Steve Poltz

Despite a productive 15-year career in the music industry, first as the frontman of San Diego indie rockers The Rugburns and most recently as a solo performer, Steve Poltz’s biggest claim to fame may ultimately be his co-writing credit on the ubiquitous and annoying 1996 Jewel mega-hit “You Were Meant for Me.” That would be unfortunate, because most of Poltz’s output bears little resemblance to the coffeehouse folk/pop of his gap-toothed ex-girlfriend. With The Rugburns, Poltz crafted off-the-wall indie rock with tongue-in-cheek lyrics on albums like Taking the World by Donkey and their debut, Morning Wood, which featured the semi-hit “Me and Eddie Vedder.” As a solo artist, Poltz’s work gravitates more toward the subtle, slice-of-life songs favored by Fountains of Wayne (Poltz’s slightly nasal delivery is also not unlike that of FoW frontman Chris Collingwood). Over the years, Poltz has been as prolific as he is quirky. In addition to his work with The Rugburns and his three “official” solo albums, Poltz has released a live album, a collection of non-LP tracks, a children’s album, a DVD, and even a 56-track album consisting solely of 45-second songs he recorded over the phone as outgoing messages on his answering machine.