Band / Artist: Nick Vanderveldt,
Year:
Genre:
Experimental, Interview, Prog Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Blues, Funk
My Review:
Jumbly: It's nice to meet you. How are you doing this week?
Nick Vanderveldt: Good. Very busy working on a couple of projects with people, but I
like to be busy.
Jumbly: So, when did you start making music?
Nick: I've been writing solo material since I was a teenager, but never in any capacity that I felt would be presentable to people (mostly electronic experiments). I sort of made a leap in 2007 and said, well, what the hell, I'd like to share what I've been doing with some friends. So I recorded an album with a buddy's USB mic, and my newly acquired pawn shop acoustic. That album led to my first real band endeavor with other people.
That really morphed what I was doing, because it forced me to be a better musician and learn how to play with other people. We would argue all the time about how a song should go, who should do what where, why this muther-fucker over here needed to turn the fuck down, or turn up etc... Overall I felt like it was very positive, our arguments were never mean spirited, it was all about having dialogue and working for the music.
When I left that group, I was pretty sad, but I tried to take everything I learned and take it to the next level. Just recently, I've gotten together with some friends to play music that is primarily my own, the band is called Harq al'Ada, and it's sort of a mask for me to wear in public, and a psuedonym for my co-conspirators to hide behind. Plus it beats the hell out of putting my own name on hand-bills and posters.
Jumbly: Where are you from?
Nick: I live in St.Louis, Missouri right now, I moved here about a year back from Olympia, Washington.
Jumbly: Do you find it influences your style and your music much?
Nick: I think it's sort of odd that it does. I lived here between ages 7 and 14, and a lot of things like, the way people speak, sank into my musical thoughts. I think all over the world, people have different
ways of phrasing music as a direct result of using language differently. Alternately, the visual and auditory aspects of everyday life sink in too, sometimes I'll find myself trying to imitate the way
an insect moves, or trying to reproduce oppressive heat and humidity with feedback.
Jumbly: What way do you think is best to enjoy your music? Would you consider it good date music, driving music, chillout music, etc?
Nick: I think it's best to just clear your head, and do nothing but listen. Close your eyes, drink some beers, get a little out of your head, that sort of thing.
Jumbly: Do you like giving away your music for free? Do you hope to continue or would you rather move to a pay system?
Nick: I like to give things away. It's ideal because I know not everyone can afford to pay, and I make it for people to enjoy it.
Physical copies of stuff will always have a price, because I simply can't cover the overhead costs, but I plan on continuing to give away my music digitally until it becomes too costly to do so. I really prefer the pay-what-you-want model, because then everyone is happy.
Jumbly: Do you have any sounds/ bands/ or pieces of art that you admire or wish you could emulate with your music?
Nick: Yes. Tons. I'm surrounded by things I wish I could turn into music. I'm a big fan of Isaac Asimov, and Frank Herbert, really just science-fiction in general, movies included. I used to read books and make-up music in my head that went along with each scene. I still hum along sometimes.
There are countless bands I've taken ideas from as well; Ravi Shankar, Davy Graham, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, Can, Sun Ra, RL Burnside and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez are the big ones for me I
think.
Jumbly: If anyone wanted to do a collaboration with you, would you be interested?
Nick: Of course. I admit I'm not always the easiest person to work with
though.
Jumbly: How should they get in touch with you?
Nick: Anyone is more than welcome to message me on facebook or soundcloud.
Jumbly: What kinds of projects do you really want to do in the future?
Nick: I'd like to do a hard-funk record. Something like Funkadelic's
Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On, or
Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow, except I want a bunch of twinkly effects, and sync it to
Conan The Barbarian.
Jumbly: What bands on here have you been listening to? What do you think about them?
Nick: The Killimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. I think it's cool as hell. Even though I have no idea how to classify them. Post-Rock maybe?
You also recently posted a link for a voto latino mix CD which is pretty awesome. Rodrigo y Gabriella have a track on there that is great, and I honestly can't enough those two.
Jumbly: What would you like to see more from the blog?
Nick: I think it's great so far, and I appreciate what you're trying to do. I'm not terribly constructive when it comes to critiquing I'm afraid...
I do like the format quite a bit, every 5 days a new album update. It might be cool to see some video reviews, that kind of thing always seems to grab folks attention.
Jumbly: Do you know any other great sites that people should check out? What about any other bands?
Nick: Yes.
http://www.moosickrevoos.com/ is awesomesauce.
Also, if you don't know about The Difference Engine, you chould check them out here:
http://differenceenginestl.bandcamp.com/ (shameless plug for another band I'm in completed)
Also you need to check out a band called LOGOS from St.Louis
http://logosrock.com/, and a band called The We Shared Milk, from Portland, Oregon
http://thewesharedmilk.bandcamp.com/.
Jumbly: Thanks a bunch for sharing all you music, I'm hoping people love it.
As a parting, I have one last question. Siracha, yes or no?
Nick: Yes. It goes on everything. It's especially good with vodka.
Jumbly: That sounds pretty great. I'm gonna have to try it.
So there we go. Here's all of his albums. Hope that you enjoy them.
Nicholas Vanderveldt - Gypsies, Hounds, and Vagabonds
Some really nice blues, classical ballad, and soft grunge guitar work. It has a clean, simple, lo-fi sound that really fits it together well.
Unicorn Porn - Condensation
This one sounds through and through like an old psych rock album you'd get out of the 70s. Some of it was shiznitty-bam-zipzap-snap. I'd love to hear the same thing, with some modern synthetic goodness layered in.
Nicholas Vanderveldt - اختراع
This one has a deeper Indian flavor, that also definitely fits into that psych rock sound. There are layers of sitar and flourishes of tabla amidst a lot of progressive guitar work.
Nicholas Vanderveldt - Poco A Poco
Another short guitar work album. The main track is kind of like a mini-album all in its own right. It utilizes field recordings, acoustic guitar, and a little bit of studio treatment. Its not bad music for drinking a beer and playing pool or poker with friends on a quiet night.
Beet Oven - Beet Oven
Blues rock. Funky classic guitar rock.
Harq al'Ada - A Puck, A Bodach, and Bloody Bones
A great one-track release, with synths, and electric guitar, and vocals. It's funky and soulful and trippy and about 20 minutes long.
Alright, so thats all there is. Merry Crimmis
One day, back in 2003, I'm sitting in a bar watching a noise show and drinking with a girl I had a crush on, when this guy I had started to make friends with walks in with a cardboard box filled with cds under his arm. He's Dan. He started a record label, and some random band from japan had signed to release their first album with him. It was for sale at $10 apiece, and this was what it looked like.
