“I’ve been runnin’/ And I’ve been racin’/ So many different towns/ So many different places.” These words begin “Home,” a heartwarming track from G. Love’s newest album, Fixin’ to Die, a collection of stripped-down, folk-blues tunes produced by the Avett Brothers. After 20 years of touring both solo and with his backing band, Special Sauce, G. Love – born Garrett Dutton – is no stranger to traveling. 

“I’ve written a lot of songs about that,” said the perpetually-chill Philadelphian. “Songs about either going home or leaving home, being on the road or missing people you’re away from. There are a lot of lonely nights where you’re missing your girl or your kid or you’re missing, you know, your dog or your family. Even though you’re living this dream life out here that you spent your whole childhood dreaming about, it’s not always glamorous. Sometimes it’s not even nice!”

He laughed, “At the end of the day, it’s the shows that keep you going.”

G. Love, who will be playing the Majestic Theatre Saturday, began his career as a street musician in Philadelphia and has spent two decades crafting a truly original genre, the “hip-hop blues.” The sound of G. Love & Special Sauce is as summery as the sounds of birds chirping, kids running through sprinklers or that frustrated neighbor trying to get the lawnmower to work. Hip hop-blues is the soul food of music, and G. Love is the cook attending to the grill.

“There’s nothing that makes me happier than sitting outside in the park or on the porch or by the beach or in the woods or anywhere, even on a corner in the city – playing my guitar in the sunshine,” he said. “It’s a pretty great feeling, you know? That’s where I’m writing a lot of the tunes.”

The infectious, easygoing vibes G. Love injects into his songs are not at all downplayed when talking to the man. He ended nearly every statement with some sort of laughter. During our interview, he was out on a walk, which he said would turn into a run as soon as the interview was over. He kindly shared his philosophies on traveling, the powers of music, practice, the songwriting process and life – among others. 

When I asked him about the upcoming election, he told me, “I just cast my absentee ballot. I walked through a hurricane with my 11-year-old and delivered my ballot. I felt really great about that. I felt great about showing him that. I can’t stress enough that whoever you’re voting for and whatever you believe in, voting – especially during a presidential election – is really your most important right as a citizen of our country. And it really is easy.”

Despite his natural laid-back persona, G. Love said he feels what makes months of touring truly bearable are the shows. 

“When you’re connecting [with the audience], when you know you have people in the palm of your hand and you’re guiding them to a euphoric place that the music is driving you to – that’s just a beautiful thing.”

“I just try to keep the music a perpetual force of positivity,” he said.

G. Love wrote a mantra, he explained, that he reads before every show – laying out how he wants to feel onstage and what he wants to accomplish at every show. 

“It’s a nice long list and I read it to myself before I go onstage,” he said. “Really, you go out there and you get naked. You go out and show your ass, show everybody who you are – through and through.” 

He promised “going out and showing his ass” is not in his mantra.

The band will be touring through March, and it expects another album to be out by late summer or fall 2013. 

“Whereas Fixin’ to Die was more stripped down, we’re gonna go back to what people know and love about Special Sauce, which is the hip-hop blues,” he said. 

G. Love also has an acoustic song, produced by his buddy Jack Johnson, coming out soon on vinyl.

I asked him what we can expect from Saturday’s show at the Majestic. 

“We’re gonna go out and show our asses!” he laughed. “Honestly, Madison – and I’m not just saying this – has always been a strong place to play. It’s always been a great time. It’s always a happening crowd. It’s a party town in Madison. People love life there, love music. Man, we always have a great time, so let’s keep it going.”

The trio’s set will focus on its most-loved songs as well as some cuts from the new album, all sprinkled with bluesy improvisation. G. explained, “When you get out on the road and people are paying their hard-earned money to see you, you always gotta play the shit that people know ’cause people take you home, they play you in the car, at the dinner table, at the barbecue. You know, you’re a part of their life. We wanna give them the things they know and they like.”

What a cool guy.