Jason Anderson

Jason Anderson formed Wolf Colonel in 1996 while a student in Portland, at a time when (and in a place where) he could easily see Elliott Smith before every sweater-wearing fan of indie rock had the chance to do so. Seeing one of Calvin Johnson’s projects was not a rare occurrence, either; the latter’s K Records released Wolf Colonel’s first EP in 1999, as well as a handful of subsequent albums, including 2000’s Vikings of Mint. The music found on those recordings was a kind of stripped-down rock and roll akin to the oft-cited masters of lo-fi rock, Guided by Voices. A charismatic live performer, Anderson has a way of making you feel like he’s singing to a small group of friends about shared experiences. (Stop by backbeatblog.com for a full Q&A with Anderson.)