‘Unmistakable’ ambition

Each EP bears the name “Unmistakable’’ along with a subtitle: Love, Drive, and Inspiration. The romance-tinged “Love’’ was released in April, and the attitude-driven “Drive,’’ and anthemic ballad-heavy “Inspiration’’ will follow later this year. In addition to the EPs, Messina is already at work on a new album, writing a memoir, and hosting a wacky, twice-weekly live podcast on her website dubbed “Make Something of It,’’ in which she does everything from answer fan questions, post military tributes, and crack jokes. We chatted with the always chipper redhead, who plays Indian Ranch today, by phone from Nashville earlier this week.

Q. Was the trilogy of EPs concept yours or the record label’s?

A. That was a group concept [laughs]. It took [Curb Records] six years to get ready to do anything with a new record and by the time they were ready I had cut 24 songs. And it seemed so wasteful for us to release an album with 10 songs on it and let 14 songs never be heard by the fans who have been waiting forever for a record. So me and my management went into the label and said, “Why don’t we just do three shorter albums with 8 sides on them and that way people will get to hear most of the material we cut.’’

Q. Where did the idea of the “Make Something of It’’ podcast come from?

A. It’s just a way for me to spend an hour of mindless fun with the fans. We have topics that they get to call in on like, “What happened to the socks in the laundry?’’ It’s an hour to escape your crazy day. We don’t take anything too seriously and it’s my way of keeping in touch with the fans. To let them know they’re being heard. I started doing it in April and they wouldn’t let me stop [laughs].

Q. So have you caught the bug? Are you considering a second career in radio or TV?

A. Actually we’re in talks with people about something like that [laughs]. I can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen next. Every day is so exciting!

Q. So is this a longtime dream to be a talk-show host?

A. No. And I don’t know if it would actually be a talk show in the sense of “Ellen’’ or “Oprah,’’ but something just fun and goofy and interactive with the fans.

Q. You recently went on a tour of more intimate venues where you also interacted more closely with the audience. What did you learn from that?

A. I learned that it was a very successful show and we’re going to continue to do it [laughs]. We do it during the slower times in the year. It’s an affordable ticket. It’s me acoustically and it was what spawned the whole podcast thing. It started out as a “storytellers’’ series and it ended up being about the fans and not me and the songs and why I recorded them. It became about why they liked a certain song and what it meant to them. They request songs and we perform them, we don’t have a set list when we walk out.

Q. You mentioned you were working on a memoir. When you look back on moving to Nashville at 19 without knowing a soul do you think, “Man I was gutsy’’?

A. No, I think, “Man, I was naive’’! [laughs]. The fact that I was naive really paid off because people could think it was [gutsy] but in all honesty I just didn’t know any better. I want to be that naive again! But you know what? It’s never too late to start over, you’re never too far gone. I believe that.

Q. Are there any of the more recent class of country artists that you’re enjoying?

A. I love Carrie Underwood. She sings her ever-loving butt off and she can pull it off live. You hear a lot of people these days, you might like their records, but you wonder who’s singing on them when you see them live [laughs]. Carrie is not that, she’s phenomenal. And Lady Antebellum, same thing.

Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com.