Of all the folk singers traveling across the country in vans, no one has the eloquent flare of Stuart Davis.

Davis tours cross-country in his conversion van he lovingly refers to as “The Chapel.” He reported on the latest condition of the Chapel with great enthusiasm.

“After some repairs, it now has full braking capacity,” Davis said. “You know, that thing is perilously dangerous. When the mechanic saw it, his jaw dropped. He said, ‘That thing should not be on the road.'”

The only place his van doesn’t go is overseas.

“It’s an ’83 Dodge Ram conversion van. If people in Europe saw it on the road, there would be no end to the sneers it would garner. It’s a token of shame,” Davis said.

But Davis isn’t ashamed. He’s just sore.

“I love having deep experiences with people I don’t know well,” Davis commented. “But driving over 60,000 miles a year hurts my ass. My muscles down there are twisted and convoluted from touring. I have to see a massage therapist after all the touring.”

Davis’s journey began in high school.

“A long time ago, my dad taught me three chords so I could play ‘Amanda, Light of My Life’ by Waylon Jennings,” Davis said. “I became obsessed with it, and from ninth to twelfth grade I was holed up in my basement playing nonstop, up to four or five hours a day.”

Davis simultaneously tried his hand out at writing too; however, it wasn’t one of his best skills.

“I wrote really horrible songs at first,” he said.

His lyrics began to improve after he started reading works by Ken Wilber, the Jesuit Priest Tcilchard de Chardin and Plato. Along with this lyrical assistance, Davis looked towards Randy Newman and Elvis Costello for musical mentoring.

Now, Davis describes his music as content-oriented, drawing most of his ideas from literary figures.

In general, the songwriting process is sometimes a grueling one for Davis. Although many of his influences stem from his own life, Davis has been leaning towards writing songs that deal with everything but him.

Another grueling factor in songwriting is the amount of time he spends writing — sometimes he has 50 different versions of the same song.

“Whether I’m writing in abstract, metaphorical, or literary concrete form, I’ve been very comfortable using metaphorical content,” Davis said. “Musically, there’s not a lot of inspiration to draw from today’s pop music.

“I have no idea how a phrase, a lyric, a chord or a song comes into being,” he continued. “It’s a profound mystery to me. When I have that truly original moment though, it seems strange for me to take credit for that. Ninety-five percent of the time I’m staring blankly into space. I spend several days staring at walls.”

But, in the end, Davis writes emotionally-penetrating songs such as “Only Changing Drugs” and “Universe Communion.”

“‘Only Changing Drugs’ was directly autobiographical,” Davis explained. “I dropped out of college at 20 years old to attend rehab. I needed to take drastic measures to correct my relationship with drugs and alcohol. I discovered that rehab was not suited for my personality.

“[‘Universe Communion’] is one of the token songs of my repertoire,” he continued. “To sum it up, it’s a critique of the lopsided nature of our ways of knowing here in the West. The song is saying, ‘Listen, if you only accept strict scientific empiricism, you’re cutting yourself off from an entire range of what we are as beings.”

Although most of Stuart Davis’ earlier work was lighthearted, Davis began looking at the darker side of life on “Nomen Est Numen” and the follow-up “Kid Mystic.”

“Lately, I’ve been trying to integrate the shadow figure of a person who is pure, holy or good,” Davis said.

He has also been expanding his influences outside of his own experiences in songwriting.

“My first three albums were more autobiographical,” he said. “Now that I’ll be having my seventh record coming out, I’m not interested in writing about myself lately. The more I’ve matured as a writer, I’ve become less interested in myself, and more in other people.”

Davis is beginning to tour in support of his live album “16 Nudes,” with a CD release party this weekend at the place where most of the songs were recorded, the M-Shop.

Davis chose the M-Shop as a recording spot because he liked the space, the people at the shows and the people who work there, and is pleased with the outcome of the record.

“It captures pretty well what it is like to be at a Stuart Davis show,” he said. “It captures the spontaneity that separates a live show from recordings. It was very cool to hear those songs acoustic.”

After the tour, Davis is planning to keep writing.

“Maybe at some point in my life I will pursue another way of existing in a different way. The idea of pursuing a life of spiritual gratitude and presence appeals to me,” Davis said.

“I guess if you quit going, that’s dying, which isn’t a bad thing — it’s an inevitable thing,” he added.

Stuart Davis will play two shows at the M-Shop tonight at 8 and 10:30. Tickets are $6, $5 for students.