Artist description Geltman's song writing is at once lyrical and raw as it experiments with the balance between catchy melodies and carefully placed dissonance. His song writing style has been described as equal parts harmony and bitterness, the lyrics alternately sweet and slightly misanthropic. The album itself bypasses the kind of stylistic affectations which come and go to produce a highly original and timeless sound. With each song the pendulum swings variously closer to pop, jazz, classical, or folk conventions without fully committing to any convention at all. The overall effect is a highly unusual blend of inventive song writing, strong musicianship, intricate and unorthodox arranging and a strong dose of humanity. Pale Boy is a synthesis of such varied musical traditions that it's impossible to pick a single track which represents the sound of the whole album, yet it somehow manages to hang together as a recording with great purity of vision.

Music Style alternative

Musical Influences Astor Piazolla, Talking Heads, Felix Mendelssohn, Elliot Smith, Samuel Barber, Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach, Jobim, Joni Mitchell, Steve Reich, Zappa, Kurt Weill, Velvet Underground, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Guided by Voices, Captain Beefheart, Brian Eno.

Similar Artists Leonard Cohen, Golden Arm Trio, Aimee Mann, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Kurt Weill, Velvet Underground, Nick Drake, Jobim, Elliot Smith, Dave Matthews, Cardinal, Arto Lindsay.

Artist History This recording was born out of the chance reunion of Blomster and Geltman, childhood friends who shared a family background in classical music and played together in junior high school bands. Blomster had become an accomplished classical and jazz percussionist and conductor while Geltman became involved in visual art, literature, and film making while continuing to play classical violin and compose. Meeting again as adults, they became driven by the goal of creating a recording of pop songs which defied convention by cross-pollinating Geltman's compositions with an unlikely spectrum of musical influences.

Group Members Mike Allen; Ron Bland; Thomas Blomster; Jennifer Burnett; Jeana Dodge; Seth Geltman; Mary Jungerman; Bill Kopper; Mark Kranjek; Steve Lehn; Devon Park; Bob Rebholtz; Naomi Sue Smith

Instruments tuba, electric and acoustic bass, percussion, keyboards, vibes, marimba, lead and background vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, clarinet and bass clarinet, trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn, saxes, violin

Albums Pale Boy

Press Reviews Seth Geltman won a BEAM (Benefiting Emerging Artists in Music) grant in 1999. Pat DiNizio,leader of the Smithereens and of the BEAM advisoryboard, stated "I'm extremely impressed with Seth Geltman's talent and dedication to his music."

Location Denver, CO - USA

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