For anyone whose ever been a slave to cubicle culture, singer / songwriter Owen Sartori can relate. In fact, he's written an entire album loosely focused on this commonly shared experience and thankfully, his self-deprecating humor translated well into melodic verse.

As Sartori himself says, his music is for the "legions of under-paid, over-educated pop music lovers of generations X, Y and whatever's in between."

Sartori is a Minneapolis man, but is a part of Milwaukee's Burst Records family and has played the annual Midwest Acoustic Music Festival in Elkhart Lake. His song "The Cube" was the opening track for OnMilwaukee.com's 2006's compilation, OMCD_02.0.

We caught up with him to chat about his new record, the release of which he's celebrating this Saturday, Aug. 2 at Shank Hall with special guests Revolush. Show starts at 9 p.m. and is $6 at the door.

OnMilwaukee.com: Your new album, "Another Beautiful Day in the CUBE," comes out this weekend. Can you tell me about this cube reference that you've been working with for the past couple of years?

Owen Sartori: As an artist, I can't think of any work environment more soul-sucking than the cubicle. And at the time I was writing most of the material for this record I was in that very situation. In fact, what ended up being the title track for the record was literally written on work time, in my cubicle. Luckily, I'm no longer in that situation.

OMC: The new album includes some older material -- from your EP and from your work with ABCD. Why did you want to revisit these songs?

OS: Frankly, I don't think many of those tunes were ever given a fair shake. They were good songs that needed professional production and a producer's touch, so when Daniel at Burst approached me about doing the record it just seemed like the natural thing to do. Then again, the original plan with Burst Records was to sign ABCD, not Owen Sartori. They just honored the deal when I dissolved the band and we went from there with the same songs we'd planned on originally.

OMC: Do the songs have the same meaning for you now (I'm thinking specifically of "Turning 30") now that time has passed? Or, is that irrelevant?

OS: Wow...I was hoping to hide the fact that "Turning 30" was an "old song," but I guess the gig is up, huh? In all seriousness, yes, many of the songs have new meaning for me, but I'd hope most listeners and friends would probably be happy that I'm not in those places anymore. The next record, once we decide to get back in the studio, will surely paint a different portrait for my listeners. In the meantime, I still get a rush from playing these songs, and my crowd can still relate to them -- especially the 29-31 year olds, right?

OMC: Why the decision to work with session musicians rather than a steady band?

OS: I actually didn't have a steady band when I recorded "The Cube," and when the opportunity to work with some of the best session cats in the industry came up, I jumped at the chance. I do have a steady band now, and clearly when the next record is worked through, they'll play a larger role. Then again, if I have other opportunities to have more of my studio-heroes perform on the record, I'll not likely pass on them.

OMC: Has making music under your own name, rather than a part of your former outfit, A Band Called Delicious, changed the process for you at all?

OS: That's a tough one. In some ways it has. I've always been the songwriter in the group, but anyone with an ounce of humility knows that you can't always have the best ideas for your own song, and when you have a band you trust to bring in fresh ideas, it's truly the best way to go. Nevertheless, I'm in much more of a leadership role than I was before, both creatively and financially. I guess it's one of those risk / reward situations. I'm taking the risk, so we'll see about the reward.