Someone should nominate John Vanderslice for nicest guy in indie rock. The man is so amiable; you might wonder if he has something to hide. But how can you say that about a guy who will hug someone for selling his merchandise for him at a show?

Vanderslice, (JV to his friends) stopped to talk before one of his shows on this recent tour with John Darnielle, better known as the one-man band Mountain Goats. Vanderslice wasn’t exactly sure what town he was in, but it’s to be expected when talking to a stalwart of the road such as this.

“We are in Lafayette, Ark.,” he says. “Is that right? Does that sound right? No wait. Fayetteville. Fayetteville, Ark. Yeah. Isn’t that wild?”

Yes, it’s true.

This man has enthusiasm for everything. Some musicians would be peeved at having to traipse the streets of what passes for a metropolis in northern Arkansas.

But Vanderslice wouldn’t have it any other way.

He’s been visiting quite a few strange places on this pass through the country.

He’s never been in Fayetteville and he’s never been happier (at least this week).

“Never. This is the first time [in Fayetteville]. We’re doing a lot of off-the-beaten-path cities, which I have to tell you has been pretty amazing so far. I think we’ve done seven New York shows this year and like five Cleveland shows. It just gets to declining returns at some point. But now we’re playing really weird places and it’s awesome,” he says.

Vanderslice and Darnielle have a history together. This isn’t some pairing researched and created by a record company. This is two friends enjoying each other’s music and company.

“You know what’s funny … the first solo show I ever played was opening up for Mountain Goats and Bob Mould,” Vanderslice says. “I had no idea who Mountain Goats were. We met backstage, I gave him a record and he was really appreciative of the show. I thought it was a really rocky show. It was the first time I’d ever played solo, I was scared shitless. Somehow we kept in touch via e-mail and he seemed to be genuinely interested in my stuff. At first I thought he was just being polite.”

But apparently Darnielle was serious, because he soon contacted Vanderslice about doing some shows or a tour together.

“Then he really just started asking me to hook up. That was a huge break for me. We played a lot of shows together in the Midwest last year. He’s been a really big help for me.”

Darnielle also helped Vanderslice out on his latest record, “Life and Death of an American Four-Tracker.” Vanderslice says Darnielle’s contributions helped him develop the theme of this latest album.

“It just made me think of a kind of self-involved, hyper-death-obsessed high-schooler who was just breaking up with his girlfriend,” he says. “From there I kind of turned it into homage to the four-track recorder.”

The four-track started Vanderslice’s career, but he is also a big backer of MP3. His Tiny Telephone Web site plays host to high-resolution songs from some of the bigger names around, at least when it comes to indie music. Spoon, Bright Eyes and Of Montreal are among the acts featured on the site. And Vanderslice puts his money where his mouth is.

“I’ve been talking to Barsuk [his record label] recently about allowing me to put everything I have up on the site. That’s my goal: to have a hard copy, high-definition CD available for sale for 10 bucks and everything on my servers as a high-res mp3 available for free download. That’s my goal.”

Vanderslice apologetically pauses the interview and runs down the street to tell a stranger he left his car’s headlights on and continues his MP3 diatribe without missing a beat.

“Personally, my feeling is that the more exposure people have to music, the more they’re going to be involved in what you’re doing. And whether that means coming to the show and buying a record and a shirt, or maybe just burning their own CDs … If all you’re concerned about is a revenue stream you can still believe that you’ll make more money by making stuff available,” he says. “I believe that the more people who know what you’re doing, the more people are going to buy your record— no matter who you are.”

Vanderslice says the benefit is easy to see in making his mp3s readily available; even when major labels are pitching a fit over underground piracy.

“I don’t think there’s anything that’s worth being paranoid about. Your stuff is going to be available on the web. Whether it’s leaked or not is regardless. It’s really a badge of honor when people download your music,” he says.

“People will go to your shows and people will buy your records. There’s been a huge change in my stuff since I embraced the internet. It’s much easier to show up in a town you’ve never been to before and have people show up and know your music. It’s a pretty powerful thing.”