Monday, November 18, 2013

Show Preview: John Vanderslice @ Soda Bar Wednesday November 20, 2013

photo courtesy Ross William Hamilton
John Vanderslice is one of the more interesting musicians in the indie rock world. He recently became independent in his life, ending a long term relationship, and in his music, breaking free from record labels. The latter makes perfect sense, since John is also the owner of Tiny Telephone, a recording studio in San Francisco. Long term relationships with Barsuk Records and more recently Dead Oceans were positive and have paved the way for the current musical chapter in his career. In fact, he self-released two albums this year, Dagger Beach (original) and Diamond Dogs (Bowie covers) via Kickstarter. At last count this makes a total of eleven albums, or about one per year. By today's standards, that is a prolific amount of recorded material. As far as his music is concerned, John certainly wears his emotions on his sleeve. Lyrics are very personal and political, revealing a musician who is willing to take risks which tend to be calculated. His performances are always satisfying, with the ability to connect with the audience never being in doubt.

If you have not seen John Vanderslice perform live, this Wednesday is your next opportunity. This is a Casbah Presents show at Soda Bar, tickets can be purchased in advance here. Boston's Bent Shapes set the stage.

Listen to a few tracks from Dagger Beach below (courtesy of SoundCloud).



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