Meet Spencer Vandevier | Singer Songwriter & Multi Instrumentalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Spencer Vandevier and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Spencer, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born and raised in Kingman AZ. My parents are both musical and encouraged my sister and I from an early age to sing and make music. My dad has been in bands on an off his entire life and my mom also played music and minored in it in college. Singing was my first musical interest and I would sing anywhere it was appropriate and sometimes not so appropriate. When I reached the 5th grade I was very excited to start playing an instrument and picked the alto saxophone. I continued to play the saxophone family until I graduated high school. During high school is when I began playing the guitar and the bass guitar, which took me through college. I think the music I was brought up on and loved as well as the encouragement from my parents is what gave me the courage to take to this career path.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My current main project is as a solo singer songwriter in the genres of folk and country. The music I create in this project tends toward the darker side of life and the experiences like death, love lost and loneliness that I and I believe all have dealt with in and around their lives. Playing my songs as well as other artists songs in this theme is so cathartic and soothing to me. My performance set up in this is fairly simple with just guitar and vocals to express and emote the story of the songs. I think the simple set up I use adds a very raw and vulnerable feeling to the performance. Outside of that I continue to work with other musicians as a bassist, vocalist or any other Instrument that is needed. Having that verity is so fulfilling and offers me so much inspiration. Somethings in music came easily and others required a lot of work and guidance. I love performing whether it is to just myself or a room full of people. The comfort that comes from it makes all of the more difficult times manageable.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would start here in Flagstaff for the first few days eating at El Tapatio, Satchmo’s, Kokiyo, and Mama Burger. I would take them to the shops downtown as well as The Gopher Hole, Monte Vista Lounge, Orpheum, Firecreek and Mountain Top Taproom to catch some of the local acts and open mics. Then We would head south to cottonwood for some wine at Arizona Stronghold and Burning Tree Cellars and grabbing some food in some of the restaurants in the area. We would then continue too Prescott to wander through Prescott Town Square and Whiskey row for food and music. After we would hike some of the trails around Watson lake. I would finish off the trip camping in the Hualapai Mountains outside of Kingman, where we could hike in the mountains and down in Kingman at Monolith Gardens. In Kingman we would see live local music at one of my favorite breweries Black Bridge Brewery and shop at some of the locally owned shops in downtown. This plan allows you to see a lot of the beauty of northern Arizona and meet the cool people who live here!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family was and continues to be a huge support system in making music my career choice. My high school music Director Gino Hernandez lead me to playing bass which started me believing in going to college for music and making it my career. I attended college at Santa Fe University of Art and Design where many instructors helped me find my way including Steve Paxton, Horace Alexander Young, Scott Jarrett, my bass instructors Paul Brown and Any Zadrozny, Mark Clark, Fred Simpson, Pete Williams, Ross Hamlin, Charles Feilding, Robby Rothschild, and Tom Adler. I have many friends who have assisted or inspired my path in music like Caleb Patty, Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose, Ryan Biter, Dan Mench-Thurlow, Colton Liberatore, and Nate Smerage are just a small sample.

Website: www.spencervandevier.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencervandevier/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Spencer-Vandevier-SingerSongwriter-1659535287672077

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC62qvCidEaUQvuHjk5cSyIg

Image Credits
Samantha Butler, Laura Kinghan, Trace Turner