Before we start, Tim Mahoney has to tell a quick story.

“You know that bar I like to go to before my show, Lost and Found,” the Minneapolis crooner says from a phone on the outskirts of New York City, where he is penning tunes for his next record with famed songwriter Charlton Pettus. “Two shows ago, I’m up there just hanging out, got a hat on and glasses. There’s like two people in there.

“Some guy walks in and goes up to the bartender, who says, ‘What are you up to?’ And the guy says, ‘Oh, not much. I was just down at People’s, and I couldn’t even get in. There was a line.’

“Of course, the bartender says, ‘What’s going on down there?’ And the guy says, ‘Ahh, that fucking Tim Mahoney is playing.’ Keep in mind, I’m sitting right next to these guys. The bartender says, ‘I just don’t get that. People like him, man.’ And the guy goes, ‘Yeah, he’s a fucking prick.'”

“I’m drinking, almost laughing, trying to play it cool so I can hear it out. The bartender’s curious and he says, ‘Why is he an asshole?’ And he goes, ‘My band opened up for him and he just thought he was a fucking rock star — something cool.’

“So, I’m wondering how to handle this. I could get pissed and say, ‘Fuck you,’ or just walk away. But I ended up making them feel totally stupid. I go, ‘You know, I understand if you don’t like the music. That’s fine.’

And they didn’t know who I was so I go, ‘Well, I’m Tim Mahoney.’ And literally, these guys just dropped. I shook his hand and was like, ‘People think I’m an asshole because I don’t get to talk to them. But just so you know, I come to this bar every time before my show to hang out.’ They just felt really stupid.

“So that’s my story.”

How is New York?

It’s good. I started doing this songwriting thing at the beginning of the summer, and we’ve got about 10 songs done. Charlton is amazing. He’s worked with like Aerosmith and just wrote something for the Backstreet Boys.

Have you done anything crazy out there yet?

Everybody asks me that. But unfortunately, I come here, and I work literally the entire time. My plane lands, I get in a cab, go to Penn Station, take a train here and basically spend four days in [my] room writing.

But I’ve done New York City, so I know what it’s about.

Can you give me an idea of what the next record is going to sound like?

I want to say different, but it’s also the same. It’s just so much better. The songs still have the Mahoney hooks and all that stuff, just better songs, cooler instruments, cooler parts.

This is big for me, because I’m way overdue for a record. My live record came out over two years ago. It’s a miracle that I can still do the numbers I do without new songs.

Also, when this record comes out, I’m going to be shopping to the majors for the first time in like four years. That’s why I’ve got so many guys playing on it. I’ve got Mellencamp’s drummer playing on it.

I’m still searching for the producer, and that’s a big part of it. People don’t understand how much a producer can be the make or break, especially in the pop field.

People ask me when the record is coming out, and I’m hoping for a spring release.

Have you grown as a songwriter in the past year?

Yeah, especially just writing with guys that are serious pros. I’ve also been writing with a guy in Minneapolis, Kevin Bowe, who writes for like Johnny Lang and Shannon Curfman.

Learning from both of those people is the key. There’s never a guarantee that you’re going to write a hit. You just kind of have to go with it. But you try to narrow that margin down by writing with people who have done it before.

We’ve done a lot of interviews. We’re buds. Tell me something you’ve never told any reporter. A Tim Mahoney secret.

How many girls I’ve slept with? No, that wouldn’t be good. People already think bad about me anyway.

Pause.

Oh this is good. People wonder why I’ve always worn hats. Well, it’s because I’m totally conscious about my hair thinning. I came to grips with it about a year ago, and I’ve been taking that Propecia hair stuff. And it’s been working.

That’s why, too, the reason I always bleach my hair blonde. Black hair makes your hair look thinner. So it’s not just to look cool.

In the past two years, I’ve probably done maybe two shows without a hat, but I just did one last week, which is a big deal for me.

If the Meanies could fight any band, who would it be?

There are some bands we hate. Let me think … actually, we just all hate bands that play with us that lie. So many bands think they are so much better than they are.

We do this thing where we trade shows with bands. And we’ll bring them to The Cabooze, and they’ll play for a 1,000 people, then we’ll go to where they’re supposed to be huge and play for 100 people.

Who gets more chicks, musicians or athletes?

I definitely say musicians. Athletes, yes, but girls think it is so intriguing to get with musicians. See, with athletes it’s because their name and they’re cool, right? But I don’t think it’s like, ‘Wow, I want to be with an athlete because I don’t know what it will be like.’ It’s an athlete. Lots of people are athletes. But not that many people are rock stars.

It seems like people get more curious, like musicians are going to be more crazy. They’re artists, and any time you’re dealing with an artist, they are going to be weird.

What do you look for in women?

Even though I get ripped for being known as the guy always working chicks, the reality is, I just love women. I love all kinds of girls, I swear to God. I know how to look at a girl like a painting, liking it for what it is. I can get into all kinds of women, which is why I’ve always been a very sexual person. Not like, ‘Here’s a guy who fucks everything,’ but like, I’ve always been into women and the sexual thing. Not in a horrible way like people read it.

The problem is, I’ve only had like two girlfriends in my life. When you travel all the time, you’re not home a lot. People always think I have all these chicks I call up when I go home. But I don’t. I’m not home enough to get to know anybody long enough to be like, “Yeah, I’ll call you and we’ll go to a movie.” Not to say I don’t want that, it’s just hard to do.

The truth of it is, every guy thinks hooking up with chicks all the time must be awesome. Yeah, but just like anything else, honestly, that does get old. You know what I mean?

Actually, no.