If you have any affinity for rock and pop these days, there’s a chance Chris Masterson and/or his wife, Eleanor Whitmore, have had their hands in the project. The two have spent the last decade working with acts as diverse as Son Volt, Diana Ross and Regina Spektor, to name just a few of the artists they list on their resumes.

The duo’s first album as The Mastersons, Birds Fly South, was released earlier this year on New West Records (home to Athenians The Whigs, as well as the legendary Steve Earle, in whose band The Mastersons currently perform). The record, which fits nicely in any alt-country collection, is very much a family affair; Whitmore’s sister, Bonnie, plays bass. The Mastersons, who will be accompanied by a full band, play Thursday, Dec. 6 at the 40 Watt as part of the New West/Normaltown Records Christmas Party, along with Grandfather Child, Lilly Hiatt & The Dropped Ponies and Kalen Nash.

Flagpole: Is it difficult to resist the urge to write songs that are about your own relationship with one another? A lot of the songs on Birds Fly South, like “One Word More,” are darker songs about really messy relationships.

Chris Masterson: I don’t know. Maybe we’re both just that fucked up [laughs]. No, there is a common thread in the characters all having a sense of darkness. I don’t know. I think we sometimes we draw on what’s on in our own world, but nothing is to be taken too literally.

Eleanor Whitmore: I think we draw from our own experiences, but they are mainly [about] fictional characters. You just imagine a character suffering through an experience, and that provides a storyline for you to write about.

"I listen to things in my record collection and I have interpretations of what I think things mean, so I’d rather just leave that to the listener."

FP: Is there any worry that some listeners will take these songs literally?

CM: I think art is subjective. I think no two people hear the same song and come up with the same meanings. We were at an in-store one time—it may have been in Knoxville—and a guy said he had driven a couple of hours because he had heard “One Word More” on the radio and it felt to him exactly where he and his partner were in their relationship.

EW: And they got back together as a result of the song, which is weird!

CM: We were a little scared. I thought, “Is that song really going to get you back together?” Maybe? I’m sorry. I don’t know. I listen to things in my record collection and I have interpretations of what I think things mean, so I’d rather just leave that to the listener.

FP: I want to ask a little bit about the live set up. You’ve been to Athens a few times in the past year, once during Athens Americana at Little Kings and then opening up for Steve Earle at the Georgia Theatre. How is it to play as a duo when you recorded a really polished record with a full band?

CM: Actually, when we come back to Athens at our show at the 40 Watt, we’ll have our full band with us. The way we’ve been touring with Steve, it wouldn’t be practical to bring two other players out there, so we play as a duo. And when we do radio tours, we do it as just a duo. I think it’s a good way to represent the record.

EW: I don’t really think we worry about it that much. I think it’s fun for us to rework the tunes on the record as a duo and arrange them a little differently.

CM: I think it’s a trade-off. When we’re playing with a really loud rock band, it’s a lot of fun to have our friends up there with us to take some weight off of our shoulders, but we don’t hear the vocals as well in the monitors [laughs]. So, when we come through as a duo, we can really represent on the harmonies on the record. We enjoy them both, really.

FP: Steve Earle is just the latest experience on a long resume for the both of you. How does playing with him compare to others in terms of the level of musicianship and exposure?

CM: Wow, that’s a pretty wide swing. The level of musicianship versus the level of exposure—that’s almost like art and commerce all wrapped into one. As far as the general experience? Well, I think it’s difficult to compare any bands. I feel like I’ve been really blessed to play with some really cool musicians over the years. And they all have their good points and their low points. I think the Steve gig is really hard to compare to anything else, because Eleanor and I get to do it together. For the better part of our relationship, we spend it apart, out on different people’s buses. It hasn’t been until this gig that we’ve been able to do that. You mentioned exposure—we get to open the show. And that’s not something any band leader owes us. That’s Steve’s generosity. We have a cool gig with a guy we like and we get to open the shows. We’ve both played with a lot of great artists, but Steve has really made the deal pretty sweet for us.

EW: I would say so. I mean, I guess I’ve had a lot interesting gigs with my strings background, [playing] with Regina Spektor or Diana Ross, really technical gigs that you have to learn a certain part. There’s a lot of freedom in Steve’s gig to add what we add, and then to be featured as well. I’d have to rank that pretty high, because no other boss of mine has given us a platform together.

"I could write a song that sounds like a Big Star-style pop tune, and then there might be a fill on it and it gets called country. I think there’s such a wide swing of what we do. I don’t think it’s limited to the geographical location. What you hear from The Mastersons is a result of being a bit nomadic."

FP: How has moving away from the Southwest impacted your music? Obviously, there are a lot of what you might call “alt-country” acts in New York, where you live now. Does it seem odd to leave the geographic region that spawned the music you play?

EW: Yeah. It does seem odd. I think we both grew up listening to and playing a strong tradition of Southern music. And Chris, especially, with the blues. There are a lot of great musicians up here in New York, but I think it is a bit removed from that tradition.

CM: I tend to learn something wherever I am. Again, multiple listeners come up with different interpretations of what it is that we do. Some people say it’s power-pop or Britpop or “Crowded House meets Buddy Miller.” I feel like I’ve learned something everywhere I’ve lived. We could hang out in London and that would add to whatever it is that we do. We’re just honest about it. We’ve never tried to force this band in one direction or another. I could write a song that sounds like a Big Star-style pop tune, and then there might be a fill on it and it gets called country. I think there’s such a wide swing of what we do. I don’t think it’s limited to the geographical location. What you hear from The Mastersons is a result of being a bit nomadic.

FP: You’ve played Athens with Steve and as The Mastersons. What’s your impression of the town?

CM: As a music fan, it’s hard to ignore. I’ve played there with Son Volt and Steve. Eleanor has played with Will Hoge. Aside from playing shows, I haven’t spent a ton of time there, but I played the [Georgia] Theatre pre- and post-fire.

EW: Not to mention the bands that have come out of Athens…

CM: With [New West] having an office there, we’ve obviously spent a little time there. It’s a great scene and a cool community.

EW: It reminds me of Austin a few decades ago.

FP: You’re playing the 40 Watt this time around. Having played in a lot of venues, do you feel like you’ve getting the tour of town by playing so many different places?

CM: You know what? I’ve never played the 40 Watt, so I’m pretty excited. But we like playing anywhere where there’s people listening. It’s hard to argue [against] playing in a room like the Theatre or the 40 Watt, a room that’s been around with that much soul on the walls and the floorboards and stage. It gives you pause to stop and think about all the gigs that have gone down there. So, we’re looking forward to it.