Two Mouseketeers collaborate on getting Morris heard

Only his friends are people like Justin Timberlake.

Morris, like Timberlake a former Mouseketeer, recorded most of his new CD in Austin, Texas, with his new buddy, musician-producer Charlie Sexton. He wrote many of the lyrics with his partner, Sean, whom he married in California when same-sex marriage there was still legal. And he built an entire song around a track written by his friend and bandmate, Dave Preston.

Morris, 30, worked intensely with Timberlake, one of his oldest friends and the executive producer of his breakthrough record, “When Everything Breaks Open.’’

Co-writing much of Christina Aguilera’s “Stripped’’ helped, as did the song he wrote with Timberlake, “(Another Song) All Over Again,’’ for the megastar’s sophomore smash, “FutureSex/LoveSounds.’’

But the tipping point came several years ago in a Manhattan hookah bar.

“Justin had just done [“Saturday Night Live’’] for the first time, and we were catching up in New York,’’ Morris said. “We’ve written songs together, and he’d let me open for him in a couple cities. I remember playing ‘Eternity’ with an acoustic guitar in Cleveland to a crowd of a couple thousand of his screaming fans.

“But it was that night in New York when he said, ‘I think I’m gonna start a record label, and I think you should be on there. I want to help you get your music out to the world.’

“I didn’t know what it meant at the time. I don’t know that he knew what it meant. And while it’s been a four- or five-year process since then, we’re here right now, and it’s exciting.’’

Morris first found the spotlight as a member of “The Mickey Mouse Club’’ from 1991-95. He was all over TV and teen mags, and he put out a group record on Disney that corresponded with a national tour. The group, MMC, was a big deal. (YouTube videos prove Morris was quite the teen heartthrob.)

But Morris missed his home and his friends, and he came back to Colorado for high school. “When I got [to high school], my first observation was, Wow, these school days are so long. Our on-set tutoring was three to four hours a day. But then I met some great people and was in ‘South Pacific’ and ‘The King and I.’ I loved it.’’

Colorado is still home for Morris, who has such a large family that he jokingly estimates he’s related to one-32d of the entire city of Denver.

Morris’s music doesn’t fit neatly into a category. He obviously has a passion for soul music, and that comes through in songs such as the sunny, dub-influenced “Love.’’ “Don’t You Dare’’ comes off like a bold-and-funky shout-out to George Michael’s back catalog.

Indie rockers will appreciate the thoughtful chamber pop of “The Un-American,’’ while fans of chill-out artists Jack Johnson and Colbie Caillat will like the laid-back easy listening of “Money.’’

The CD was recorded with producer-musician Sexton, who plays regularly with Bob Dylan and has produced everyone from Lucinda Williams to Los Super Seven. Working with Sexton and Timberlake, who plays and sings on many tracks, helped create a unique entity.

“Charlie has a lot of experience in small rock and blues bars, and he brings that grit and earthiness - and a corresponding gentility - to his creative work,’’ Morris said. “Justin, because of who he is, brings the energy that makes you want to dance, and he instills that into whatever he’s working on - even a record that’s not a dance record.’’

“Eternity’’ is perhaps the greatest achievement, a slinky, elegant epic not unlike Rufus Wainwright’s works. It’s also an expressive, dramatic showcase for Morris’s greatest asset: his voice.