Ask people about the ultra-prolific Steve Poltz, and one word keeps coming up: insane. It comes in several shades of meaning: “brilliant,” “creative” and, well, “clinically nuts.” One record-store clerk spoke about Poltz as though he were an undiscovered musical Van Gogh; another shrugged and said, “He’s good, but I don’t get it.” Looking at his career accomplishments, this public schizophrenia about Poltz makes sense. His co-write with Jewel, “You Were Meant for Me,” is the longest-running single in the history of the Billboard charts. Poltz once released an entire album of 45-second phone messages that drew critical raves; even Neil Young has been quoted as saying he loved it. He was once leader of beloved San Diego punk band the Rugburns, who were virtually a cult and once voted San Diego’s Artist of the Decade. Like many highly creative people, Poltz is all over the place; be that as it may, his new album Traveling is a super-smart power-pop gem, an album that should endear itself to all kinds of personalities, sane or insane
This article appears in Feb 7-13, 2008.