Steve Poltz Launches New CD 'traveling’ By Traveling To U.S.

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Steve Poltz, the only tunesmith ever to write songs with both Mojo Nixon and Jewel, is back with Traveling, a new album that once again defies category and blurs musical boundaries. The CD is set for release on January 22, 2008 on 98 Pounder Records (through Thirty Tigers), distributed by RED Distribution. Poltz will immediately hit the tour trail, not giving in to sleet, ice, or snow. On the date the new album hits the streets, Poltz will celebrate its release with a show at Joe's Pub in New York. Next is a show near his hometown of San Diego, at the Belly Up in nearby Solana Beach, on January 24. The following night he's off to Los Angeles, then up the Cali coast, and then cross-country through the Midwest and South en route to Virginia and New York state. Poltz will also be an omnipresence in Austin in mid-March with an official SXSW showcase plus several other "unofficial" appearances that week. The January 22 Joe's Pub show places Poltz in the Big Apple on the album's street date, as he is the bandleader and for AT&T Tech Channel's "Hugh Thompson Show" which will tape in New York that week.

With Traveling, Poltz creates a soundscape of such raw emotions that listeners will relate on an immediate and personal level. The achingly pretty "Haters' Union" couches anguished, confessional lyrics within beautiful string-tinged melodies. "Rains" is contagiously punchy, even as it describes the hopeless feelings of trying to escape the memory of a lost lover while staring out on a rainy day. "Brief History of My Life, " a massive favorite at live shows, is vintage Poltz. The song showcases his prowess as a storyteller as he takes the listener for a melancholic yet hilarious biographical spin. Finally, "Street Fighter's Face" is an explosive rocker that nails the dual emotions of pride and despair felt by a young Marine in Iraq coming to grips with the reality of war.

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