| Intro | American musician and writer |
| Is |
Internet personality Musician Writer Podcaster |
| From | United States of America |
| Type |
Internet Literature Music |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 13 September 1968, Seattle |
| Age: | 51 years |
John Roderick is an American musician, writer, podcaster, and politician. Born in Seattle, Washington, he grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, where as a young man he worked as a sluice box mucker for a gold mining operation in the area. He is currently the lead singer and guitarist in the band The Long Winters and was formerly a touring member of the band Harvey Danger. He is also a frequent guest musician on recordings by other bands, appearing on the Death Cab for Cutie album Transatlanticism, the Nada Surf album The Weight Is a Gift, The Decemberists album Picaresque, and the David Bazan album Curse Your Branches, as well as recordings by BOAT, Visqueen, Say Hi, Denver Dalley, Shelby Earl and Ken Stringfellow. He collaborated with Jonathan Coulton for Coulton’s album, Artificial Heart, released in September 2011 and a duo album called One Christmas at a Time in November 2012. Roderick became a founding member of the Seattle Music Commission in 2010.
Career
In June 2006, Roderick covered the Bonnaroo festival as a correspondent for CMJ magazine, and then reprised his role for MSNBC the following year. He has also written about music and film for The Stranger and in early 2008 began writing a weekly column for the Seattle Weekly.
Roderick is a frequent collaborator with 826 Seattle, hosting the event People Talking and Singing with Dave Eggers in 2007, and teaching a course in writing called How to Write Like I Do. in 2009. Roderick also took part in the Revenge of the Bookeaters tour appearing at the Beacon Theater for 826NYC and at Park West for 826 Chicago.
Roderick has also appeared with John Hodgman and longtime Hodgman accomplice Jonathan Coulton at shows in Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles. Roderick is a frequent guest on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Live Wire Radio and on KEXP. He narrated the Venue Songs for They Might Be Giants at the Moore Theatre, appeared with Hodgman on Minnesota Public Radio’s program Wits, and has performed readings of his own prose at John Wesley Harding’s Cabinet of Wonders in Seattle and NYC.
Roderick is the son of Washington state legislator David Roderick.
Roderick was voted #3 on Seattle’s “Sexiest Man” list of 2006.
His first book of extremely short prose, Electric Aphorisms, was published in November 2009.
In 2010, Roderick collaborated on the project Mt. Desolation with Keane’s Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin. He also toured with John Hodgman on Hodgman’s book tour, filling in for Hodgman’s normal musical act, Jonathan Coulton.
In September 2011, Roderick began co-hosting Roderick on the Line, a podcast with Merlin Mann.
In June 2012, he toured with Coulton as the opening act for Coulton’s Artificial Heart tour, and provided the lead vocals for the track “Nemeses” from that album.
In January 2013, Roderick guest starred as the “Expert Witness” in two episodes of John Hodgman’s comedy/court show podcast Judge John Hodgman. He also served as “Guest Bailiff” on the same podcast for two episodes in April 2014: “Episode 154: Visitation Rights” and “Episode 155: The Perp Walk.”
Roderick co-wrote two songs with Kathleen Edwards on her 2011 album Voyageur. “Soft Place to Land”, co-written by Edwards and Roderick, won the 2012 SOCAN Songwriting Prize.
In April 2015, Roderick announced that he would run for Seattle City Council. While his campaign was eventually unsuccessful, Roderick stated he will stay “committed to a better city”.