It was 8:58 a.m. and I found myself in a closed office dialing the personal number of Jim Messina of Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and Loggins and Messina fame. Needless to say, I was nervous.

By the third ring, it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks — what if Messina’s publicist meant 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time? After all, he was at his home in California.

“Hello?” said a voice on the other end of the line.

“Hi, Mr. Messina?” I said optimistically.

“Speaking.”

“Hi, this is Joseph Charpentier with the Boothbay Register in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.”

“Oh, okay. Can you give me your name again, dude?”

“Joseph Charpentier.”

“What can I do for you?”

“Your publicist scheduled an interview?”

“Okay. Was that for this morning?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Well, let’s do it!”

When Messina was 18, he went to Hollywood to get into the music industry. Instead of finding work as a performer, he found an opportunity to work in music production. When the company went out of business a short time later, he took an apprenticeship with someone he had previously hired, and Messina learned the skill of music engineering.

After working as an engineer on Buffalo Springfield’s second album, Messina returned to music production for the group’s third and final album which he also performed on as a bass guitar player.

“It was music engineering that got me the opportunity to play bass. And it was the bass that got me into the band,” said Messina. “It was the music and being a part of the whole creation of it that was exciting and inspirational. It’s remained that way in my life because of all of those skills … It’s a way of life, which I enjoy, and I’m inspired by that.”

And Messina does not consider his music to be pigeonholed like many of his contemporaries were.

“When I was in Poco, it gave me the opportunity as a producer and as an artist to explore those avenues which have always been a part of me. Once I started working with Kenny (Loggins) … it was a great opportunity to explore a more diverse catalog (and) the critics never really criticized me for being diverse which I deeply appreciate. That’s pretty much one of the reasons why today I can come to Boothbay and do a variety of material from Buffalo Springfield to Poco to Loggins and Messina and, of course, my own solo material — most of which, I think, has withstood the test of time.”

“What brings you to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, specifically, as part of your tour?” I asked him.

“Well, the opportunity came up to go to Maine and it’s been many years since we’ve been in that area,” said Messina. “I said, ‘You know, this could be fun.’ We’re excited about coming.”

When asked about his favorite music nowadays versus from when he was a kid, Messina explained he does not really listen to contemporary musicians so much as styles of music.

“It’s a good question,” Messina said, groaning. “It’s a tough one … Some of the groups that came along, that Ry Cooder brought to life, was (from) the Buena Vista Social Club. I was so inspired by that, the recording that he did and bringing these Cuban musicians to light. It was an awesome experience.”

He added that Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton and Leon Russell are also among some of his all-time favorites.

But ultimately, “That’s a big question at six o’clock in the morning for me,” Messina said.

There it was — 6 a.m. If he had brought that up when he picked up the phone, I might have died, but now I was getting a little more comfortable. So I asked him what his favorite song of his was. In that answer, I got a partial setlist — which probably isn’t exactly a secret — but I will let it be an element of surprise anyhow.

However, he did tell me one song he will not do — “Same Old Wine.”

“I was doing “Same Old Wine” for a while before the election, but ...” Messina sighed, “I got tired of politics, so I took it out of the set. I perform it every four years anyway, so it’s a good time to let it go.”

I asked Jim what he would consider his best, most fulfilling year as a songwriter, but he could only say there were moments in each. In Buffalo Springfield, it was the ability to produce music and to take what the band could do in the studio and piece them together for a successful album. In Loggins and Messina, it was finding all-around commercial success, whereas in Poco, it was less the commercial success and more the selling out of venue after venue and concentrating on performance.

“The fans that I had back in Springfield, then Poco, then Loggins and Messina, and then, eventually, my solo career have given me the desire and inspiration to continue and do my music,” he added. “It’s the songs I wrote many years ago that continue to have an effect on people to want to hear it. As long as they want to hear it and they enjoy it, I’ll keep doing it.”

But according to Messina, the music scene is a struggle nowadays. “I’ve been up and down at least three times in my life and on the road that I’m on right now, I find it difficult — even as a known artist — to get the support I need from the industry to help move myself along. But I’m not alone in this. I stay in touch with a number of people in our business, high up the ladder, and they’re having difficulty selling the artists that are currently huge.”

He said artists now have to explore the avenues of self-promotion, due to the digital sharing and streaming age of music. “Some young people will never have the opportunity that we had in the middle 1960s when FM radio was just starting to become a music-oriented format … It’s tough. It’s tough to sell material.”

That is why Messina is no longer in the market for CDs. He started telling me about his All Access Music Card, a credit card-like thumb drive upon which he released his latest album “‘Live’ at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts.” Besides the professional quality recording of the concert, the thumb drive has allowed him to provide a video of the encore, lyrics, artwork, setlist, guitar tuning sheets and the layout of seating.

As our interview was coming to an end, I promised him I only had a short couple of questions left for him. I asked what his favorite part is when teaching his performance retreat for improving artists.

“The best part is watching somebody come in who is vulnerable and lacks the confidence that they need to be successful as a performing songwriter and then have them perform the last night and watch them exude that confidence and the fear associated with performing — then get a loud applause. Seeing the joy and relief on their faces is always wonderful for me.”

“What is one thing about you that you don’t mind sharing that nobody knows?” I asked.

“As much as I love music and as much as it is a way of life for me, the other side is, I enjoy being home,” he said, chuckling. “And being in my wood shop, or welding, or being on the tractor fixing roads and building fences. I enjoy being creative in other ways than just in music … But we’re really looking forward to coming up and performing and seeing your part of the world. Just make sure it doesn’t rain or snow?”

Messina will play at the Opera House in Boothbay Harbor on Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. Performing with him is his band: George Hawkins on bass guitar; Craig Thomas, woodwind/sax; Gary Oleyar violin/guitar, and Dave Beyer, drums. Tickets will be $35 at the door.