Lady-in-Waiting

Jann Browne may not have released anything new since “Count Me In”--which was one of the strongest albums of 1994--but that doesn’t mean she’s been sitting still.

Along with touring (primarily in Europe, where “Count Me In” first was released), she has been working on songs for a new album, collaborating with band member Matt Barnes, longtime associate Pat Gallagher and her stepson Jake Stebner. Now, she says, she has a barrelful of new material--two albums’ worth, she estimates--”just itching to get out.”

Her home-county fans get to hear it tonight when the Laguna Niguel resident makes a rare local appearance at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano.

After a pair of relatively mainstream country releases (Browne, an Indiana native who was once a member of Asleep at the Wheel), “Count Me In” was “really my first album as a songwriter, and most people didn’t know me in that sense,” she noted during a recent interview. “It was either gonna fly or it wasn’t. It was so liberating!”

She responded to the challenge by stretching the boundaries of her music--a process that continues. Her influences now range from Nanci Griffith to Son Volt. Asked what “style” her new songs might be called, she laughed. “I wish I knew!”

“I honestly don’t know anymore. I’ve decided to leave that up to the public. A lot of what I do is country-influenced and roots-oriented. I think if there’s anything that’s really changed about my music, it’s more about my thinking, as opposed to the music itself.

“It’s a freer and more open style from a songwriter’s perspective. Maybe it’s not so commercial, but who knows? Maybe it is. Commercial standards seem so different from person to person now.

“To me, there aren’t as many rules in music as people try to make there be,” she added.

One intense, acoustic-based new number, “The Cry,” co-written with Gallagher, is about an innocent prisoner being electrocuted. She describes “Everytime,” written with husband Roger Stebner and stepson Jake, as “an angry love song that shows an alternative, experimental side of me.” And then there’s “Party Girl,” which she wrote Monday and which simply is intended to be whimsical and fun.

“I do need the freedom to write what I feel [without having] someone tell me that the song won’t fly without a particular instrument or a redundant chorus,” she said. “I think I’ve matured now to the point where I’m confident and comfortable mixing things up, like more thoughtful ballads with both rootsy and harder, modern-sounding rockers.”

One of the edgy rockers she plans to play tonight--”The Lonesome Mile,” which features feedback-laden guitar riffs from Barnes--is one of her most personal songs as well.

“It’s very close to me because it’s sort of about what I’ve been through. But you’ll have to do some reading between the lines.”

After releasing her first two albums for a major label, Browne seemed happy to cut “Count Me In” for an independent label that allowed her greater freedom. (The only thing she was told after signing, she says, was “ ‘Just put you on the album, and make sure it sounds like you.’ ”)

Now, though--and “this is the first time I’ve ever said this--I am hoping to have a large label behind me [again]. At this point, I know who I am musically. I’m ready to roll on a larger scale. It’s time.”

* Jann Browne, Gina Quartaro and the Kari Gaffney Band play tonight at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 8 p.m. $10. (714) 496-8930.