When looking over John Vanderslice‘s impressive resume, one can only marvel at the accomplishments of this influential musician. In addition to his work performing with MK Ultra, his work as a producer and studio musician earned him credits on albums by artists like Death Cab For Cutie, Spoon, The Mountain Goats, Beulah and Okkervil River. Vanderslice’s indie pop will be complimented with by the raw, rugged folk of repeat Madison visitor, The Tallest Man On Earth at their show at the High Noon Saloon on June 5th. Read on to find out more about these two highly respected performers and enter to win a pair of tickets!
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JOHN VANDERSLICE BIO:
“Growing up in Florida and Georgia before moving to Potomac, MD, at the age of 11, indie rock innovator John Vanderslice grew up listening to a mix of Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Kinks, and Southern rock, which instilled an eclectic musical vocabulary. Forced into piano lessons as a child, he eventually picked up the guitar in the eighth grade and formed several bands during his teen years. His songwriting added influences from David Bowie, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, King Crimson, XTC, and early Genesis, culminating in his five-year tenure with the much-heralded experimental pop band MK Ultra. Their collaboration produced three well-received albums and resulted in an opening spot on two Sunny Day Real Estate American tours.
Vanderslice also started Tiny Telephone, a small recording studio, in 1997. Boasting a variety of respected and experienced house engineers, Tiny Telephone gained a reputation as an affordable recording outlet for San Francisco’s indie rock community. It also produced Vanderslice’s solo debut, Mass Suicide Occult Figurines, in 2000. The album drew a substantial amount of critical praise for its meticulously crafted pop-perfect sound. The prolific Vanderslice issued the Time Travel Is Lonely and Life and Death of an American Fourtracker LPs over the next two years, and solidified his reputation as a literate, ever-curious songwriter and sonic technician.
As he experimented with character-driven themes, he recorded the brilliantly convoluted Cellar Door in 2004 and Pixel Revolt in 2005, and after a series of tours, in July 2007 Barsuk Records released Emerald City, yet another highly conceptual and artistic endeavor, followed by Romanian Names in 2009.” —Matt Fink, allmusic.com
Visit John on his official site or on MySpace.
Check out a recent interview from The Decider.
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TALLEST MAN ON EARTH BIO:
“There’s no word available at this writing on just how high the Tallest Man on Earth actually stands, but the artist who has embraced this moniker performs with enough authority that one is tempted to believe he could top out at eight feet. This five-song EP is as simple as can be — one man with an acoustic guitar, strumming and finger-picking in the rural blues style while he sings with a strong, slightly rough-edged voice, all recorded on what sounds like a slightly wobbly tape machine.
While the tone suggests an artist channeling someone from Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, there’s a cinematic richness to the lyrics which is thoroughly contemporary and engaging. ‘Steal Tomorrow’ and ‘Walk the Line’ occasionally recall Bob Dylan’s early work, but with a less cluttered train of thought and the confidence of an artist forging a style of his own; whoever this guy is, he’s one nuevo folkie who has absorbed his influences while carving out a template of his own, and while these five songs seem over much too soon, they’re an auspicious debut from an artist worth watching.” -Mark Deming, allmusic.com
Follow The Tallest Man On Earth on MySpace.
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WIN A PAIR OF TIX!:
For many, the title of John Vanderslice’s 2001 album, Time Travel Is Lonely, ignites the fires of imagination. If you could travel back (or forward!) in time to any artist’s recording session, whose would you chose? What input would you have in the studio? Post your comments below. The contest will remain open until 9:00 pm tonight, so get those responses in as soon as you can! A winner will be notified at that time. Good luck!
If you were a little late on grabbing freebies from our giveaway, you can still purchase tickets to the show here.
Filed under: Free Madison Concert Tickets & MP3 Downloads, Music Shows This Week in Madison Tagged: | Artists You Should Know, Concert, Free Tickets, free tix, giveaway, john vanderslice, live shows, Madison, Madison WI, Madison WI live music, Madison WI Music Scene, the tallest man on earth, Ticket Giveaway, upcoming shows, win
Looking forward to these two fine musicians! It’s cliche but true; if I could go back in time it would be to a Beatles recording session. Particularly the recording sessions of Let it Be and Abbey Road. My specific input would be less about the music and more about the relationships among the band members. Perhaps it was best that they split up when they did (so that they didn’t have any opportunity to put out terrible, past-their-prime albums), but I sure would have liked to hear more!
Interesting question! Having just read about the making of Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea album I would definitely go back to that time to witness the event. I don’t know that I would have much input other than fanboy mutterings like “gosh, gee, wow” because to me the album is pretty perfect. It would be amazing to just be present to the recording of music that has meant so much to me personally.
I would go to Dylan’s “HIGHWAY 16 REVISITED” sessions and tell him to back the harmonica off the mic a bit (Ballsy, I know) or at least I’d tell the engineer to roll off some of the high mids on that mic. I would ONLY do this if it didn’t kill the vibe in the studio. Otherwise it would be like cutting off an arm to save a finger to say the least.
These responses were a blast to read–thanks for putting creative thought into your comments! This contest is now closed, but there are new ones every week so stay tuned.
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