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Steve Poltz (how's the water?)


A Conversation with Steve Poltz (continued)

PM: Tell us something about living in San Diego and the music scene there. Is that a good place to be?

SP: A creative place?

PM: Yeah. Is it a nice place to live? You've been there a long time, right?

SP: I love it, yeah, really love it.

PM: Wow. Is there much of a music scene going on there?

SP: In San Diego?

PM: Yeah.

SP: Mmm, a little bit. But what I love, I can love anywhere. It's really weird. Like that's why I like to travel. I can have fun in Toledo, Ohio.

PM: I'll bet.

SP: So it doesn't matter to me. Like I'll go see a Toledo Mud Hens game, or see whatever Triple A team or go to some pawnshop or thrift store. I like going into little diners and just talking to the waitresses, and hearing their regional accents that they use.

PM: [laughs]

SP: And I'm just really happy observing, and if I have a good book... San Diego is sort of where I ended up because it was like the movie Almost Famous, the Cameron Crowe film where the sister leaves her little brother all the records, that's what happened to me. But she went and got a job as a DJ at a college radio station. And I idolized my sister. So I said, "I'm going to go to San Diego." So that's how I ended up there. I think musically it's pretty good, but it's not like Austin or Nashville where they live for music. And politically it's kind of conservative. It's sort of mayonnaise-y in a lot of ways. But there's great Mexican food. Northern California is definitely more liberal and artsy. But San Diego is my home. I've lived there so long. I've stayed in the same apartment 18 years. It's just a tiny apartment on the beach. And I have a VW Euro van, and I don't really care about cars or material things.

PM: Right.

SP: And I said, "I have too many cars, and I want to get rid of them." I'm totally downsizing. I feel like the less keys you have on your key ring, then your headaches will go down in equal amounts as you're getting rid of your keys. So I've slowly gotten rid of a lot of my possessions, and I just want to travel. When I'm with somebody that has a nice car, I know that they get into cars and everything, it's like a foreign language to me.

PM: Yeah, cars don't mean much to me.

SP: Or a really nice house--none of that stuff matters. I have the same little apartment I've had for I think going on 19 years. And I won't move out until they make me move, because it's a safe haven to come home to. I'm really at home in airports and in hotels. I'm happy in airports. I can get my shoes shined, pick up a book, a magazine. I like watching people traveling going places, and just looking at them. And I love the excitement of where I'm going to land.

PM: That's unbelievable.

SP: Even just buying a magazine, talking to whoever is working behind the counter.

PM: I'd love to hear about what you wrote with Mojo Nixon. Do you remember?

SP: Yes. We wrote one for my answering machine message called "Steve Ain't Home, But He's All Alone." It's on a CD that I made that has 56 songs. And then he covered one of my songs that I wrote with a guy in Dash Riprock named Bill Davis. And the song that he covered was "I'm Going to UPS My Heart Next Day to You."

PM: [laughs] Ahh. You seem like the kind of guy who really has a lot of good friends. Is there anybody you'd like to tell us about today, or give a shout out to while we're on the phone?

SP: Yeah, Billy Harvey, the guy that produced my record. Go to his website, billyharveymusic.com.

PM: Great.

SP: He is amazing. His songs are so good and he's such a good person. And I love him. He's like a brother.

PM: And does he put out records?

SP: Yeah, he's got a bunch of records out. He produces all the time. But the songs he writes and sings are just so funky and weird and left of center, I love him.

PM: I like that management outfit you're with, Blind Ambition, that also handles Pieta Brown. Do you have a good thing going with them?

SP: Oh, yeah. They saw me play at South By Southwest two years ago, and I wanted them to manage me. They're really good, and they're not too big and not too small. And Charles [Driebe] is also an attorney--

PM: Oh, really?

SP: --and really, really looks out for me.

PM: Yeah. I met him at The Basement. He seemed like a really good dude.

SP: Oh, he is. And the team of people he has, I mean, he surrounds himself with really good people.

