If Two Cow Garage frontman Micah Schnabel never owns a fancy car to park in his garage, it wouldn’t really bother him.

His roots rock quartet has been dutifully working the club circuit since first forming in Bucyrus, Ohio (north of Columbus) in the days after 9/11, but graduating to the bigger stages has been slow going. Discussing Two Cow’s catchy 2008 single, “Brass Ring,” Schnabel told the Spokesman Review that “it’s about not needing that brass ring to make the realization that I am OK with being a mid-level rock band that’s always going to be striving for more.”

The band has always done well in St. Louis, though, which is not surprising given their Uncle Tupelo-like sound. There are also shades of Arcade Fire and bucketfuls John Mellencamp on their latest album, last year’s Speaking In Cursive.

I caught up with the scratchy-voiced Schnabel a few days ago.

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RC: Is there someone who made you want to do music full-time?

MS: There are a bunch now, but at the time, Sean Beal. After hearing his music, it struck me that I wanted to start writing songs. He grew up in the same town that I did and he was signed to Polydor for a time.

RC: What have you learned about the industry you didn’t know going in?

MS: I’ve learned all kinds of stuff, most of it kind of brutal, though. A lot of it has been about record deals and learning how things actually happen. When you’re young, you think you’ll make record and you’ll be all over the radio. Then you learn how things work. Our latest album is partially about recognizing the level you’re at and working to get bigger, but also being happy with what you’re doing.

RC: Do you write while touring?

MS: We have to, we’re on the road a lot. Shane (Sweeney, vocals and bass) and I bring ideas to the table, then the band turns them into Two Cow Garage songs. We put them into the machine and see what comes out the other end.

RC: Has your singing voice always been raspy?

MS: Yeah, it comes out of necessity and has progressively gotten worse over the years. I’m not a natural singer. It took me a long time even to stay on key. I don’t really know how to do it, so I just try to get what I can out of myself.

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Two Cow Garage with Austin Lucas and Mike Hale

9 pm Wed., Off Broadway, $10

www.twocowgarage.com

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