When a New Orleans show fell through last year, Memphis-based musician Cory Branan played an unusual, last-minute house show in Baton Rouge.”I looked over the fence into the neighbor’s yard and saw like six dogs passed out on each other,” Branan said.Some of his fans liked his music so much they fed their dogs Benadryl wrapped in pieces of cheese to keep them from barking all night.”That’s awful sweet and a little bit psychotic — and probably illegal,” Branan said with a chuckle. “I’ll take that, I guess.”Branan won’t have to deal with barking dogs this year, as he will be playing a double-headliner show at Chelsea’s tonight with Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights.Branan has been praised by publications from Playboy to Blender, but the Memphis-based singer/songwriter hasn’t let his success get to his head.He talks like he sings, in a slow, deliberate drawl with plenty of humor and a hint of sarcasm.”[Branan] is, in my opinion, one of the best singer-songwriters, of my generation,” said Jonathan Tillman, one of Branan’s fans. “He has a very distinct way of telling a story — sometimes sad, sometimes very quirky and funny.”Branan didn’t start writing songs until he was 25 and heard country-folk singer/songwriter John Prine for the first time. He was impressed by the work of Prine, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. Like his idols, a lot of his songs deal with women, love and loss.”I take a lot of time with my writing,” Branan said. “I don’t like to put filler out there.”Branan hasn’t signed a new label deal since recording his 2006 release “12 Songs” but plans to record a new record in San Francisco in March and April with a tentative release for late summer.”I’ve got the next two albums in my head down to the track order,” Branan said. “It just takes so long to get an album out there.”Branan said he enjoys touring and playing in the South.”Aesthetics don’t matter as much in the South,” Branan said. “In some places, it’s more about the container than the content.”Currently, Branan is playing a short run of gigs in Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee and Louisiana, including shows at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and the Folk Alliance in Memphis, Tenn.”I dig traveling. It’s just been me and a van for the past six years,” Branan said. “It’s just a luxury seeing the country.”Branan said he does miss his girl while on the road, but meeting good, genuine people while on tour makes up for it.”I got a futon in half the major cities,” Branan said. “There are a lot of nice folks out there.”Brian Mann, Branan’s booking agent, said they have neglected Baton Rouge in the past few years.”We are hoping to change that with this show and a subsequent show to follow when Cory puts out his next record,” Mann said in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille.Mann said he thinks Branan’s music is growing in Baton Rouge, and now that he is living in Austin, it will be easier for him to play shows here.The show starts at 10 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the door.—–Contact Jack LeBlanc at [email protected]