John Vanderslice Quotes

“Caffeine gives me hope. Sometimes, when I brew my wicked strong Irish black tea just perfect, about halfway through the mug I feel a clear and overwhelming feeling of optimism. It didn't surprise me when a study a few years ago implied that suicide was much less likely among coffee and tea drinkers.”

— John Vanderslice

“The funny thing is that even engineers and techs don't know what a tiny telephone connector is - people call them TT connectors. Engineers used to come by all the time and say, "Why are you called Tiny Telephone?"”

— John Vanderslice

“As a studio, you have to have a niche. You have to provide a service and there has to be a reason for your being around.”

— John Vanderslice

Bands will always need studios. The more people there are recording at home, the more people there will be who are going to need a studio.

— John Vanderslice

“The world is just going to continue to fragment, and that's a great thing.”

— John Vanderslice

“There's nothing like space and the ability to make unlimited amounts of noise at any time, especially in San Francisco.”

— John Vanderslice

“I like vinyl because it's not quite random access. You have to pick up the needle, flip the record. I do think that an 18-20 minute block of music is sacred, and I can see why it's catching on. I really don't know if it will stay, but it's such a bizarre world, I think it's possible.”

— John Vanderslice

“There is definitely a nostalgia, and I am very sentimental, so I don't begrudge people for having sentimental feelings towards vinyl.”

— John Vanderslice

“One thing that has happened is a revolution in digital consumer recording, and overall, that's a great thing for art, but parallel to that there's been a revolution in boutique audio companies making excellent gear.”

— John Vanderslice

“Making love to robots will probably be great one day. It's just not a viable option right now.”

— John Vanderslice

Analog was perfected over 70 years, though. Digital will one day be fantastic. I'm sure of it.

— John Vanderslice

“In fact, it's in my interest to love digital recording, and I just spent a ton on a new digital recording system, so I speak from a place of heavy investment in both sides.”

— John Vanderslice

“Ultimately, the question, "does it really matter?" is a question of humanity. If you're into the pursuit of fidelity, it's a really interesting question. Personally, I don't think digital sounds good, but that's just my own feeling.”

— John Vanderslice

I'm a collector, a tinkerer, and a tweaker, like a lot of people, and recording equipment is really easy to fetishize.

— John Vanderslice

I was living in Gainesville, Florida, and our babysitter brought over the soundtrack to The Who's "Tommy" - not the actual record "Tommy", but the soundtrack to the movie with Elton John and Aretha Franklin. I remember hearing it for the first time and it was so confusing. It was like waves and waves of unknowable and indescribable sound coming out of the stereo.

— John Vanderslice

“One day, digital will be it. Analog will just be another oddity, and that's fine, too. I have no great misgivings about it, but there will always be something to analog. It's the smell of the tape and all that visceral, physical stuff.”

— John Vanderslice