Puddles Pity Party finds joy in the unpredictable

Sharing a local treasure with the rest of the world conjures selfish emotion.

Duh! Of course, we’ve heard of Puddles, the towering, doleful and vocally striking clown with more than 32 million YouTube views and sold-out performances spanning from L.A. to Australia. He’s from Atlanta!

Yet, it’s the emotional response the character evokes from fans and live audiences alike that continues propelling Mike Geier, Puddles’ alter ego, to worldwide recognition. The formula, more than just white makeup and chutzpah, uniquely combines centuries-old clowning, Carnegie Hall-worthy operatic crooning and 21st-century presentation. Picture “Pagliacci” by way of Pee-wee Herman and David Lynch.

Geier, a live entertainment fixture in Atlanta since the 1990s, always twinkled brightly among the city's offerings. Throughout the years, he could be found fronting the neo-swing of Kingsized; sharing the stage as Puddles with a gaggle of surly clowns in the band Greasepaint; waxing Polynesian pop in Tongo Hiti at Trader Vic's; and generating standing-room-only rave-ups with his Elvis Royale concerts. Still widespread notoriety remained elusive.

That was until 2013, when, as Puddles, he appeared as a guest vocalist with Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, a series of YouTube videos reimagining modern music in various old-school styles. A clip capturing Puddles punching up Lorde's "Royals" exploded like a carnival popcorn machine, going viral instantly. You can see the video on YouTube.

This led Geier and his wife, Shannon Newton, to craft a touring live show they dub Puddles Pity Party. Multimedia elements, audience interaction, improvisation and, of course, Puddles’ booming vox converge, creating something equally fresh and timeless.

Although Puddles Pity Party pitches its tent with a solid framework, Geier — he strictly speaks of Puddles in third person, a sort of showbiz schizophrenia that only bolsters the clown's mystique — hesitates to reveal what has gone down at specific shows. What unfolded on, say, a Chicago stage might not materialize that way elsewhere or ever again.

“Each show is a unique experience,” Geier said. “It’s hard to predict. Puddles sings beautifully, but how he interacts with particular audience members is nuanced. Some might be very shy and some might be very willing and enthusiastic. … Something new seems to occur at every show that involves the audience and their willingness to play along with Puddles.”

Geier recalls a moment in Adelaide, Australia, when Puddles pulled a resistant, burly bloke onstage. The clown urged the dude to sing. After playful prodding, Geier said an unexpected wave of beautiful vocality came from the rugged Aussie’s mouth, surprising both Puddles and the crowd.

So how does this homegrown singing clown translate across geographic boundaries? From Geier’s perspective, Puddles, who doesn’t speak but only sings, conveys a type of universal appeal. The character continually falters onstage but repeatedly pulls himself back up by the baggy clown pants. Geier describes this as an inherent beauty and rough-around-the-edges gracefulness that hit home.

“People are connecting on these very deep, philosophical levels,” Geier said. “Puddles is big, hulking and intimidating to some, but he has this obvious vulnerability and sensitivity. … Then he sort of pushes his honest feelings through the music and shows that it’s OK to cry it out and be a little sad. There’s a release in that, and we can all do it together. It’s cathartic.”

This experience manifests in various ways, Geier said, but perhaps the most touching came from a correspondence Puddles had with a particular fan. An ill gentleman facing a barrage of treatments and surgeries found solace and peacefulness in Puddles’ online videos. The fan wrote that while awaking from a procedure, he shocked his family by singing a Puddles tune.

After a homecoming performance at Center Stage — yeah, the clown was ours first — Puddles embarks to Scotland for a monthlong stint at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, preps for a U.S. fall tour, and considers potential collaborations with well-known magicians, musicians and comedians.

“It seems like new stuff is coming at us all of the time,” Geier said. “Puddles just wakes up and sees where the currents take him. For me, I’m just chasing the clown.”