The stylistically dynamic songs on the album range from rollicking acoustic based rock to mellow, bluesy pieces that lull listeners with swaying beats and poetic storyteller lyrics. Good Stuff.

11 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Modern Rock, ROCK: Acoustic



Details:
MICHAEL JANTZ
Snapshots of the Universe

UP FROM THE STREET CORNERS â TWICE

WASHINGTON DC: Singer/songwriter Michael Jantz breaks new ground with the release of his second album, Snapshots of the Universe. Engineered by Tom Schick (Ryan Adams, Rufus Wainwright, Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono) and mastered by Fred Kevorkian (the White Stripes, Ryan Adams, Dave Matthews Band, Iggy Pop), Snapshots features drummer Steve Bowman (the Bittersweets, Counting Crows, Third Eye Blind) and contributions from Bittersweets singer Hannah Prater, producer Jerry Becker, and Scott Barkan of Barky and Hypnotic Clambake.

Jantz earned his skills the hard way, working the open mics in his hometown of Cleveland and wandering through Europe playing on street corners. He built his reputation up song by song until it paid off: Jantz became a top local draw, toured with Paul Simon and Brian Wilson, and was voted âBest Male Singer/Songwriterâ in the Cleveland Free Times Reader Poll in 2004. The next week, he left to follow a girlfriend to Washington DC.

"It's kind of like starting from square one," Jantz says. "You have to prove yourself all over again; build relationships with bar owners, critics, the people who come see you perform. I went from being a top draw in my hometown to being a complete unknown.â

But the experience shows. Jantzâ new album, Snapshots of the Universe, reveals an older, wiser, and more polished musician that on his self-titled 2002 debut. Snapshots ranges from rollicking acoustic-based rock to mellow storyteller blues. Jantz has taken the high-energy atmosphere of his new stomping ground, and the shock of being dropped into a bustling, unfamiliar city, and channeled them into his songwriting. âFor the past year, I put every single moment of joy, grief, anger, and love into this album,â says Jantz. You can hear it. These are the songs that have won him a large DC following in a short time: Jantz appeared in Entertainment DC' magazineâs âBest of Local Musicâ in 2005, placed high in On Tap magazine's â2006 Texas Roadtrip Competitionâ, and was named âArtist to Watch in 2006â by radio station Z104.

âClimbing my way up from playing in subways and city parks for pocket change was hard enough the first time,â says Jantz. âDoing it twice has taught me more than I can describe.â

Michael Jantz will be touring in early 2007 to promote the new album.