John Vanderslice

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John Vanderslice

Background information
Born May 22, 1967 (1967-05-22) (age 42)
Gainesville, Florida, United States
Genres Alternative rock, indie rock
Years active 1999–present
Labels Dead Oceans
Associated acts Mk Ultra
The Mountain Goats
Website www.johnvanderslice.com

John Vanderslice (born May 22, 1967 in Gainesville, Florida) is an American musician and songwriter. Previously a member of the band Mk Ultra, he now records and performs as a solo artist.[1][2][3][4][5]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Vanderslice at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City.

[edit] Early years

Vanderslice grew up in Florida and Georgia, before his family moved to Maryland when he was 11. After playing in several bands in his teenage years, he spent five years as a member of the experimental pop band MK Ultra, with whom he released three albums in the 1990s.[6]

During this period, he also founded a recording studio, Tiny Telephone, in the Mission District of San Francisco. Established in 1997, the studio was initially used as a rehearsal space before being developed as a full-time, all-analog recording studio. Bands who have recorded in the studio include Beulah, Death Cab for Cutie, Okkervil River, Deerhoof and Spoon.[7]

[edit] Solo career

In 2000, Vanderslice released his first solo album, Mass Suicide Occult Figurines, and briefly gained some national media attention for the single "Bill Gates Must Die" after concocting a hoax in which Microsoft supposedly threatened legal action over the song; Vanderslice then however had trouble manufacturing the CD because the artwork resembled that of a Windows installation disc, and at least one manufacturer was wary of legal action.[8]

Time Travel is Lonely and Life and Death of an American Fourtracker followed in 2001 and 2002 respectively, followed by 2004’s Cellar Door. Several songs on the 2005 album Pixel Revolt referenced the September 11, 2001 attacks and were more overtly political in their lyrical content. His 2007 album, Emerald City, is named after the nickname of the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. "I was so beaten down after the 2000 election and after 9/11 and then the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan," said Vanderslice. "I was so depleted as a person after all that stuff happened, that I had to write my way out of it. I really had to write political songs because for me it is a way of making sense and processing what is going on."

Emerald City achieved a score of 80/100 on Metacritic.[9] Entertainment Weekly called the album "a gleaming gem" that doesn't disappoint.[10] Billboard's review of the record called Vanderslice an "always perceptive lyricist."[11] Calling Vanderslice a "master story-teller", Matt Fink of Paste said that Emerald City was "vividly imagined yet subtle in tone, with conflicted character sketches unfolding around somber synth melodies, creaky electronic effects, and fuzzy acoustic guitar strums."[12]

In 2009, he released his latest album, Romanian Names.

[edit] Recording technique and collaborations

Vanderslice is a proponent of using analog instruments and recording equipment to produce a richer, more raw sound which he has sometimes called "sloppy hi-fi".[13] He has collaborated closely with Scott Solter in the production of his recent albums.

On January 30, 2009, Vanderslice collaborated with Magik*Magik Orchestra for a sold-out show at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tiny Telephone.[14]

Vanderslice was a contributing producer on the Spoon album, Gimme Fiction, and also produced The Mountain Goats albums Heretic Pride and We Shall All Be Healed. In March and April 2009, John Vanderslice toured alongside The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle in the "Gone Primitive Tour". These shows featured Vanderslice and Darnielle each playing acoustic sets and then performing material together. [15]

[edit] Influences and interests

He is influenced by film and is a fan of David Lynch, whose work is referenced in his song "Promising Actress". His declared musical influences are diverse, ranging from Neutral Milk Hotel to Public Enemy. He has incorporated the poetry of William Blake, Percy Shelley and Robert Lowell into his music. In addition, Vanderslice is an avid photography hobbyist.

[edit] Discography

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (2005-08-26). "Spotlight on John Vanderslice | John Vanderslice | Music News | Music | Entertainment Weekly". Ew.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1095881,00.html. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
  2. ^ Derk Richardson, special to SF Gate (2005-10-27). "Pop & Politics / SF's John Vanderslice gets political on his radiant new CD, Pixel Revolt". Sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/10/27/derk.DTL. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
  3. ^ "John Vanderslice: 'Cellar Door'". NPR. 2004-03-11. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1759989. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
  4. ^ Little, Michael. "John Vanderslice - City Lights". Washington City Paper. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=23767. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
  5. ^ June 05, 2006 (2006-06-05). "John Vanderslice: Plugged In". Glide Magazine. http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles/47823/john-vanderslice-plugged-in.html. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
  6. ^ Fink, Matt. "John Vanderslice Biography". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wzfqxqegldje~T1. Retrieved 26 November 2009. 
  7. ^ Gale, Ezra (23 January 2009). "Tiny Telephone, Big Decade". http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-01-21/calendar/tiny-telephone-big-decade/. Retrieved 26 November 2009. 
  8. ^ Athitakis, Mark (2000-02-09). "Riff Raff". San Francisco Weekly. http://www.sfweekly.com/2000-02-09/music/riff-raff/. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
  9. ^ . http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/vanderslicejohn/emeraldcity accessdate = 2009-03-012. 
  10. ^ Simon Vozick-Levinson (2007-07-27). "Emerald City Music Review". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20048265,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  11. ^ Jill Menze (2007-08-04). "Emerald City". Billboard Magazine. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3i1b2430f5cff9133eb235792668cd017b. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  12. ^ Matt Fink (2007-07-24). "Emerald City Music Review". Paste Magazine. http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2007/07/emerald-city.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  13. ^ Justin Cober-Lake (2005-10-14). "Make It Beautiful and Trash It: An Interview with John Vanderslice". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/music/interviews/vanderslice-john-051014.shtml. Retrieved 2008-01-08. 
  14. ^ Baron, Melissa (2009-01-31). "All Shook Down". San Francisco Weekly. http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2009/01/last_night_john_vanderslice_an.php. Retrieved 2009-01-31. 
  15. ^ Anderman, Joan (2009-03-28). "John Darniell's Music Hurts So Good". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/03/28/wounded_but_hurts_so_good/. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
John Vanderslice
Studio albums
EPs
Moon Colony Bloodbath (with the Mountain Goats)
Other albums
Associated acts
v • d • e
The Mountain Goats
Studio albums
EPs & singles
Split albums

Why You All So Thief? (with Simon Joyner) · Tropical Depression EP (with Furniture Huschle) · Bedside Recordings Vol. 1.2 (with John Vanderslice) · Black Pear Tree EP (with Kaki King) · Moon Colony Bloodbath (with John Vanderslice)
Compilation albums
Former members

Franklin Bruno · Richard Colburn · Nora Danielson · Lalitree Darnielle · Alex Decarville · Maggie Doyle · Alastair Galbraith · Erik Friedlander · Christopher McGuire · Scott Solter · John Vanderslice · Rachel Ware · Jon Wurster
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Vanderslice"