Friday, March 16   10:00 p.m.
Molotov Lounge   (719 W 6th St)

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He trick-or-treated at Liberace's house, was Bob Hope's favorite altar boy, and as a young lad once had the unique experience of meeting Elvis Presley at the Palm Springs airport and watching The King hug his older sister for perhaps a bit too long. By themselves, these are fascinating and perhaps alarming claims to fame, but this person also co-wrote the longest-running song on the Billboard Top 100, had a debut solo album that earned three and a half stars in Rolling Stone, and was awarded the title of “San Diego’s Most Influential Artist of the Decade.” Who IS this man? Only one of the most engaging, twisted, and prolific songwriters of our time - Steve Poltz.

The Canadian-born Poltz, a classically trained guitarist in his youth, took a post-graduate job in San Diego selling pipe nipples. As he moved pipe nipples through the stream of commerce, Poltz was writing and performing music on the side as an escape from the dreariness of chasing the bottom line. As horrifying as it may be to consider that a pipe nipple industry exists, it is perhaps more horrifying to realize that you are in the wrong place, and Poltz soon realized that he fit into the 9-to-5 world like a big foot in a small mitten. So he decided to roll the cosmic dice and strike out as a full-time musician. While most people enter the working world as a lengthy stopover on the way to retirement, for Poltz the working world was little more than a Denver omelet at the
beginning of a long road trip.

Now, you know a guy who tinkles on the promises of 401ks and stock options is worth watching, and Poltz has not disappointed. Busking through Europe and playing in San Diego coffee shops, Poltz already had a body of work consisting of hundreds of songs. Looking to shake things up, he decided to inject his vision with musical steroids and formed The Rugburns, the now-legendary San Diego sensation known and loved worldwide for their catchy blend of punk, folk, and straight out rock. With a touring schedule that saw the band on the road for well-over 300 days a year touring behind three albums, they blew the roofs (or “rooves,” as Poltz likes to say) off of clubs with songs that described the kind of themes we can all relate to- lost love, football, cannibalism, and deer on acid. You read that right - football.

Yet a curious thing happened along the rock and roll highway- while the Rugburns were unleashing explosive rock anthems at night, during the day Poltz found himself writing more and more songs about love in all its sweet, candy-like glory. What do you do with that? What happens when you’re in this wildly popular band rocking out month after month in clubs and festivals, and you find yourself coming out with these gorgeous, heartbreaking little love songs? You have at it. And have at it he did. This is where we get “The Jewel Thing” out of the way. Poltz is the very same balladeer who, while playing an acoustic set in a San Diego coffee house, beckoned a certain plucky and then-unknown Alaskan waitress named Jewel to, come up on stage with me and sing a song. She turned out to be the chocolate that collided with his peanut butter, and they began a long run as songwriting collaborators. It was on a beach in Mexico that the two of them sat over a guitar and wrote “You Were Meant For Me,” then assisted in a drug bust that was going down which involved the Federales arming them with AK-47s and requiring their assistance in the removal of the contraband (an event which is notably absent from Ms. Kilcher’s biography). As referenced earlier, that song ambled its way on to becoming the longest running song on the Billboard Top 100. Soon thereafter, Poltz checked his creative clock and realized that it was time to do his own thing.

With a worldwide fan base and a catalogue of now thousands of songs (new ones often appear in Poltz’s blog on http://poltz.com, the latest being "I Feel Bad for Pluto"), it was in short order that Poltz landed a deal with Mercury Records, for whom he recorded his solo debut, “One Left Shoe.” Rolling Stone gave it high marks for its clever lyrics and contagious melodies, and the single “Silver Lining” saw considerable national airplay. After “One Left Shoe,” he realized that he was again on a traditional path toward fame as a singer-songwriter. Horrified with these safe and sensible choices, he split with Mercury and formed his own label (98 Pounder Records). Drinking deeply from the heady cup of power that is owning a record label, Poltz marked the occasion by releasing “Answering Machine,” an album consisting entirely of 56 songs that had been recorded as his outgoing voicemail message, each song being 45 seconds long. Neil Young liked it. Ask him yourself. Poltz then returned to earth and released the critically acclaimed “Chinese Vacation,” which received rave reviews from critics and fans worldwide. With “Chinese Vacation,” he had found his spiritual fault line, where his heart and his unique musical style could smash up against each other and support Titanic-sized emotions on top of delicate, shimmering melodies. Which brings us to the present, and if you don’t see this next part coming, you haven’t been paying attention. With his own label and a musical legacy laying out a clear path forward, Poltz has again decided to zag rather than zig, and for his next album he has signed on with Blind Ambition Management, home of the Blind Boys of Alabama and longtime blues legend Charlie Musselwhite. It is not unreasonable to now ask how a guy like Poltz ends up with management like Blind Ambition, who are vegan-like in their choosiness as to whom they will represent. But think about it- this guy’s music has been covered by a gaggle of artists stretching from Jewel to Mojo Nixon to Glenn Tillbrook. It all makes perfect sense. After his 2006 South by Southwest showcase, Blind Ambition gave Poltz a drug test (which he passed) and decided to forge a relationship with him as he prepares for his next solo album, scheduled for release in early 2007. With Billy Harvey (“Chinese Vacation”) returning as producer, the new CD is already causing considerable anticipation among fans and critics alike.

Steve Poltz stands tall among the great American songwriters of our day. So keep your grapes peeled for the new album, and be sure to set some time aside for your own private listening party. This album is guaranteed to be the soundtrack to your spring.