MICHAEL TOLCHER | A profile 'I hope the music's universal'

The singer-songwriter says he doesn't want to pigeonhole his music.
By JOHN PATRICK GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
For much of the past decade, Michael Tolcher has worked as a solo act.
In coffeehouses, clubs and on city streets around the world, the Atlanta-based singer-songwriter relied on the hooks of his self-penned material and his ability to hold an audience's attention.
Over the past year, Tolcher has played with a four-piece band in order to better reflect the songs on his debut effort, "I Am." And he's still getting used to it.
"I'm really learning the process of fronting a band and directing other musicians to join in my songs. The part about entertaining the crowd and being the main interface is old hat. But, it's challenging and mind-opening."
When asked if it's odd to hear full instrumentation for his material, he said, "I've always wanted to hear other instruments in a band surrounding my music. That part of it is fulfilling for me."
Coming to Cleveland
Tolcher joins Gavin DeGraw and Toby Lightman on a triple bill of highly-touted singer-songwriters for an afternoon concert during the 13th Annual Tops Great American Rib Cook-Off at Tower City Amphitheater, Cleveland.
He's supported DeGraw during a previous tour as well as Crosby, Stills & amp; Nash, Everclear, Maroon 5, Michelle Branch and George Clinton and P-Funk.
The diversity of artists Tolcher has supported is reflected in the personnel and musical styles contained on "I Am." It includes contributions from ?uestlove of the Roots, Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers Band and the Dead as well as DeGraw on songs that maintain an upbeat melodic flair and occasionally hip-hop flavored rhythms. He even used a producer more accustomed to working on electronica albums to spice up the beats to his "raw songs."
"I'm a radio listener. I never really had a CD collection and focus on any particular artist. For a long time, the hottest hip-hop stuff was what I was into. Then, when I started to write, I saw artists perform that had a profound impact on me like Tracy Chapman, Martin Sexton and Shawn Mullins.
"About eight years into it, I started to remember my days of hip-hop and dancing and rhyming. And that came back for me about '98. All these other things I can apply to the guitar, too."
Tone of optimism
Overall, the lyrics on the album's 12 tracks relate an optimistic if-your-lemons-are-crushed-then-make-lemonade tone. While not overly sunny, it does reflect Tolcher's personal growth during the songwriting process.
"It really just shows who I am and what energy I put out. That tends to be the way I approach the world. Not that I'm without negativity, but a lot of those songs are looking at things that I was unsatisfied with and changing my perspective, and then creating a different reality for myself based on that.
"In the years that I wrote those particular songs, that was the path that I was on, to change my perspective and see if I can improve my experience on the planet."
While the radio caused a great influence on his creativity, growing up with his dad, a preacher, subconsciously affected him as well. Numerous spiritually-related references pop up in the lyrics, but the last thing Tolcher wants is to pigeonhole his songs within a specific musical category. He views religious teachings on a grander scale and hopes that his life-affirming words will cause others to get through their lives with a more positive outlook.
"I hope the music's universal. If there's something in there that's parallel with Christianity, that inspires someone that is following that faith, then that's all good to me. Beyond the stories and the names, to me it's just a path of pursuing harmony, which I'm all for."