Sitting outside an Inman Park coffee shop, Shawn Mullins is easy to miss.
In a comfortably shabby John Coltrane T-shirt and black Nashville Underground baseball cap, Mullins looks like any other sidewalk-stroller as he sits at an outdoor table, sipping his drink from a cardboard to-go cup.
But what else would you expect from one of Atlanta’s most beloved musical sons, a notoriously laid-back guy who never suffered from fame-itis after his 1999 No. 1 hit, “Lullaby”?
Really, the only casualty of that sudden thrust into the spotlight was Mullins’ shoulder-length blond locks, which he hacked off a couple of years later because of the recognizability factor.
“I was having a hard time writing because of [how much] I was being observed,” he said in that familiar soft-yet-gravelly tone. “I’m sure if the record label and my manager had sat with me, they would have said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t cut your hair.’ But for me it was really important to move on. I’m not a hair guy, thank God, because I don’t have much left.”
Mullins, 42, frequently cracks a smile behind his blondish gray scruff, whether he’s expounding on his fondness for the book he’s reading (“The Art of Racing in the Rain”) or discussing his friendship with fellow Georgian Zac Brown, with whom he shares a writing credit on Brown’s smash, “Toes.”
Mullins is still a local, too, having recently sold his Candler Park house and moved with wife Kelly and 14-month-old son Murphy to an abode in Inman Park.
And his loyalty to the area’s venues remains. He’s playing six shows at Eddie’s Attic -- a haunt from his days as a fledgling musician -- Monday through Wednesday to celebrate the release of his 11th studio album, “Light You Up.”
It’s been a long decade since “Lullaby,” though, and Mullins is clearly at a crossroads about the future of his career.
A detour in 2003 to collaborate with friends Matthew Sweet (who provides harmonies on "California," one of the best tracks on "Light You Up") and Pete Droge in a group known as the Thorns was an interesting musical side note. But it also took Mullins’ focus off his solo career.
“In a way, I had to start over in 2004. It was as though I had been spit back out, not totally from the bottom, but damn near the bottom. It was almost pointless. It would have been easier for me to hang it up,” he said.
So, even though a moderate hit, “Beautiful Wreck,” followed in 2006, why not just hang it up?
“The problem with that,” Mullins said with a gentle laugh, “is that I don’t know how to do anything else. It crosses my mind all the time, but even still, I love playing the rooms that I play. I like playing to small audiences, so that worked out perfectly.”
The arrival of Murphy reinforced his decision to scale back the extensive time he was spending on the road -- a lifestyle that doesn’t necessarily gel with fatherhood.
“I’m loving being a dad,” he said. “I feel the need to provide for my family, obviously, but I hope I can do that in other ways than being on the road. For me, it’s much more attractive to write a hit song once or twice a year and do what I can in other ways to fulfill me musically, but then also be a good dad.”
Mullins is embarking on a club tour through November and heading to Australia for five dates.
What comes next is largely dependent upon the success of the new album and the seductively catchy title track single, which is receiving increased airplay at adult album alternative stations nationwide and locally on 92.9 Dave FM. (Mullins has been the voice over guy for the station and is also responsible for the non-Gilbert Gottfried lines in those Aflac commercials.)
That “Light You Up” is one of Mullins’ most melodic and contemplative releases would suggest a cautious optimism about its future success.
But Mullins has played the music industry game long enough to know a stellar recording doesn’t necessarily equate with commercial success.
“I just want to be able to have some career as long as I can. I look at people like John Prine and John Hiatt and even though they’re not on the radio, their fan base continues to grow with them,” he said. “If I do have dreams left, it’s related to being a musician, not a star. I have no aspirations of playing a stadium or having a No. 1 pop hit.”
But if that happens?
“It’s cool. It was fun the first time.”
Concert preview
Shawn Mullins. 7 and 9:30 Monday through Wednesday (early show is acoustic, late show with full band). Doors open at 6 and 9 p.m. $25 (general admission); $40 (ticket and meal); $125 (reserved table of four). Eddie's Attic, 515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur. 404-377-4976, www.eddiesattic.com .
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