Biography
Digital Press Kit (click to download)
AGENT: BOB WILSON
Telephone: 1-819-685-9871
Mobile: 1-416-886-6894
Email: bob@thewilsonagency.ca
tour dates
Steve Poltz is impossible to pin down. Canadian born and based in Southern California, he is one of America's most gifted and prolific songwriters, Steve Poltz evades genres more adeptly than Michael Moore evades salads.
With thousands of songs under his belt, and a lifetime on the road beneath his feet, Steve Poltz has tasted every ripe and swollen fruit available to a world-class musician. He is, for instance, the only songwriter to write songs with Mojo Nixon and Jewel (the latter became the longest running song in the history of the Billboard Top 100). And that's far from the only plume in his fedora. Poltz has also released a series of solo albums that have garnered him worldwide acclaim, with songs prominently featured in movies such as Notting Hill and television shows like Dawson's Creek, to name a couple.
Lest you think Poltz is just another golden-voiced honey dripper, belting out ballads for tender make out moments, think again. This is the SAME Steve Poltz who pioneered punk-folk music as the front man for The Rugburns, the San Diego-based band whose repertoire boasts a thunderous collection of fist-pumping anthems about cannibalism, football, and the peaks and valleys of the Epicurean life. It is significant to note that Poltz has also released an album called Answering Machine, consisting entirely of 45-second songs that he recorded for his outgoing answering machine message. And this album is so good that people all over the world order copies faster than they can be printed. In fact, Neil Young himself has remarked that he counts this among his favorite albums.
With a lifetime of experiences that span both decades and continents, Poltz has finally sat down to look back and to make sense of it all. Life is not one long adrenaline rush, and it is between the loudest moments that we pause to consider the struggles and hardships that have forged our spirit. And in these quiet interludes, armed with little more than an acoustic guitar and a seat by a window, Poltz has cultivated his reminiscences into a heartbreakingly gorgeous collection of songs for his new album, “Traveling.”
With Traveling, Poltz has drifted from the manic, irreverent form that has marked previous efforts and instead created a soundscape of sweet, delicate songs that carry emotions so raw that listeners will relate on an immediate and personal level. As only he can do, Steve manages to balance these hopelessly catchy arrangements with subject matter that unflinchingly examines the universal themes of lost love, a lifetime of travel, and the wisdom born from these experiences. This album is the perfect companion to a rainy weekend morning or a warm summer evening, with its soothing blend of guitar, strings, and Steve's inimitably warm and smoky voice.
"Hater's Union" is an achingly pretty gem that couches anguished, confessional lyrics within beautiful string-tinged melodies that create such powerful emotions that the listener feels as if it is their own heart being broken. The vocals are so rich and so deep that the song takes on a vivid intensity, as if you are immersed in a late night conversation with an old friend. "Rains" is contagiously punchy, even as Steve describes the hopeless feeling of trying to escape the memory of a lost lover while staring out on a rainy day. "Brief History of My Life," a massive favorite at live shows, is vintage Poltz. The song showcases his considerable prowess as both a storyteller and a songwriter, as he takes the listener through a sometimes melancholic, sometimes hilarious walk through his early years, all the way through to the present day. Finally, "Street Fighter's Face" is an explosive rocker that cuts across all politics and nails the sense of both pride and despair felt by the first person narrator, a young marine coming to grips with the realities of war.
Traveling is ultimately an album of hope, with melodies that are exquisite in their simplicity. Recorded through 2007, the album additionally features the renowned string quartet Tosca, whose arrangements create a distinct aural tapestry behind Steve's fluid acoustic patterns. Song for song, Poltz delivers his finest work to date, firmly establishing himself as one of the most accomplished songwriters of our time. In addition to the 11 songs on Traveling, Steve recorded 11 additional tracks that will be included on a separate album called Unraveling, which will be available exclusively at his live shows.