope." When I finished "Some Mad Hope." I felt successful when we played a show in Boulder recently and it was a great show. The success thing comes all the time.

I'm moving through, getting better, always stepping it up to be a little better. Writing a song that's better, understanding how to play with the band, how to play with the crowd. I think when I started, I thought I needed to get on a major label and sell a million records. I had to pretty much abandon that idea. Laughs It was too dependent on other people.

The growth you feel...it's really cheesy, but as a person you get better as you become a better person. I'm really excited to get out with the band this time because I finally feel dialed into what makes that get better. Last night, fucking hooking up those amps in the basement of my house, that was totally fun.

I have a pretty great life and I have really, really great fans. They allow me to be myself and I couldn't ask for more. Success, I guess, when I'm feeling really good about myself, it happens all the time.

For more information on Matt Nathanson, visit his official website. Nathanson and Jonatha Brooke's WBOS Free Summer Series performance at Copley Square will begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.