Heatseeker Brett Dennen just can't get enough of the road. The West Coast singer-songwriter has unveiled plans for a three-month headlining tour for early 2009. Perhaps it's a reaction to all those years he never left home: prior to attending UC Santa Cruz, Dennen was homeschooled.

"I spent a lot of time drawing, painting, and being creative," Dennen tells Spinner. "Though I may not have been a songwriter at a young age, I believe my homeschooling gave me enough time to explore my creative side."

They raised him well. In addition to his cathartic, often uplifting lyrics, Dennen has used his increasing popularity to rally behind the issues he believes in. During a sold-out show in San Francisco last week, Dennen balanced enthusiasm for a new president with regret that California's Prop 8 passed. "We can do better than that," he told the audience.

Meanwhile, Dennen is an active board member for the Mosaic Project, a children's program aimed at creating bonds between children that come from starkly different backgrounds. And he still champions his own Love Speaks, a separate branch of his artist website devoted to non-profits and community organizations.

"I think every songwriter needs to recognize that the songs they write take people to a place outside the limits of the tangible world," Dennen says. "I find it necessary to challenge peoples' perception, get them to think about things and promote a positive message."

'Atta boy, Dennen! You may not have had any classmates to sign your yearbooks, but did any of them get to film a video with Mandy Moore?