The Dry County Crooks play music for the common man, the workin' stiff who puts in his eight hours each day and then likes to unwind at a favorite local watering hole with a nice, cold beverage.

Crooks singer-songwriter Vinny D. knows this. He sees it every time his Portland-based band plays in Oregon City. Or Talent. Or Zig Zag.

Or, y'know, Bend, where the Crooks will play Saturday (see "If you go").

"We do OK in Seattle, but 45 minutes out of Seattle in a logging town, we'll do great," he said in a telephone interview Monday. "It's basically blue-collar, and it's a lot more intimate and a lot more sincere out there."

In fact, Vinny D. and his mates play infrequently in their hometown, which is better known for its indie-rock scene than the kind of country-punk rock the Crooks do so well.

"Portland is really clique-y," Vinny said. "We don't really fit in with the rockabilly scene, although we can play with rockabilly bands. And we can play with country bands, and we can play with punk bands.

"We're kind of somewhere in between, for better or for worse."

Listen to the Crooks' new album, "When Hearts Break," and you'll agree it's for better. Stocked with 13 cuts of twangy barroom rock 'n' roll, the record reflects the continuing evolution of Vinny D.'s songwriting from punk to old-school country to a slightly more reserved rockabilly feel.

Vinny calls the blend "revved-up old-school Johnny Cash."

Prior to the Crooks' formation a half-dozen years ago, Vinny and guitarist Paul Becker were in a punk rock band called Grease Gutter that "wasn't going anywhere," according to Vinny. At the same time, he was becoming disillusioned with pop music.

"I just really couldn't stand what was on the radio at the time, and I started listening to a lot of old-school country AM (radio) channels," Vinny said. "I just came to the realization that that's more of the direction that I wanted to go, so I started writing country songs and blending in the punk influences."

Lyrically, he didn't have to change much for his new band. Pay close attention to the themes of many punk and country songs, and you'll hear why.

"I think they kind of go hand in hand in a sense," he said. "I typically just stick with what comes natural, perhaps the sadder part of things. You know: heartbreak, hard times, money situations, addiction, stuff like that."

The Crooks aren't exactly living one way and singing about another, either. All four guys in the band work day jobs; Vinny is a small-engine mechanic, Becker is a handyman, bassist Johnny B. works in a print shop and drummer Cheo Larcombe is a drum instructor.

Plus, Vinny's daughter stays with him every other weekend, so when the band does head out to play the small towns, it does so when everyone's schedules allow.

"We stay plenty busy during the week, so we just try to get in four or five shows a month," Vinny said. "We try to go as far as we can go between Friday at 6 o'clock and Sunday at midnight."

Spoken like a true working man.