Written by: Cait Elizabeth - November 2018
Edited by: Travis Ryan

INTRODUCTIONS: 

Imagine stepping off a spaceship and walking into Woodstock and you’ve got a good idea of what Astronauto is about. It’s spacey, synthy, wonderment full of heart and soul. Astronauto’s pilot is the lovely John Velsor, who provides the vocals, guitar, and synths live. In the studio he is accompanied by Nick Bedo who handles production and engineering.

John is currently residing in Lynbrook but has bounced around the area quite a bit over the years. (Quick, someone offer him affordable housing so he doesn’t disappear to CT!) He has been playing guitar since he was 14 and playing shows since age 15. Most notably, John played with The Red Lights from 2008-2011 and Medicine Fish from 2011 to the present. In August of 2015, Nick Bedo (of Ruckzuck) recorded Medicine Fish’s album “Henry” and heard some of John’s new ideas. This sparked a marathon four-day recording session where they created “Astronauto/The Green Album”, which was released in January 2016. A frantic, heavy scheduled year followed where Astronauto played every open mic and gig possible, including three tours with Ruckzuck and one solo tour in August. “Astronauto II/The Neon Album” was recorded in two four-day sessions in Pennsylvania. It was mixed and completed in one all day session on Thanksgiving Day 2016 and was released in January 2017. Astronauto played 82 shows in 2017 apart from gigs John played with Medicine Fish, Claire Raby, and Jaimus Vu. He recorded “Astronauto III/The Florescent Album” in August 2017, and it was released in January 2018.

All of this music making happens in the midst of a full outside life: the guitar and piano lessons John teaches, moving from Valley Stream to Lynbrook, raising a daughter, and finding time to get married to longtime partner, Tara are among the many bullet points that have been on his schedule. The past few years have been absolutely packed with creativity and dedication. John also produces the album art and hand decorates his self-burnt CDs with sharpies and a broken Discman. Nearly all of the merch and layout has been hand created. John attempted to make “everything from the lyrics to visual aspects to music as unique and [i]mmersive of an experience as I could for anyone checking it out”. He often wears themed outfits while he performs. The first time I saw him he was in a wild metallic/holographic silver getup. His stands are lime green and striped in black, matching artwork for his albums. The overall effect transforms you to something ethereal crossed with a 60s tour van. It’s magic.

The beginning of 2018 was busy, leading up to a 13-day tour in April. John was accompanied by director Tommy Cavannagh, who filmed a documentary film of the tour (“How Can We Know”, awaiting release). After April both the human and instrumental components of Astronauto needed a long overdue break. We look forward to the release of “How Can We Know” and to what Astronauto comes up with next!

TOURS & SHOWS 

Astronauto has toured in 19 states, including up and down the east coast, the New England area, throughout the South, and a good chuck of the Midwest.

Among some favorite road stories, John recounts meeting a “superhuge astrofan” in Nashville that had found the music online but had never seen him play before. There was a freak cold front that moved in and it was an outdoor gig in the mid-40s. The kind fan stuck it out in the cold through the whole show and provided hot cocoa after the set. Another time he and Matt Bedo (of Ruckzuck) started a side project called 3bc. They crashed overnight at a venue in NH and instead of sleeping they played all night, taking full advantage of the big empty rehearsal space. One trip in VT he camped out on a mountain realizing in the morning that he was on private property that was mostly surrounded by barbed wire fences.

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INSPIRATION & INFLUENCES 

John lists Brian Eno, Nick, Drake, David Bowie, Tim Buckley, Velvet Underground, Flaming Lips, Kurt Vile, Captain Beefheart, Devendra Banhart, and The Beatles amongst his inspirations.