It is five days after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States and the singer-songwriter Steve Poltz is in Valparaiso, Indiana, for a gig. The previous night was Effingham, Illinois.
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The gregarious musician, Canadian-born but a long-time American citizen, is on what he calls a "rust belt tour", playing towns that played a decisive role in shifting voting patterns.
Poltz, 56, can measure the change in two ways: his degree in political-science and a lifetime of writing songs that are in turn tender, relatable and amusing.
Right now the latter approach makes more sense.
"A lot of these people felt like they weren’t being spoken to," says Poltz, "but I’m still such an optimist that I believe music will bring people together and I believe my shows can do that.”
Poltz is currently on his 17th Australian tour (and his second of 2016), which will last a month.
"These are my choices to make," says Poltz. "I could easily take three months off, or six months off, as I’ve made a decent living and I’m taken care of. But I love my job, so every time someone asks if I want to go back to Australia I say yes."
Poltz still has a few locales left to tick off his list of Australian performances, although they’re the likes of Darwin and Alice Springs.
"Australia is part of my fabric. Most people tour Australia for a week, but I tell them that they’re missing out on so much," he says. "But all these years of travel also means that I really do see life through other people’s eyes and empathise with them."
For the record, despite his itinerant lifestyle, Poltz does have a home. He’s just unfamiliar with it.
"I actually did buy a house in Nashville earlier this year and I’ve spent maybe 10 nights there," says Poltz.
In 1996, Poltz was a working musician in San Diego when a song he co-wrote with fellow singer-songwriter Jewel, You Were Meant for Me, became an international hit. The album it was on, Pieces of You, sold 15 million copies, and Poltz’s royalty cheques went from three figure sums to six.
It also launched his solo career, with Folksinger the latest in a dozen or so albums. The only thing that’s slowed him down was a stroke suffered 18 months ago during a gig. Now that he’s healthy again he can identify two changes.
"It got me into the Grateful Dead and it changed my DNA so stuff that used to upset me doesn’t upset me as much now. Even with this election I went through the stages of grief pretty fast. I almost died, so I can’t waste too much time being angry about things."
- Steve Poltz, Camelot Lounge, Marrickville, on December 15.
