Steve Poltz is a larger-than-life singer/songwriter, storyteller and entertainer who has been asserting his rugged independence and carrying out his unique personal vision for nearly 3 decades. He has seen accolades come and go in the music industry as a founding member of the San Diego 90's indie-rock-folk-punk band The Rugburns who developed a cult following, as well as achieving huge commercial success for his 1996 worldwide smash hit "You Were Meant For Me" which he co-wrote with Jewel. But Poltz has never been one to let current trends alter his quirky and sometimes crass, as well as heartfelt and honest song writing style as a solo artist, slow down his proliferation of songs, records, videos, blogging or touring, or dissuade him to relentlessly travel the world on his own terms, quietly and steadily accumulating a loyal base of raving fans and friends far and wide. And did I mention he's one of my favorites?
In this in-depth and intimate conversation, Poltz shares many insights he has developed on the music industry over the years, thoughts on social media and connecting with an audience, reveals some anecdotes about times when he took his performance sense of humor perhaps a bit too far, and describes his experience of having a stroke on stage and how that indirectly led him to a new-found appreciation of the music of The Grateful Dead. Please Enjoy!
BONUS CLIP: For the Dead Head listeners there are a few extra minutes of bonus audio I omitted for this episode of us dorking out more on The Dead and the meaning of some of Robert Hunter's lyrics you can listen to by clicking here!