Danny Michel, Waterloo-born singer-songwriter, is a pleasant, funny and charming conversationalist - until the subject turns to religion.

“I'm just concerned that all these pieces of literature with conflicting guides are doing more harm than good,” Michel said, speaking on the phone from his Waterloo home. “It's really hard to talk about; religion's a conversation stopper... and I think it's all pretty much lunacy.”

His writing reflects this: “You quote chapter and verse/And how your God got here first /In a stem cell petrie dish /There's a Darwin bumper fish” he sings on If God's On Your Side, from 2008's Feather Fur and Fin. It's one of many fan favourites probably heard at the London Music Club this past Friday the 18th - a song that criticizes religion, specifically religious conflict.

“The problem with religion is that you're supposed to just… respect someone's beliefs, but I think when beliefs [get into] the hands of people who have nuclear weapons… I don't have to respect anything.”

Admittedly, that's about as controversial as Michel gets, and this Ron Sexsmith/Elliott Smith-esque folk singer, TV and film composer, producer, CBC radio host and 2009 Home County Folk Festival performer, even agrees his music is adult-friendly.

“I try to border the line of having that song that the parent would think it's great but the 20-year-old kid still thinks is cool, too. You come to my shows and every age group is there.”

Much of Michel's success has come from combining traditional folk elements with pop music's tendency toward big productions. Horns, keyboards, guitars, drums, banjo, harmonica and percussion pepper Michel's most popular tunes like White Lightning and Feather Fur and Fin. But with an ever-changing group of backing musicians, translating those complex arrangements to the stage is a challenge.

“You turn around and say ‘Okay, how the hell am I going to make this work live?'”

Alternatively, capturing the energy of Michel's live performance in-studio can be just as difficult. “The goal for me is to… make the record sound a little more towards what I sound like live, which is more simple, and get those two worlds a little closer to each other.”

Tapping into his production side, Michel has discovered recording techniques to keep that continuity.

“Everybody who plays guitar and sings, sings better when they're playing in the studio. So that's a new rule for me. I don't record any vocals unless I'm playing the guitar at the same time. You sing differently, and it's what you do, so why not do what you do?”

And while recording in this fashion yields less-than-perfect results, Michel's not worried about mis-strummed notes or a falter of the voice. It's the performance that matters, which is why comparisons to legendary Canadian performer Neil Young are not uncommon.

In fact, earlier this year, Michel was asked to perform at Massey Hall for a Neil Young tribute concert alongside other acclaimed artists like Cowboy Junkies, Colin James and Stephen Page (with whom he later shared a stage at the Edmonton Folk Festival, singing Michael Jackson's Billie Jean).

Michel's drum machine-imbued performance of Young's classic Helpless, Helpless, Helpless received rave reviews for its ingenuity and beautiful execution. It's no surprise, given his history with cover songs.

In 2006, he released Loving the Alien, an entire album of David Bowie covers. But it wasn't until a few years later he and friend Emm Gryner (who shares a Bowie connection, as one of his former touring players) became hosts of the CBC radio show, Under the Covers.

Making the transition from stage to radio booth wasn't easy for Michel.

“I'd never done it before and you're just sitting in a room with a microphone… and then there's a producer and an engineer there. There's all these people,” he explained. “When I'm on stage alone, it's just me, so I know what's coming. I know what I'm going to say [and] I know how I'm going to set it up for this or that. That's easy. But I found the other way hard.”

And while he has enjoyed working for the CBC, Michel's affinity for the stage will keep him busy for the time being, as he plays a few dates in Southern Ontario before shipping off to Europe.

Danny Michel played at the London Music Club Friday September 18.