Out of the Old West . . .

Just a few short years ago, it was a handful of third-wave ska acts that brought national attention to Orange County. More recently, rap-rock and alt-rock have been all the rage, with home-grown acts such as Zebrahead, Dial-7, U.S. Crush and Lefty inking major label deals.

Who knows what the next craze will bring?

Don’t ask Fletcher Harrington, a decidedly low-key singer-songwriter-guitarist who moved here from Mississippi in 1994. Unconcerned with what’s currently hot in the pop marketplace, he makes music that is literary-minded and timeless.

It’s also difficult to define exactly what kind of music it is.

Under the moniker of Cowboy Buddha, which plays Friday night at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana, Harrington has crafted a unique sound and style, one far too varied to merely be labeled “alt-country,” the band’s most common reference point. Sure, it’s rootsy, there’s some twang, and with his thin, lonesome-sounding voice, Harrington could be a first cousin to Son Volt’s Jay Farrar.

Harrington, 31, prefers painting with broader strokes, drawing from a deep well of rock, punk, pop, country and folk influences, including the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Lou Reed, the Minutemen, Husker Du, R.E.M., Uncle Tupelo, Richard Buckner and Robbie Fulks.

Although now residing in Tustin, Harrington has forever been fascinated by the rich landscape of the Old West. He’s smitten with its beauty and danger. Song titles like “Trains, Small Towns and Broken Hearts,” “Texas Panhandle Road Song” and “Oklahoma Shotgun Bath” reflect the imagination and pathos that define Harrington’s character-driven songs.

He empathizes with the downtrodden, those folks who--in spite of their misfortune--possess the ability to persevere. This sentiment is eloquently expressed in “Rochelle”: “For ours is the hope of the desperate, the lonely and the lost/But together, we’ll find something beyond this morning frost.”

Harrington finds songwriting fodder in books and movies, citing John Ford westerns and authors William Faulkner, James Joyce and Kurt Vonnegut as key sources of inspiration. With a father in the military, Harrington grew up moving around a lot, acquiring a wealth of life experiences in such diverse locales as Mississippi, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Maine and England.

“Almost all of the songs I write are about something that’s happened to me--or that I’ve seen happen,” Harrington said last week during an interview on the patio of a Costa Mesa coffeehouse. “I used to love to get in the car and drive . . . just take the little back roads all around. I’d also sit on the front porch and look out at the woods or prairie--or whatever happened to be in front of me.”

“I try to keep the subject matter fresh and interesting--but not too obscure or metaphorical. I used to be in the [Bob] Dylan/R.E.M. school, where you don’t repeat anything . . . even the choruses all had different words. But people would tell me, ‘Those songs are good, but you need something that’ll stick in people’s heads.’ ”

After the release of several EPs, a cassette and last year’s 15-track compilation CD, “Guns Ammo Bait Film Gifts Snacks Maps,” the brand new “Cement Pond”--a title inspired by the “Beverly Hillbillies”--is Cowboy Buddha’s most fully realized effort.

The eclectic material, which enriches rather than overwhelms, ranges from melodic pop-rock (“Hold Your Horses”) to tender love songs (“Sweet Blue Smile”) to imagery-driven tales of loneliness (“Reno Desert”) and the real-life suicide of a relative (“Kiss the Tracks.”)

Even though his sound is hard to classify and perhaps an acquired taste, Harrington hopes to expand his fan base. The band has a strong Internet presence. There’s also fan and industry interest abroad. Harrington has received numerous e-mails from supporters in Europe, and with Cowboy Buddha garnering radio airplay there, Fletcher was invited to perform in Holland by organizers of the Zevenbergen International Music Festival.

A bit closer to home, Cowboy Buddha--whose members include Harrington, guitarist Gary Hollon, bassist Robb Forby and drummer Jim Schmerbauch--plays once or twice a month, mostly at the Galaxy or the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. In addition, Harrington and guitarist Brit Collins unplug away as a folk-based duo on the local coffeehouse circuit.

“It’s been hard to maintain a steady lineup because we’re playing a lot of original material,” said Harrington, who formed Cowboy Buddha in Costa Mesa five years ago with songwriter-guitarist Steve Frutos, who’s now a social worker living in San Jose.

“It’s just the nature of the beast, I guess. People stick with you for awhile, but then they move on.”

Harrington, who works part-time as a chef’s assistant, knows he could make a more lucrative in another line of work--or by making more commercial music--that is, tunes with hit potential. Only he’s unwilling to do so.

“I do have diverse musical tastes, some that might appeal more to the mainstream,” says Harrington. “I like classic rock, pop--even some electronica stuff, like what Moby is doing. But what I’m playing now is what lights me up. I’m in love with the whole western thing, old movies and country music--not the overproduced contemporary stuff, but the Willie, Hank and Merle kind. Music that sounds natural and honest, that isn’t perfect but has personality.”

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Robert Gordon, the Paladins, Cowboy Buddha and the Neurotones perform Friday at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $15-$17. (714) 957-0600. Also Saturday, 8 p.m. at Diedrich Coffee, 30065 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Niguel, (949) 363-2650; and July 28, 8 p.m. at Diedrich Coffee, 180 Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, (949) 497-7660.