Still groggy from a transatlantic flight, Swell Season singer Glen Hansard quickly perks up when asked about how his group, which recorded the music for the indie film Once, pulled a major upset when it took down Disney's Enchanted to win the Oscar for Best Original Song earlier this year.

"Um, well, I guess for us the big surprise was November when we got short-listed to play the Oscars," he says via phone from Los Angeles. "We were shocked. From then on, we knew we were going to play and had to ask ourselves, "What is the Academy Awards and what does it mean in terms of the world?' We decided it was a good thing to do in terms of playing our song in front of millions of people. Winning it wasn't what we were aiming for. Just the way the world is, it didn't seem to us like we would take it. It's over now and it was fantastic."

Not only did Swell Season take home the trophy, but it also got an extra minute at the podium when host Jon Stewart called Hansard's other half, classically trained Czech singer Marketa Irglova, back to the stage so she could say a few words after she'd been prematurely cut off. It was an unprecedented moment that the soft-spoken Irglova handled quite gracefully.

"We were so nervous, we didn't even notice she had been cut off," Hansard explains. "We decided that if for some reason we end up there, she should just say something and I'll say thank you. I don't remember what I said. Marketa leaned forward to speak and the music came up. Jon Stewart then said he needed us back onstage. Okay, so we figured she was going back on while the adverts were on. She went back and didn't realize it was broadcast on TV."

Hansard admits the duo, which performed the somber song "Falling Slowly," tried to evoke that moment when the late Elliott Smith, appearing fragile and weary, performed his Oscar-nominated song "Miss Misery" on the awards show a decade ago.

"When you're in it, you have to lend yourself to it," says Hansard, while discussing how the song's length was cut down. "You have to do it and not be a spoilsport. We just enjoyed it."

That success has finally found Hansard after years of toiling in obscurity is a remarkable story. After taking to the Dublin streets to busk as a 13 year old, Hansard formed a rock band called the Frames some 18 years ago. Shortly after getting the band together and securing a major label deal, he got a part in The Commitments, Alan Parker's film about an Irish rock band that tries to introduce soul music to the people of Dublin. The fallout from that film was much different from that of Once, in which both he and Irglova star as street musicians struggling to get by.

"Well, the aftermath of Once has been incredibly positive," Hansard says. "Even if people don't like it, I can defend it. I feel artistically connected to it. With The Commitments, I felt like an actor. I remember going to myself, "It has nothing to do with me.' I rejected the experience a bit more then. It was a great launching pad and I rejected that. All I did was show up. It's not like I did anything. I think it's more important to feel ownership."

Hansard refers to the Frames' short brush with major-label fame as "the right key in the wrong lock," and it wasn't long before the group had to rethink its approach.

"I didn't know what I wanted," Hansard admits. "It's taken me a long time to realize what direction I'm most comfortable moving in. I had to have a much more realistic relationship with who sells our records. As a kid, you want to be biggest, fastest, loudest. Boxers and musicians are the two most ripped-off people. It's simply because they are so anxious and just want to get in the ring and fight."

Hansard ended up connecting with Howard Greynolds, a Clevelander living in Chicago, and found a home for the Frames on Greynolds' fledgling Overcoat Records. The band went to Chicago and recorded 2001's For the Birds, the album that would become its breakthrough, with famed producer Steve Albini (Bush, Nirvana, PJ Harvey).

"That was the part where we turned around and wanted to do it in our own way," Hansard says. "I was happy for what it did for us and continues to do for us. Howard put that record out and we more or less based ourselves in Chicago and went to Cleveland and played a few gigs then. We even played a rockabilly festival at the Beachland and though we didn't fit on the bill, it was great."

Upon the completion of the band's current tour, Hansard, who says he's written a handful of new songs with Irglova, isn't sure if he'll resume work with the Frames.

"The Frames' future will depend on my future," he says. "Right now, there's a whole lot of work for me and Marketa. We're going to do it until the end of this year. And then, I'm going to put a pause on it because I need to rest. We're coming on three years since Once was finished. I'm happy with it. The Academy Awards was a full stop. It was where everything ended. You've won a crazy award and now calm down. After this, I don't want anything more related to Once. This is our victory lap. I want to calm down and see how we feel. We'll probably make another record. I'd like to get back to our band and how life was before."

And yet, Hansard can't help but feel somewhat vindicated that after all these years, he's finally got some kind of success.

"That's a strange thing," he says. "Life has an odd narrative. There's something about how Once came together and the way things just happened. It feels like a force from outside. It feels like another force was at play. You're kicking your ball your whole career and hoping it will clear the wall. Something happened and it went over to the next town. It's a bit odd. Part of me wants my ball back. When you're in a position of struggle, there's a sense of purpose in that. Success takes a few months to get your head back into battle gear. As much as I love the victory lap, I love winning the people over, too. Once will bring people to the table. Our talent will show or fail and we'll see if they come back next time."

Swell Season, Damien Dempsey: 8 p.m. Sunday, May 11 at Allen Theatre, 1511 Euclid Ave., 216.241.6000. Tickets: $30-$35.