Phillips recorded the new "Secrets" EP--which is currently available only through online download services, Phillips' website, or at one of the upcoming tour stops--with input from musician and friend John Askew; the two spent five days last November holed up in a recording studio, writing the EPs tunes, recording them, and--most importantly--coming up with a theme and title for the disc.

"We spent the first day completely stuck, and then I asked John what he was currently interested in," Phillips said in a statement. "He said, 'Private Space travel.' I had been reading articles recently about the X Prize, Robert Bigelow and the birth of the age of space tourism and thought it sounded like a great idea."

Phillips, who has released three solo albums, including 2006's "Mr. Lemons," spent 13 years as the main singer/songwriter for Toad the Wet Sprocket, which chalked up the Top 40 singles "All I Want," "Walk on the Ocean" and "Fall Down," and the platinum albums "Fear" and "Dulcinea." The band, which originally called it quits in 1998, reunited briefly for US tours in both 2002 and 2006.

More recently, Phillips formed a folk-rock supergroup, tentatively called The Scrolls, featuring Nickel Creek's Sean Watkins (guitar) and Sara Watkins (fiddle), along with pianist Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), fiddler Luke Bulla, multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz, drummer Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello & The Attractions) and bassist Davey Faragher (Imposters, Cracker). The group is working on a debut album and shooting for a release date this fall, according to a press release.