I Will Wait For You And I Always Will

May 29, 2013 6:17 PM

Jason Anderson, the singer who's "equal parts Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison" has remastered and rereleased his classic EP 'Omaha' and is offering it for free from his website. You can read an interview with him here, which talks about meeting Calvin Johnson and his days as Wolf Colonel.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants (7 comments total)

When I lived in NYC, I saw Jason, probably a dozen times, mostly for free in the tiny Pete's Candy Store where he'd play every Monday for a month. There would be a dozen or so of us crammed back there and sometimes when it was over, we'd go to the park and he'd play a couple more. His shows were equal parts intimate and epic and always emotionally cathartic. You really feel like you're there, you're present and interacting with Jason instead of just being an observer. The Springsteen comparision is really apt- he's part songwriter part therapist part gospel preacher. We only really chatted a couple times but he was, as expected, extremely nice.

His shows are one of the things I miss most about New York. Lookin' forward to listening to these songs again. Thanks!

The best thing in the world is to love someone and they love you back.
posted by saul wright at 6:50 PM on May 29, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh man. I want to write 300 paragraphs but instead I'll just say that Jason Anderson is pretty close to what I imagine as a/the physical manifestation of love. Each of his shows is uniquely memorable and so oddly emotional; it's so interesting to have these weird almost-spiritual experiences with a bunch of strangers. I've seen him in living rooms and lofts and art spaces and every time has felt nothing short of transcendental.

I once wrote this stupid thing in a feature about songs that are supposed to convince you to love life, to step back from the proverbial ledge, and "Hold On" was one of my picks. Just amazing. I hope everyone reading this goes to see him on tour because dear god, he is always on tour, and going to see him play is like having your soul hugged. Make sure to sing along (don't worry, he will teach you the words).

Songkick! Facebook! Bandcamp! Last.fm! Vikings of Mint! New England!
♥
posted by divined by radio at 7:15 PM on May 29, 2013 [2 favorites]

Dude! I saw this guy play a free set in a tiny coffee shop here in Madison, just wandering around the tables, banging on his guitar, just kind of going for it with all his might, in front of 10 people, most of whom just came in from the bitter cold to get some hot chocolate.

I pay him my highest compliment, which is to say, "I usually hate this kind of thing, but goddamn it, that was good."

"O, Jac" is the song I really remember admiring.
posted by escabeche at 7:35 PM on May 29, 2013

Oh, man. I spotified "Jeff Anderson" by accident (probably because I live in Minnesota and this Jeff Anderson ran for Congress up in the 8th district up near Duluth and a bunch of my friends were working on his campaign) and it was some pretty lame-ass Christian pop music, which was crazy confusing.

I much prefer this "Jason Anderson" (spotify link) you're recommending.

My first thought, after the first couple Christian rock songs, was that Charlemange in Sweatpants was riffing off Craig Finn's Jesus obsession, but taking the joke a step further.
posted by elmer benson at 7:36 PM on May 29, 2013

Man, these new Odd Future guys keep coming out of the woodwork and some of them are darned unexpected if I do say so myself.
posted by koeselitz at 7:47 PM on May 29, 2013 [2 favorites]

Jason was my roommate freshman year in college. It's interesting to see the style of music that caught on for him.

Three of his most memorable bands (for me) were:

• A crazy punk band that he played a flying v guitar in, example lyrics: "I've got the spins again/and I don't think I'm gonna win!"
• Señor Lumpy, a duo who sang songs about things like tigers tasting moose cocks and who did a killer (often 10+ minute long) cover of The Humpty Dance
• Yume Bitsu, where, as I recall, he just played drums.

Anyhow, great guy, weird to see him pop up here. If you ever get a chance to see him play live you should do so, he takes crowd interaction to a level that I've never seen from any other musician.
posted by togdon at 7:28 AM on May 30, 2013

Dude! I saw this guy play a free set in a tiny coffee shop here in Madison...
escabeche, he's playing there again on Tuesday, June 18. Yay!

And Chicagoans, he will be at the beautiful Den Theater on Wednesday, June 19.
posted by divined by radio at 7:59 AM on May 30, 2013