Las Vegas Weekly

Talking tonic with The Slow Poisoner

Step right up, ladies and gentleman, and let me tell you about a cure for whatever ails you. It's a tonic, you see, and it will cure up to a thousand different sorrows, including aging, uninvited hauntings, dismemberment and elephantiasis.

It's also a hell of a piece of band merch.

The Slow Poisoner (whose less-sinister real name is Andrew Goldfarb) admits that the "genuine tonic" he sells at his merch booth does better than his CDs. Maybe grasping the concept of curing disease is easier than comprehending how exactly his self-described "one-man surrealistic rock-and-roll band from San Francisco" might sound.

TSP describes himself as a cross between Johnny Cash and David Bowie — he's a bit bluesy rock 'n' roll and a whole lot of eccentric. He plays all his own instruments, except when he has his guinea pig Coco fill in on percussion. (Yes, he really did that.) His sound ranges from Americana and western to upbeat and just downright strange.

Aside from music, Goldfarb is a comic working on a series exploring a thousand sorrows. He says he hopes to complete it when he's 100 years old. Goldfarb also incorporates his artwork into each musical performance, illustrating each song with a slide. He's drawn the CD covers for his two full-length albums, as well as the cover for local band Yeller Bellies' upcoming release, Here to Suffer.

Like his genuine tonic, all of TSP's elements — the indie sound, original visuals and fantasy world where it's acceptable to talk about warlocks and witches outside of your mother's basement — boil down to create a unique stage show. Whether it goes down smooth for you, well, step right up and see.... The Slow Poisoner will be performing live Saturday at Boomers as part of the 2nd Annual Unlucky Holiday Party along with the Yeller Bellies, The Clydesdale, The Voodoo Organist and Mad Caps.