With an $80 Stella guitar and a penchant for ancient musical history, Oh Susanna, born Suzie Ungerleider, was on her way to conquering the world.

Thing is, she had some laundry to do first.

Which is what she was doing when I caught up with her in her Toronto apartment.

"I've done about 100 shows straight and I have to hit the road tomorrow. I'm a little road-weary, f--- yeah." Susanna swears over the line, but the way cute girls do between puffs on their cigarettes. Her manner is relaxed and though she considers herself driven, there remains a certain chaos about her life.

She's a niche country singer, keeping mainly - though not entirely, by any means - to a style that belongs to another generation. She's moved on lately, via a new album that features the work of Wilco's Bob Egan, to what comparatively seems more produced, though only to your fan who came from Alabama with a banjo on his knee. Actual Alabama listeners would find her quaint and strange, though they may find something they like here.

Ungerleider started out as a library clerk in Vancouver who, like so many, had talents beyond her tragic retail life. She recorded a demo, mostly for her friends, but the word spread and suddenly, like I said, she was on the road to world domination, with the help of an enthusiastic L.A. DJ who thought she was more than OK. It is a long road, of course, covered with sharp rocks and spiders.

Despite the odds, she put out her self-titled, seven-song Oh Susanna, thus giving herself a public persona. This year saw another record, Johnstown.

"There are times when you have to run away from what you have to do, and times when you have to work - you can't figure it out."

Egan added his own touches to Susanna's latest, all the while living on her couch. "He's kind of a freak," says the singer with a laugh. "But I'm a good boss. For other people, anyway."

Reception to the CD has been just fine.

"One guy came up to me at a gig and grabbed me, saying, 'Your second album - are you f---ing crazy? Your first album was garbage compared to it!' I was like, 'Um, thanks.'

"People only care if they like it, they don't care about anything else. Once you set a pattern it's bound to happen. You do something new or change the way you do things in a way they didn't want you to."

Johnstown features some comic art, so I ask her if she's a comic buff. "I appreciate their art but I'm too lazy to read them. The album was written from the standpoint of dime-store novels and I used the comic frame, but I'm not someone you could call a comic nerd, no."

Canadian cartoon novelist Chester Brown showed up at one of her gigs recently. "The guy brought a bunch of stuff with him and was reading the whole time. Very strange thing to do at a music show."

So no comics at her Wednesday night Sidetrack show. But feel free to offer to wash her clothes. After all, you have to look good when you rule the world.