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When compared to the likes of Billy Joel, most up-and-coming entertainers might lose sight of their next step. But singer and songwriter Seth Glier, who made an indelible mark with his 2009 MPress Records debut "The Trouble With People," is simply too busy.

In between up to 250 tour dates per year, the altruist and environmentalist spends his time visiting children's hospitals and making sure that whatever his next leap may be, it will leave the smallest carbon footprint possible.

The Boston-based musician will release his latest album, "The Next Right Thing," next week. Famed alternative rocker Edwin McCain, who contributed backup vocals on the track, "I Don't Need You," gushed that for anyone wondering what the future of music will look like, "Seth is it."

As 2010 came to a close, A&E spoke with Glier about the album, his work ethic, and what, for him, might be the next right thing.

A&E: Can you tell me what ‘The Next Right Thing' means to you, tangibly and emotionally?

Glier: I don't know if I can separate the difference between tangible and emotional. For me, it's waking up in the morning and then leaving the day with more good in it than there was.

Tangibly, what I try to do on tour is visit children's hospitals and VA hospitals, going room to room and performing my music.

A&E: Your ‘Light it Up and Let it Be' tour recently ended, right?

Glier: We wrapped [up that tour] earlier this month... [2010] was both beautiful and challenging – just finding the joy in it. I did 250 shows. When you do that many, it can feel like a job. So to start breaking up the day, my guitarist Ryan Hommel and I started doing volunteer work. It became very crucial, actually.

A&E: What can you tell me about your work as an environmentalist?

Glier: It kind of comes back to the ‘Next Right Thing.' When you travel the country and stand with a mic in front of 200 people, you begin to feel like an ambassador of sorts. I like bringing something along with me, an idea – maybe an idea I haven't quite formed yet.

As we traveled during the tour, I would drive my Prius. And I just started to do little things. We started to offer merchandise that was 100 percent organic [such as] T-shirts that were created with soy and vegetable inks. We'd try to choose green hotels, encourage people to carpool to concerts. Little things like that that can make a dent in some small way, and hopefully impact the way people live their lives.

A&E: Can you tell me about your decision to leave Berklee after one year to pursue your music?

Glier: Berklee started to feel like an overpriced paint by numbers exercise. I was taking Livingston Taylor's class – James Taylor's brother – and he was one of the first people to encourage me to get out there, you know? What is it the rockers say? ‘Bring the music to the people.' I couldn't sit still in class with my songs. I wanted to bring them to folks and hopefully let them shape their lives.

A&E: Speaking of James Taylor, you were able to perform with him, right?

Glier: Yeah, I performed with him during a private event in Boston. It wasn't one of those huge things, but it was definitely something you never forget.

A&E: Can you talk about some of your influences? In addition to James Taylor, you've mentioned Joni Mitchell.

Glier: I really wasn't an abnormal child. I was a huge Eminem fan. Eminem, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park were my three favorites. That was my angry music during high school. But I started writing after 9/11, and it was a very fluid, organic process.

My brother, Jamie, is autistic. I think that had a lot to do with it. I had always been a fan of musicians who were being a voice for someone else, whether they couldn't or were afraid to tell their own story. I wanted to be a voice for my brother.

A&E: Is he your biggest inspiration?

Glier: Yeah. Definitely.

A&E: You've been compared to Billy Joel. People are touting you as the next big thing. Edwin McCain, himself, said you were the future of music. What do you think when you hear things like that? How do you not let something like that said by someone like that go to your head?

Glier: I don't think, for the most part, I let it go to my head, because when it comes from another musician, it feels like it's earned, you know? With Edwin, we had been on a couple of tours together. So we knew each other. He had given me a lot of advice. So it wasn't like blind praise coming from him. We had an understanding. So I didn't let that influence me. I was more influenced by the fact that he's managed to be an amazing father and husband. His music was another thing, which is brilliant in its own right.

Other than that, I take it all with a grain of salt. I don't really dwell on anything for too long. I sort of just move through a lot of stuff, which is both a blessing and a curse.

A&E: You're only 22 years old. What do you hope to achieve next?

Glier: I would love to be one of those artists that had a stamp. In regard to writing, I would love to hone in my fingerprint. And by that, I mean – when you hear James Taylor's ‘Fire and Rain' or Joni Mitchell's ‘River,' it doesn't matter who sings that song – you know it's one of theirs. Their delivery is so distinctive. So, writing-wise, I'd like to hone those skills and have a fingerprint.

And I'd just like to continue to take music to a larger audience, without losing myself in the process, you know? I still want to do the one to one with people in a hospital room, whether [or not] I'm playing at Radio City Music Hall. That's imperative to me.

A&E: Going back to ‘Next Right Thing,' I read that one of the tracks was inspired by Michael J. Fox. Can you tell me about that and what other influences shaped the CD?

Glier: Well, that particular song was inspired by a Michael J. Fox hour-long segment on [television] for his ‘Hope for An Incurable Optimist.' The beauty of it was his personality. It was similar to how I feel about my brother — the idea that ‘adversity makes you stronger.'

I had spent so much time touring, it forced me to sometimes [do something for] my own good, in a way. For me, performing came naturally – so I needed to redefine what that meant to me. That's where the volunteer work came in.

A lot of the album was inspired by things I've taken away from hospital visits. We had gone to an HIV clinic, and we had maybe visited 30 rooms that day. The last room, I performed ‘Let It Be,' and the man there just started crying. He said that had been his mother's favorite song, and she sang it to him as a child. And this was a young man, but you could see he was losing his battle with HIV. And he told us that his mother had passed away a year ago that day. I walked away with this feeling. You just never know where someone else is at, but if you bring yourself to the table... I think the world needs an immense amount of empathy to sort things out.

At the end of the day, it's no huge effort to fall asleep. I just fall down. And I hope it's always like that.

noravec@gazette.net

Seth Glier

CD release party for

"The Next Right Thing"

-When: 8 p.m. Monday

-Where: Brewer's Alley, 124 North Market St., Frederick

-Tickets: $10

-For information: 301-631-0089; www.sethglier.com