Los Angeles power pop singer/songwriter/guitarist Walter Clevenger has a rootsy, laid-back sound highly reminiscent of Nick Lowe and Rockpile. Clevenger grew up listening to country music and discovered the Beatles in fourth grade, later branching into power pop and forming a band in high school. But it was Nick Lowe's fusion of the two sounds that inspired Clevenger to pick up his pen and guitar in earnest. A home-recorded cassette, PoPgOeStHeMuSiC (no longer in print), made its way out of a circle of family and friends and got Clevenger signed to Not Lame Records. Clevenger recorded a proper album, The Man With the X-Ray Eyes, with his backing band the Dairy Kings (guitarist Steve Bancroft, bassist Henry Clift, and drummer Mike Fernandez) in 1997. Love Songs to Myself followed two years later.
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