Ladner's Nathen Aswell will be back at the Genesis Theatre for another live@5005 concert series performance next Friday.
Aswell, who performs a brand of "conscious pop," was at the local venue last March.
He'll be playing tunes from his latest CD YES and his first album Little By Little using an NS Stick, an eight-stringed electronic instrument that can be plucked like a bass, played like a guitar or tapped with both hands like a piano.
"Probably 90 per cent of the time I perform on my own. The beauty of that instrument is that it gives me a nice, full sound," says Aswell.
He'll be performing with friends on guitar and drums at the upcoming concert, which should provide "a really big sound."
Aswell says "95 per cent" of all stick players were inspired to play it by Tony Levin, a musician known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson.
"I remember hearing the bass lines and going, 'What is that?' recalls Aswell, referring to listening to hit Gabriel songs in the late '70s and early '80s.
The version of the stick that Aswell uses came out years later. He got his first one secondhand in 2002 and used it as a bass for a while before immersing himself in the instrument's technique.
"I started doing shows completely using my stick in 2009 and I haven't looked back," he says. "My guitar is pretty lonely but I'm happy that I made the choice."
Aswell, who's been moving towards songs with choruses that people can sing along with, says he'll be encouraging a lot of audience participation at the Genesis show.
"A big phrase for me the last year or two of my life around what I do is wanting to move the experience from me and change it to we," he says, adding he wants to create much more of an inclusive experience and not just him standing up and singing some songs.
Aswell will be at Genesis Theatre, 5005-45th Ave., on Friday, March 21 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15, cash only, at the door on the night of the performance.
For more on Aswell check out his website at www.nathenaswell.com.
