Over the past year, there's been a grassroots buzz building in the Rochester, New York area surrounding rising singer-songwriter Teddy Geiger, a rapidly developing artist still in his teens. Teddy's soft-spoken charm, melodic gifts, way with words, and natural style have connected him to a steadily growing fanbase, which originated in local venues in his upstate New York and has since spread as far and wide as Florida and Hawaii. His independent regional EP release, "Stepladder" (on Cred Records) ranked at #1 in Rochester and made the Top 10 in Billboard's regional "Heatseekers" chart.
At 17, Teddy is already writing sophisticated songs weathered with insights beyond his years. A fan of many musical genres, Teddy combines cutting edge new school pop with a love and an understanding of the soul of rock's glory days. His warm intimate vocals, candid and conversational, create a sound and sensibility uniquely his own. Teddy wrote, or co-wrote 11 of the 12 songs on his debut album, Underage Thinking. He plays guitar, piano, bass and drums on his new album.
Teddy is a self-taught musician who, by the age of 8, was writing and arranging finished multi-part compositions on guitar and piano. By the time he got to high school, Teddy, too young to perform in local bars, was building an alternative following at the area's teen venues, performing the songs that seem to flow from his pen as instinctively as his fans – who'd begun calling themselves "Tedheads" – began pouring into all-ages gigs all over the upstate New York region to watch him perform. Teddy's fanbase demographic runs a wide gamut, from wide-eyed teenage girls to serious music fans hungry for something real.
Teddy wound up as a finalist on VH1's "In Search of the New Partridge Family," where he caught the ear of producer Billy Mann (Sting, Pink, Kelly Rowland, Jessica Simpson), who quickly became a champion of Teddy and his music, going on to collaborate with Teddy on several songs and act as producer for Underage Thinking, Teddy's debut album. "Teddy is a waterfall of talent," said Billy. "At 17, he is an amazing and prolific songwriter with a signature-sound, an incredible voice and a point-of-view that's informed and mature. I can't wait to see how his career unfolds."
Teddy's social conscience happily dovetails with his music. In a Battle of the Bands concert held in Rochester, New York, Teddy emerged as the $1000 grand prize winner and donated his winnings to Tsunami relief. This fall, he headlined a Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief concert, also held in Rochester, with all ticket proceeds going to the Red Cross (https://give.redcross.org/donation-form.asp). Blankets, canned food and other aid items were donated by fans and collected at the venue.
Looking for a newly emerging musical artist to embody the spirit of the new RedWire jean, which is made specifically for iPod, Levi's approached Teddy Geiger to bring a fresh and authentic look to the fall campaign for the jeans. Teddy is the first celebrity or artist to work in a Levi's ad campaign in the last four years.
Teddy is about to emerge in the forefront of today's musical scene and has been selected as an AOL "Breaker" artist and as an artist for the new ClearChannel online emerging artist initiative. The opening act on the summer's #1 pop tour with Hilary Duff, Teddy has also shared bills with Pete Yorn, Brandi Carlisle, Simple Plan, Fall Out Boy, Frankie J, Gavin DeGraw, Jesse McCartney, Kelly Clarkson, and The Click 5.
Released on March 21, 2006, Underage Thinking entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at #8 and is already one of the year's most well-received albums.
"Teddy Geiger projects an easy charm along with his real pop chops," raved The New York Times while People magazine, in a three-and-a-half star "Critic's Choice" review, praised "...a talent far beyond his years on a first-rate pop CD....an assured knack for big, sweeping melodies...just the right heartthrob combination of sexy and sweet....Teddy Geiger should have a long career ahead of him."
"His songs are catchy," observed the New York Post, "and he has a gritty, sensitive voice that suits his romantic lyrics. The honesty in the music makes you believe the kid isn't a fabrication...."
Guitar World Acoustic called Teddy "...a polished stylist whose music recalls the works of such tunesmiths as John Mayer and the young Dave Matthews..." while heralding "lyrics that are sometimes powerfully intimate, while at other times raucously joyous."
"Teddy is not simply a guy with a guitar," wrote the Associated Press. "He also plays the piano, writes all his own songs and at just 17 is a seasoned musician....he successfully hops from rock to pop to swooping ballads while mixing keys and styles like an old hand.... Teddy has an unforced maturity in his songwriting and a mastery of his instruments.... Teddy's greatest gift may be his ability to write beautiful melodies full of subtle nuances that show off his prowess as composer."
In its review of Underage Thinking, the All Music Guide noted that "...like the best adult pop, which this certainly is, the songs show their individual strengths upon repeated plays..." before calling Teddy's voice "sincerely soulful" and his music "warm, comfortable and, above all, memorable."
Teddy Geiger's grassroots buzz is rapidly becoming a roar.
