She burst onto the scene as a college student in Massachusetts in the late 80s as half of folk duo The Story. Twenty years later she might have calmed down on tour but Jonatha Brooke is still as vocal as ever. The Chronicle caught up with her ahead of her Bush Hall show to talk about touring, Woody Guthrie and being an independent artist in 2010.

When the Chronicle spoke to Jonatha Brooke she was in a snowy New York City, mentally packing her bags for a two-week tour of the UK. Fiercely independent, the tour is self-funded. "I've got some incredible musicians playing with me for the second half of the tour. I'd love to have them with me the whole time but it's not financially viable, which is sad. It makes such a difference have people you can trust, people who have got your back. You don't want to be touring with people who just want to score drugs or get laid – I've been doing this a long time now and I don't want to deal with all that," she laughed.

Her band will be joining her in time for her Shepherd's Bush stop off, and its members boast David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Suzanne Vega, Regina Spektor and Enrique Eglesias as past employers.

Since her split with Universal Records in the mid-90s she has stuck firmly with independent labels, and has even released some of her own records. Last year saw her join the judging panel on the Independent Music Awards, and she is an active campaigner for stricter copyright laws.

"I certainly don't think the internet had made it any easier for musicians," she said "There's so much noise on the internet now. The idea that it's helping artists is naïve – unless your music's very quirky or completely sensational, it just gets lost. Everybody's blogging, everybody's recording songs with their cousins.

"People are listening to more music than ever but it's becoming harder to make ends meet from it, because for all intents and purposes it's free."

It's not just record sales that are frustrating Jonatha's bank manager. She's prolific in the world of TV and film, having penned track for films including Disney's Return To Neverland and, most recently, the theme track for hit Fox TV series Dollhouse. "Part of that work is because I want to do it, and part is to make ends meet. But even this taking a dip, mostly because the younger, less savy artists are giving their music away because they think it's so important to get their music heard, at whatever cost. I used to get $20,000 for each placement in a show, now I'll be lucky to get $1,500."

But it's not all about scraping a living – she's still involved in some high-profile, exciting projects, including last year's The Works, an album of songs set to late folk legend Woody Guthrie's lyrics. His daughter Nora allowed Jonatha access to his vault of lyrics and the result is an album of previously unpublished Guthrie words set to her brand of Sheryl Crow/Suzanne Vega style folk rock. "It was a really cool project because it just sort of happened. In some ways I've bristled at being a folk artist but I've always thought of myself as more of a pop song writer. Musically I think I write complex songs, and to me folk's very simple and a little boring - it's about telling a story. So it was an odd pairing – me and this folk legend. I didn't have a great education about him – which was good because I didn't feel I was treading on anyone's toes.

"The one thing I've taken from it is the unrivalled energy of his writing. You can't be precious about things – if you have an idea, just write it all down. Don't worry if it's not going to be Beethoven's 9 th , just go with it, and you might get something great. He was all over the map - – he was crazy!"

When she's finished packing her bags and jumped on the plane, what is she looking forward to doing over her? "I've got roots in Glasgow – my great great grandparents emigrated from there to Toronto, and I've got a dream that I'll find details of their wedding in the town hall ledger! I'm also looking forward to just getting out there and playing to people in the UK. I've been writing a few new songs, and we're working on a cover song that I think might surprise people!"

Jonatha Brooke plays at Bush Hall, Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush on February 19. Tickets cost £12.50 from www.seetickets.com