Vandaveer - thieving from the thieves
Mark Charles Heidinger has many stories to tell. As Vandaveer he puts some of them into warm and melancholy melodies. The Songwriter from Washington/ DC just published his second album “Divide & Conquer”. It’s time to put some spotlight into the dark corner of Vandaveer. The interview portraits a passionate but modest artist, who knows where he stands and where he might want to go.
Buzz: Your new album is the second after a debut that was critically acclaimed in the US. Was it difficult to work on a sophomore album?
Mark: Not so difficult, really. I think we gave ourselves plenty of time to make the second record. With a little breathing room, you allow most ideas to really settle in before you have to make a final decision. Some records are made very quickly. Others not so much. The important thing, I think, is to approach each song or each album with an open mind and follow the process that unfolds naturally.
Buzz: Your music sounds like you listen to lots of old folk recordings. What do you think is so special about these tunes?
Mark: I listen to lots of recordings, but not necessarily old folk ones so much. I do love the way older records sound. There’s a gritty quality to them that you don’t necessarily get when you record onto a computer. I think I probably listen to a lot of contemporary musicians who listen to a lot of old folk recordings, actually. I’m thieving from the thieves.
Buzz: In reviews you’ve often been compared to Nick Drake. What do you think about that?
Mark: I enjoy Nick Drake’s music immensely. I also think it’s just awful that he died so young. I’m not so sure such comparisons make a whole lot of sense, but I suppose they’re good for stickers that labels put on CDs to sell in shops.
Buzz: Please tell me the story behind the moniker Vandaveer.
Mark: I stole it from my brother, who stole it from our dad, who stole it from his grandfather, who was given it by his mother. Goes back a long, long way in our family. Like an heirloom, but loftier. Songs are like children, and it’s never a bad idea to pass down family names to the next generation, eh?
Buzz: Your bio reads that you are the son of a preacher who was the son of a gambler. Sounds like heaven and hell collide. How does this affect you and your art?
Mark: I suppose it affects me in the very same way that my dog or my houseplants or my kitchen table affect me. Everything plays its part, you know? I love my pops. He’s a fine man. I never knew his dad. He passed early. Too early. But family bonds are tight. Blood is thick. So I think I’m profoundly affected by all of that. Or, perhaps, not at all. I suppose it changes from day to day.
Buzz: When did you first know, that you wanted to become a musician?
Mark: “We Are The World”. 1985. I already wanted to be Michael Jackson, but mostly because he was such a damn good dancer. “We Are The World” raised the bar, though. All those people singing together in one room. Too much fun. Too much hairspray, too, but those were the ‘80s, so…
Buzz: Would you consider to call your music Americana?
Mark: In the sense that songs are cultural artifacts, usually filled with some manner of folklore, tied to place and period in one way or another, and, in my case, by their very nature born in America, yes. Nearly all songs vaguely folk and concretely American would probably fall under the large and wobbly Americana umbrella, but I think that word means different things to different people.
Video: “Fistful of swoon”
