On his latest single, New York singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw croons, “I don’t want to be anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately.”

If I were him, I wouldn’t want to be anything else either.

Since making his debut at the 2003 Grammys as the newest discovery of music mogul Clive Davis (the man who introduced the world to Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen and, most recently, Alicia Keys), DeGraw has been setting hearts aflutter with his radio-ready blue-eyed soul. He’s all the rage, a modern-day piano man with fans of Stevie Wonder and John Mayer alike screaming his name and, more often than not, chucking their underwear up on the stage.

DeGraw’s debut effort, Chariot, has already gone gold on the strength of two singles, “I Don’t Want To Be” and “Follow Through.” In July, the album was re-released as Chariot “Stripped,” complete with raw, live acoustic remakes of Chariot and some bonus goodies thrown in for good measure, including a heartfelt version of Sam Cooke’s “Change is Gonna Come.”

This month, DeGraw is returning to Central Pa. for a special Christmas show at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster. The Fly caught up with him a few weeks ago to discuss the re-released album, the pressure of being Clive Davis’ next big thing and why he’s always wearing those weird hats.

Fly: The last time you were here, you ended up doing a little impromptu performance on a piano in a burrito shop in Lancaster.

Gavin DeGraw: Yeah, that was cool.

F: This time around you’re touring in support of Chariot “Stripped.” What prompted you to re-release the album?

GD: Basically, I knew I would be touring with this record for a while, and I wanted to do something to continue the interest of the original fans that I had. The way to do that would be to basically re-record the album in a different setting so they could have something else to look forward to.

F: The original version just went gold – do you feel like you’re able to kind of wrap your head around everything that’s happened over the past year?

GD: Not really. I’m so busy. I don’t really take a step back too often to see what’s going on.

F: At some point you will, and you’re going to be like, “What just happened?”

GD: Maybe. [laughs] Maybe I’ll look back 90 years later and be like, “Damn!”

F: Did you ever imagine that you’d be working at this level?

GD: I never pictured the work element. To me, all I ever want to do is play, and nothing else ever crossed my mind concerning a career. Just playing. Only the execution of the songs.

F: Your press kit is, like, two inches thick with articles and interviews. What do you make of all the attention you’re getting now?

GD: I don’t know what to make of it, man. I guess I’m happy that I’m getting the attention. Otherwise, I’d just be playing in a local bar in front of my family members, and I’m sure they’d get sick of that in no time.

F: Is it a scary thing trying to live up the expectations of being Clive Davis’ “next big thing?”

GD: Sure. When people put that sort of pressure on you, you’re worried that people won’t want to receive you. Maybe they don’t want to have you thrown at them in that way. It can be a little bit scary. So I try not to have any actual expectations for myself for any level of success or failure. I think it’s important not to worry about that too much, because even if I was the next big thing, there would be another next big thing soon.

F: After Clive Davis introduced Alicia Keys, she came out and sold about a billion albums. For you, it seems like things are more of a nice, slow burn.

GD: Yeah, exactly. The slow build does seem to be the more legitimate way to go about things. I may never get my own action figure, but at least I think what I’m doing is really legitimate musically.

F: An action figure would be pretty rad, though.

GD: It would be excellent!

F: So how do you respond to the whole “teen heartthrob” thing?

GD: Why? Who’s a teen heartthrob?

F: You! Every photo caption is like, “Cutie-pie Gavin DeGraw watches as girls throw their underpants on the stage.”

GD: That’s funny. We get underwear every now and again, yeah. I guess it’s cool. It’s nice to be cheered for. That’s part of the fun, I guess, is having people excited about seeing you and signing autographs and getting to meet fans and things like that. So yeah, it is pretty cool. But I’ve never considered myself any kind of heartthrob. It sounds painful.

F: You don’t seem to be one for cultivating an image for yourself.

GD: No, man. I mean, I cut my hair with a pocketknife.

F: Does that explain all of the hats?

GD: [laughs] Yeah, that would explain it.

F: Are you thinking about the next album yet?

GD: Oh yeah. I’ve written so much material already. I’m like a junkie for writing. I’m basically ready to do it at any moment. It’s just a matter of, we still haven’t gotten all the legs off of this record. I’m sure we’re gonna have another single. We’ll have to work this album as long as we can before I can put another group of material out there.

F: You’ve always gotten a lot of comparisons to Billy Joel and Elton John. Do you think those are still good points of reference for the music you’re writing now?

GD: What I’m moving towards is a little bit more rock than those guys. I really consider myself a piano player who just so happens to be a guy who’s really passionate for guitar music. So yeah, I play the piano for most of the show, but I like rock and roll.

F: So beyond riding out this album, what are some of your goals at this point?

GD: Mainly, I think it’s really important to continue cultivating the live fan base. Those are the people who love you enough to show up. They spend money they don’t have because they want to be entertained by you. It’s important, I think, for the artist to focus on those people, because those people are going to make it fly, and that’s your street cred. Those people really matter.

F: Alright, Gavin, I think that should do it.

GD: Sorry I sound so tired, man. I apologize.

F: They didn’t rip you out of bed for this, did they?

GD: Always. [laughs]

F: Well, thanks for being a trooper, man.

GD: Thank you, bro.