Not only is John Vanderslice a locally raised jack-of-all-trades, he’s an all around nice guy to boot. It was evident to me on Friday, when we spoke and did the following interview, but JV proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt on Saturday night right before his set at Iota.

I arrived a bit after 10 p.m. and the doorman told me the show was sold out. “No problem, ” I said. “I’m on the JV guest list.” Only I wasn’t. I was supposed to be, but my name wasn’t there. And JV was due to go onstage at any second. It quickly became apparent that I wasn’t going to get to see the show. I was bummed, but not too despondent. It wasn’t the first time that I was supposed to be on the list but wasn’t and it certainly won’t be the last. Luckily, one of the door people at Iota said they would go get someone from JV’s tour group to see if they could help.

Two minutes later JV himself pops out apologizing profusely and promptly gets me inside the packed room. Then, as if he doesn’t have anything better to do, like play a show to a sold out room, he stays and chats with me for a minute or two. Totally unwarranted but completely appreciated. A few minutes later, he was on stage doing what he does best. The man is a dynamo and his reputation for being the nicest guy in indie rock is well deserved. What follows is the conversation we had last Friday afternoon.

So you lived in Potomac, Md. when you were younger?

Yeah. From when I was 11 until I was 21. I went to the University of Maryland, got a degree in Econ. I went to local schools for junior high and high school. I’m in many ways a products of Florida, where I grew up for the first 11 years of my life, and Maryland. I love Florida, I’m a huge fan of Florida, especially northern and central Florida, but it was great for me to see a different part of the country when I was growing up.

Do you have friends that are still in the area? Is playing D.C. a sort of homecoming gig for you?

Well, actually I would say no because so many of my friends have moved away. Two of my best friends still live there so I see them at shows all the time, but everyone moves. Last night I played the Mercury Lounge in New York, and after the show my old next door neighbor from Potomac came up to me and I was like, “Holy shit!” So, you know, people move, and they find you, that’s the cool thing. People find you. There are a lot of people from my high school and college that find me, especially because I go under my name and it’s a very unusual name.