PM: I've been an email friend of Sue Schrader for some time. She seems like she's really got it together.

SP: Oh, she's the greatest. Talk about a Midwest girl.

PM: [laughs]

SP: She grew up in the music industry, worked for a bunch of different labels. Isn't she great?

PM: Yeah, she's really hot.

SP: Have you ever met her in person?

PM: No, never had the pleasure.

SP: She's blonde and she calls her other company Blonde Ambition, instead of Blind Ambition. She's just really sweet. I love her.

PM: Wow. And you definitely got a good thing going with Conqueroo [an L.A. publicity firm]. Cary Baker is definitely a man on the case.

SP: Oh! I'm so lucky that he's working my record, because he's really choosy. And he's really smart and funny.

PM: So how do you see the movie proceeding, Steve? I mean, script changes on the hour and just following your nose? Or is there a master plan?

SP: Charlie has got it organized as a master plan. I think that's why I instinctually went towards Blind Ambition Management so that they could maybe help lead me in the right direction without being too forceful, because I only do what I want to do, and I want it to have integrity. So we'll see what happens. But I love playing in people's living rooms, I love playing their houses, and I love playing clubs. I just want to travel and let it--I like the fact that it's all happening organically, and the people coming out in Australia are coming because they've seen me, or they're telling friends. I don't like to be forced upon the public.

And I think in today's day and age, more and more that's how it's being done. People are sick of stuff being shoved down their throat. And it doesn't matter if it is shoved down their throat, they're not going to buy it. Their bullshit detectors are popping up. And I think that we're returning back to real songs and real music. It's an exciting time to be an independent artist. I love what's happened in the music industry with the internet and everything. You just got to go with it, and not fight it. It's on a big wave, ride that thing and look for new and exciting ways to do things. Because anything can happen; but you've got to go out there and work. And a lot of people don't want to do that. They come up and they want to be stars overnight on American Idol or something. But me, I like earning it, because I don't want to have people come in just because of hype. I want them to see it and then go, "Oh, my God!" You'll always believe your friends. You know what I mean? People that you trust musically, saying, "Oh, you got to see this guy!" I love it. People always bring people in, and I've seen it build really organically.

PM: Wow.

SP: Because that's the way to build it. If you're in it for those reasons, to enjoy the ride and the journey, then all the rest is just window dressing. Whatever you get, accolades or money, none of that matters. I'm always going to be taken care of by the universe, because I've already been, right? Whatever that song I made up, that helped take care of me, but I don't even need it, because I play every night. And when I play, these songs that people hear, afterwards--some guy who's a club manager, he comes up and hands me a wad of cash for doing something I would do for free. And it's awesome. And I meet people. And then I wake up in the morning, I feel totally sated, because out of these songs that are created, somehow sent down to me, I'm getting paid to do it. Who could ask for more than that? It's like I get to do my life's work, and what else is there? What else am I going to do? So the rest of it, any rewards or anything that may happen, or fame, really, none of that matters. All I care about is I get to keep moving in constant motion and songs keep coming to me. Every night I have something new to play, that's what excites me. Like I did a song last night that was even newer than "Dreams" called, "These are Some Things You Should Fucking Know About Me."

PM: [laughs]

SP: And the audience was cracking up. And the song is really funny and really sad, which are my favorite kind of songs.

PM: Wow. Well, you are one unbelievable dude. And you're really our kind of guy. And you're the latest version of how the singer/songwriter should really be done. You've really got it together. Somebody ought to make a movie about you, Steve Poltz.

SP: [laughs] Maybe one day. You never know.

PM: I'm going to put that out into the universe. Somebody has got to make a fucking movie about Steve Poltz. The cat's unbelievable.

SP: Thank you, Frank. It was awesome talking to you. And tell Cary Baker that we connected so he knows.

PM: Absolutely. And Steve, I loved talking to you. You're really something.

SP: Ah, Frank, I can't wait to see you when I come to Nashville. We'll go get a burger at Rotier's.

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