Boys and girls, little Stevie learned to tie his shoe today!

Steve Poltz and San Diego music are nearly synonymous to many local music fans. Not only has the acoustic rocker fronted a legendary local band (The Rugburns), but he has also collaborated with other area legends (Buddy Blue, Country Dick Montana, Gregory Page) and mentored several other up-and-comers (Jewel, Anya Marina, Derek Duplessie). 

Over the past decade, Poltz, much like O from local punk band fluf, has seen his friends get famous, flirted with major label success himself, and persevered to remain a stalwart in what some consider a music scene that's past its prime.

Which is, of course, ridiculous. San Diego and Poltz both have quality music to look forward to. It's hard to believe that Poltz' most famous composition, the multi-platinum selling, sickly saccharine sweet "You Were Meant For Me," which he co-wrote with Jewel, is the apex of his songwriting career. Not from a guy who?s penned such brilliant San Diego-centric sagas as "The Ballad Of Tommy And Marla:" 

Tommy was a Hessier from the valley/ He was as burned out as a building from the riots/ He had a rocking little girlfriend named Marla/ She was a cocktail waitress at The Pit/ Sometimes on the weekends they'd ride jet skis/ And they'd take a little his little trailer to the river.../ They smoked dope and snorted crystal/ Meth

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, raised in Canada, Poltz is anything but the normal "Everyman" he supposedly plays in Jewel's "Meant For Me" video. Honing his troubadour skills on the streets of Europe, Poltz eventually ended up in San Diego, where he began the Rugburns, as a two-man show with Dr. Robert Driscoll, in the early 1990s. The cult following they drew came to Kelly's Pub and the Tiki House as much for the duo's quirky songwriting talents as Poltz's penchant for wacky antics, crowd-fed improvisations, weird covers and wearing prom dresses. Before lineup improvements (Gregory Page joined on bass) and then changes (losing charismatic drummer Jeff "Stinky" Aefstedt) resulted in the current on-and-off status of the band, Poltz and the Rugburns released two full length albums, "Morning Wood" and "Taking the World by Donkey." 

Still, it always revolved around Poltz' personality -- musical or otherwise. So, it's nary a step down to catch the singer-guitarist's solo act. His 1998 debut for Mercury Records, One Left Shoe, may not carry as much of the envelope-pushing energy of the 'Burns, but it does deliver on well honed, yet off-kilter lyrics and tasteful, more mature arrangements. Songs like "Silver Lining" and "Impala" are miles ahead of his most famous hit, but their loping, disarming melodies and anti- ironic sentiments will probably never see the light of day on today's radio playlists.

His most recent release, the self-explanatory "Answering Machine CD" is even less accessible -- and so, of course, is a must-have for hardcore fans.