There's a song from the early ‘90s that still gets played in pubs around Canada today called “Home for a Rest.”It's a celtic-rock tune about drinking too much for too long and needing a place to rest your head. Subject matter relatable to most college students.

So, it's fitting that the writer of that song, John Mann a.k.a. Mister Mann, is performing in London right before St. Patrick's Day, perhaps the biggest spotlight of the song's success. He has a new solo album, December Looms, and on his way in, I spoke to him briefly over the phone.

However, one must be warned that most of Mann's songs (either solo, or with the band Spirit of the West) are not Irish drinking songs. In fact, his new album is a stripped down acoustic folk album: inspired, he says, by the recordings of contemporary artists like Bright Eyes and The Decemberists.

“I have two kids, an 18-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, and one of the great things about that is they're constantly bringing in new music into our house and our car, and they have completely different tastes, so it's been great,” Mann said. “It introduces me to so much new music... it's very inspiring.”

That's not to say that his music doesn't have edge, though. In fact, Spirit of the West inadvertently had a song banned from the radio with “If Venice is Sinking”.

“[The song] contained the word ‘erection'. That's about the closest thing we ever had to having a major hit, and it was on CHUM FM and things were going really well, then people started phoning up and saying ‘Oh my god! I can't have my kids hearing the word erection!'” Mann laughed. “We were just ahead of our time, because it wasn't long after that when ‘motherfucker' was being used everywhere!”

And though they have had few hits since, Spirit of the West's fans are still some of the most devoted in Canada - so much so the band have never had to resort to southern audiences.

“We watched a lot of other bands like 54-40 beat the pan out just trying to make it in the States, and it just didn't happen for them, and that's the Canadian story for a lot of bands,” Mann said. “Spirit of the West has been together for 25 years and I'm thrilled with what we've accomplished, and the really deep and important friendships that we have.”

But Mann has never relied solely on his music skills to make a living, either. Along with touring and writing, he acts on stage and in TV/film as well. Coming up in April, he will be a part of the Stanley Theatre's production of Les Miserables, and in the past, Mann has been a character-actor on shows from “Smallville” to “Battlestar Galactica,” acting alongside everyone from Kristen Bell to Matthew Fox of “Lost.”

But before flying back for the next acting season, Mann is doing a string of solo concerts from Southern Ontario to Quebec. They're taking place in more intimate atmospheres, too, which he actually prefers.

“I feel like when I'm playing solo, I connect way more than I do with a band in many ways, because it's my rhythm. And when I do solo shows, I tell a lot of personal stories... It's not about the lights, or the big sound or the big effects on the voice and instruments.”

And while most students will be back home for reading week when Mister Mann plays London this time, those unfamiliar with his poignant brand of folk-pop might just want to check out December Looms, available online and through Maple Music.