John Vanderslice grew up on the east coast and relocated to San Francisco, where he started the venerable Tiny Telephone studio in 1997. At this small, affordable recording studio bands including Mike Watt, Portastatic, Death Cab for Cutie, and Nada Surf (among many others) have recorded, and Vanderslice has offered his production chops to many an album over his prolific career, collaborating with Spoon and the Mountain Goats, among others.
Vanderslice is one of indie rock's most revered songwriters, collaborators, and producers, and he's also a legendary nice guy. The man is a San Francisco musical institution in and of himself, and gets unanimous respect from both the local community and the indie rock world at large. He was a perfect headliner for the 2007 Noise Pop bill. Playing the 500-person capacity Independent, Vanderslice sounds fantastic as he rocks out to an audience of adoring fans and fellow musicians alike with—in true Noise Pop fashion—opening sets by three different acts, including Damien Jurado, the Submarines, and Black Fiction.