“We see you. And we have nets.” Blitzen Trapper will hunt for new listeners at the Monolith Music Festival on Sept. 13.

The following Q&A is part of an occasional series of news, interviews and videos in advance of the Monolith Music Festival, Sept. 13-14 at Red Rocks.

Portland, Ore. act Blitzen Trapper spent several years toiling in various capacities, crafting songs in the studio before finally seeing some substantial success with the release of “Wild Mountain Nation� in 2007.

A band that mashes together a wide range of influences from Pavement and Bob Dylan to King Tubby and Outkast, Blitzen Trapper is still getting used to the touring life. We spoke to the band’s primary songwriter Eric Earley about their signing to Sub Pop, their new album, and how he puts together his songs.

Are you working on new material right now?

Yeah. We have a new record that’s done that’s coming out in September.

Is it much like “Wild Mountain Nation”?

No. It’s kind of different actually. It’s not as lo-fi. I think it has more songwriting and less… “Wild Mountain Nation” was a lot about the sound and production, and this is more about the songwriting.

More so than a lot of other bands, you guys actually sound like you have this huge hodgepodge of influences trying to rear their heads, and I wondered how you manage to compact so much together?

I don’t know — I don’t think it’s necessarily conscious. When I’m writing songs I’m trying to make something that seems familiar but that I haven’t really heard before.

How was signing to Sub Pop after self-releasing your music? Is it a relief to finally be on a label?

It is. They’re really nice and helpful. (It) made it so we could work on stuff more and with more focus. They’re a big help. Mostly we don’t have to worry about putting a record out because it’s a lot of work and expensive.

In writing your songs are they made in the studio as opposed to worked out in a practice space? I got that vibe from some interviews you did, but wasn’t sure.

Yeah, it kind of depends on the song. A lot of the times we’ll sort of arrange it while we’re recording and then learn and work it out live later, and it’ll change live. There’s a difference between our live show and our recording.

I’ve also read that you do most of the songwriting, so I wondered how the input of the rest of the guys affects the final product of your songs.

(With) the recording, a lot of time I’ll be working on those (songs) for a while and we’ll listen together and they’ll have input. I’ll record them and it’ll be a long process of changing things. And live, we’ll put together whatever a suitable arrangement is.

Did touring America inspire the song and album “Wild Mountain Nation�? Do you feel like you see a lot of America when you go out to play, and do you enjoy what you see and experience?

Well, we’d never really toured when we made “Wild Mountain Nation.� We’d just sort of been playing shows and hanging around Portland. I think the new record is influenced by touring. Touring is actually very hard on you and hard on your body and you see a lot of different things. You see the way American cities operate, the ways Americans live, and the country is different in tangible ways because you’re in a different city every night for six days. You get to see a country in a strangely intimate way even when you’re touring, even though you’re really anonymous when you’re performing. Touring is a really specific way to see and meet people, especially when you do a bunch like we did this past year.

I understand you come from a pretty musical family. What kinds of things do they have to say about Blitzen Trapper? Your dad was a bluegrass musician, right?

Well, he’s been dead for a while now. My mom likes it a lot. She likes “Wild Mountain Nation” the best of anything I’ve recorded so far. My one sister who I do talk to she likes it…

Blitzen Trapper plays Sept. 13 at the Monolith Music Festival.