Former San Diego-based humorous folk singer Steve Poltz has been a huge hit at the annual Folk Alliance Gatherings, SXSW and countless festivals as he can put smiles on folks faces like few others. A friend once said, “How can someone be that happy?” in describing Poltz. The wave of popularity kept growing to the point that it seemed inevitable Poltz would move to the music mecca of Nashville. Friends had been urging him to do that for years. Finally it happened. He and his girlfriend moved to Music City where Poltz already had many contacts, and a fervent desire to work with multi-instrumentalist and producer Will Kimbrough, thus giving us Poltz’s Red House Records debut with SHINE ON.
Poltz, a Canadian by birth, has been in San Diego since 1980, but despite some kicking and screaming, settled easily into Nashville, and especially into a working relationship with Kimbrough. “I respect Will so much, and I’d always wanted to work with him,” says Steve. “Like two mad scientists, we just took our time and had fun {a pre-requisite with Poltz, no matter what the setting}. We didn’t overthink things. Everything felt organic. We ate soul food and drank lots of really good coffee. We tried out some weird sounds, and the songs always started with voice and guitar – no click tracks, just how I’d play them. I road tested many of them, and they were ripe for the picking when recording time came around.” Joining Poltz (guitar, vocals) and Kimbrough (all other guitars, bass and weird sounds) was Kimbrough’s fellow Red Dirt Boy drummer, Bryan Owings.
The album begins slowly, defying conventional wisdom as Poltz is prone to do, with the title track, setting the tone for an album that aims for positivity and light in these troubled times. He wrote it originally as a poem and his vocal over a lap steel, acoustic guitar and those “weird sounds” using a spoken word approach. His patented humor comes in “Pharmacist,” a tale of this dude having a crush on his pharmacist. It’s also an extension of his friendship with neighbor Scot Sax (the co-writer) – with whom he shares the podcast “One Hit Neighbors,” (since they’ve both had one hit song).
Poltz wrote two songs with Molly Tuttle, “4th of July” (written on the third of July) and the wordplay of “Over the Top for You” – “There’s a snake in the/Middle of the road/Do I swerve to miss?/ I can’t shake this/Feeling that I hold/There’s poison in your kiss.” The tune “Ballin’ On Wednesday draws its title and chorus from a diner checkout girl (with a super cool gold tooth) that Steve paid with a $100 bill and she replied, “ooh, ballin’ on a Wednesday.”
Other highlights include the conversation between two windows in “Windows from Halifax” and the prototypical Poltz tune “The Pickup Song” with lyrics like these – “Girl If I don’t pick up/It’s cause I’m in my pickup/and I’m on the way to pick up /Somebody else/My heart is always achin’ for love/You’re always takin’/And I think it’s time you pick up yourself/I’m gonna love somebody else.”
Poltz was a co-writer on Jewel’s multiplatinum hit “You Were Meant for Me,” had 12 solo records, and even a stroke in 2016 didn’t faze him. He still did about 280 shows that year. He’s a unique songwriter, an indefatigable spirit, and the kind of voice we could use more of. That spirit carries forth in closing tune, “All Things Shine.” As he says, “I hope SHINE ON makes listeners smile and feel welcome, and they want to share it with their friends. Music means energy to me. All things. It connects us, makes us move, helps us relax, and inspires us to change things up.”
It’s best to share in Poltz’s good vibes by attending a show. You’ll leave smiling. In the meantime, this will have a similar effect.
