Interview with Danny Vaughn @ HRH AOR 2103

 

 

Danny Vaughn Interview – HRH AOR festival 2013
Interviewed by Matt

 

Danny Vaughn is renowned for being one of the most powerful and melodic voices in Rock, having released albums with Waysted, Tyketto and Rage of Angels amongst others, Danny has also released a solid collection of solo material

 

Hi Danny,

So how’s everything with you at the minute?

“Busy, busiest I’ve been in probably in ten years y’know I’ve made my goal to try and keep up with with Jeff Scott Soto! Lol. So I'm working on five different projects right now and the solo show’s I just started doing because I got the rights back to my own albums and was able to put em out on my own steam which made me very happy so I thought it would just be fun to do show’s again with a full band again, it’s been a while and as soon as we’re done I’m going back up to Madrid to finish an album with a band called Burning Kingdom, this’ll be their third album, with a Spanish guitarist called Manuel Seoane who’s an awesome electric/Metal guy and that albums turning into something really cool, we’re shaping it and it’s a little bit different, I think fans are gonna like it a lot, so I’ve gotta finish that and then the Ultimate Eagles, my tribute band goes out in the UK in May, that takes me to June and more Ultimate Eagle stuff all through the summer and then Rage of Angels are gonna do some shows, they’ve asked me, because nobody could possibly afford or want all those singers on the same stage, they’ve asked me to be the singer to represent the group, and that was like, uh, ok, more pressure! Lol. So a bit of that and I’ve got my own radio show so I think that covers everything, “

 

Wow so where do you take it form there lol?

“Yeah sleep is not an option at this point but I mean, it can go the other way. It depends what you choose, I’ve been a little more game for stuff in the last couple of years like Bring it on, I mean lets face it I don’t know how long I will keep doing this, forever would be nice but hey there’s no guarantees, and when people are coming at you saying they’d really like your participation you gotta jump, the phone stops ringing fast, I’ve had that experience”

 

You are renowned as a phenomenal Vocalist how’s that feel?

“Firstly thank you, but I don’t feel like that today lol between rehearsals and the show’s we’ve done six on the trot, which is really tiring, normally I’ll leave a space between rehearsals and the first show, our bass player Chris got really bad flu so he missed everyone but the last rehearsal, and rehearsals you sing for five or six hours y’know, the instrument’s a little worn out so today’s my rest day”

 

So is there anyone you’ve managed to check out here so far?

“I was so pleased to see Tesla last night, I’ve not seen them in ages and they were just fantastic, FM are always a band you love to see, I’d never seen Romeo’s Daughter so we enjoyed that so they were the three I got. So today I wanna make sure I see the Summers as they supported Tyketto on a show, and just really enjoy them, I think they’ve got the right idea. I don’t think every band who picks up this mantle of music does their homework and they just kinda go for a cookie cutter kind of approach, maybe I’m a little jaded with that but these guys have got something and I wanna see how it’s progressing from the last time I saw them. It’s the same for a band like The Treatment, they opened for Tyketto and someday I hope to open for them y’know lol, they’ve got it.

Of course there’s Skid Row, I’ve not seen Skid Row in ages so that’s a band we are NOT gonna miss, there’s also Kip Winger we are gonna see, and I’m gonna challenge the odds and say we are gonna be up for Jeff Scott Soto lol.”

 

Did you see anything of H.E.A.T.?

“No I’ve been mainly here, but they’re picking up steam everywhere they go aren’t they? We played with them in Sweden Rock 2009 I think, That’s a band that just seems to be getting stronger and stronger.

 

I have to agree with what you said about this type of Rock Music, so many try but for some reason they just miss the mark, I’m definitely glad grunge is over

“(Laughs), Yeah there is room enough for all, what you’re referring to I think, it’s like Glam Rock on the surface doesn’t sound hard y’know, “Talk Dirty To Me” isn’t a hard song to learn but it probably wasn’t an easy one to write,  so no matter what you do, you’ve gotta learn your craft, and you have to take the bands that you love, and if you’re really wise you have to then find out who they love and follow that train of thought, cause that kind of teaches you how good songs get written, and I agree with you that some people have that cookie cutter approach, like “ they did this, so we’ll do that”. It’s hard because all the lyrics that could have been written about having sex have been written, look at David Coverdale he’s like written the same lyric for like twenty years y’know. He’s a genius and I love him but y’know, c’mon ”

 

Have you heard the song Forevermore?

“Exactly!, if he can do songs like that that show his genius do that then why revert back, I mean he’s one of the guy’s that got me into this ”

 

I agree, you want the bands to keep their identity but you also want them to evolve and push the boundaries, for me a massive Queensryche fan in the past for t

 

he last few albums they’ve just tread water for me

“ Yeah, I think the last one I enjoyed was “ Tribe” then again, which one’s Queensryche now? They are tremendous musicians and almost created their own feel to it, there was really nothing quite like that at the time”

 

So from that point of view who’s your inspirations?

“I draw from a lot of places, I end up talking about Springsteen a lot, I love acoustic guitars more and more, it’s like when Tesla came out with “Heaven’s Trail” it’s just that intro and there’s something about that that just grabs me. I also think from an early age Springsteen’s approach to live music has left it’s mark on me, it’s like he say’s “You have to bring it every night, otherwise why are you doing it”, if you’ve never seen one of his shows it doesn’t matter if you like him or not, go see his show, you ‘ll walk out goin “ he’s fifty what?!” his shows are three hours long and you don’t get tired and he’s a master of making 30,00 people feel like they re watching a show just for them, and that’s a massive inspiration just for me. He draws from places like American gospel which I love, I love the sound of the human voice as a collective, it can be Tibetan monks but it’s just that sound”

 

Watching you last night for the first time, it come’s across how much of a perfectionist you are and your passion shines through

“Cause I got real mad about my guitar cable? Lol, It’s that I want it to be right for the people, and that’s a responsibility, when people say they’ve come here to see you, it’s what they want. I have to admit I’m addicted to that sound when the light’s go down, and that makes you really want to get it right”

 

So is there anywhere you haven’t played that you want to yet?

“Royal Albert Hall, I’ve no idea how I’d do that but yeah”

 

You could always write the Danny Vaughn musical? Lol

“You never know, with all this advantageous stuff, there is a lot of avenues for that stuff right now,  the Albert hall is kind of a magical place and growing up in New York it was Madison Square gardens, that’s where I saw my first concerts and I performed there with Waysted, and you just stand on that stage thinking “ Oh my God! I sat there, and there, never down there, always up there! “ and y’know there’s a few like that, Hammersmith still has that too. Other than that someplace warm is always good!”

 

And is there any chance for Download this year?

“Not this year but Tyketto are looking at doing some stuff next year, so I think it’s been enough time since last time so hopefully there’s an open door”

 

On a personal note, a massive Thanks to Danny and Melissa, a dream realized and two amazing people……

Matt