Check Out Rees Vanderslice’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rees Vanderslice.

Hi Rees, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been playing guitar since I was about 12 years old and I’m 47 now so I’ve been playing for about 35 years. I was influenced greatly by jimmy page of Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Slash. I was also heavily influenced by the blues artists of the early days, one album in particular changed my life, ‘Buddy Guy And Junior Wells ‘Alone and Acoustic’. I was kind of a weird kid playing with ‘rockstar’ looks and discovering my own style by doing so. I’ve always been heavily influenced by music and passion so when I’m not playing guitar professionally, I’m usually taking clients as a hairstylist at the Hallard Weber Salon here in sugarhouse. I’ve been a stylist for over 20 years now and the two go hand in hand, I love them both! I’ve been a professional musician since I turned 30. I got my first ‘break’ when I was in a band based out of Los Angeles called Burn Halo featuring James Hart from 18 visions. We were signed to Island records and my tenure lasted about 15 min sadly because our A.R. rep was fired and after that, it just fell apart. I was asked to join a tour w/ puddle of mud and Hailstorm and respectfully turned it down to build my first salon in a downtown salt lake called The Electric Chair. It was sold and shut down. Since then, I began my tenure with the International Tribute band George Michael Reborn starring Robert Bartko and have now traveled all over the USA including performances in Alaska and Mexico. I just played my last show with them in mid-December which brings me to now…I am now putting a blues band together here locally and hope to have something together sometime next year. My kids are my number one priority and when my 7-year-old said, ” Dada, I really really, really, miss you ‘, I knew my time was up w/ touring so now I’m just slaying hair in sugarhouse playing locally and may do a few fills in performances w/ George Michal Reborn from time to time. I feel very fortunate to have all the experiences I’ve had and wouldn’t change it for anything in the world! I believe my time is now to enjoy my family and play music for the love of it along w/ doing hair and I couldn’t be happier!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My road to self-discovery and music and hair has not been smooth. I’ve had many speed bumps I’ve had to learn to overcome but I’m still kicking and as long as I am I will keep pushing forward to improve and evolve into the person I’m meant to be. 🙂

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve always been enamored with the music business, hair became an interest when I moved to California to try and break into the industry. My girlfriend at the time mentioned something about doing hair and it planted the seed. I’m so glad I went to hair school since then it’s fueled my life creating wonderful opportunities along the way. My mother and father influenced my musical tastes heavily and have always dreamed of playing professionally and touring. I’ve had many proud moments most recently playing the Hangar in Orange County for around 8 thousand people, what a rush ! I’m also very proud of being able to play two shows during the Olympics in Salt Lake City at Bud World and The Ice Village. It was such a wonderful experience but 911 happened right before putting a damper on our performance since people were afraid to come out at first. That truly is the story of my career in music it’s filled w/ so many ‘what ifs’ but I have had to learn to just keep moving forward and since it’s my first true love, I had no other choice to do so. Being a musician is so hard on relationships and family I’ve made many sacrifices for my career and now at the ripe age of 47, I’ve decided to just play for the love of it so I can be home and not miss any of those ‘special moments’ with my family. I also have a wonderful girlfriend now that has been such a great support for me ! she has always been there to help navigate some of these crazy moments I’ve had! I guess the thing that sets me apart from other guitarists and musicians is I’m sort of a chameleon. I’ve played heavy rock, r&b, Punk rock, blues, jazz …I love it all so I fuse my styles together along w/ my fashion sense and it seems to keep the gigs coming!

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Well, I’ve basically read all the books on the music shelf at Barnes and Noble and watched many hair videos to keep me inspired. my favorite musical books are:

Motley Crue the dirt

SRV Stevie Ray Vaughan
Scar Tissue by Anthony Keidis

Pricing:

• haircuts are 70.00

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.georgemichaelreborn.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reesmhair.music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rees.vanderslice

Image Credits
Main photo by @Photogsb