Danny Vaughn is a
straight as they come, the man possess no ego factor and is very
down to earth and likeable. The former Tyketto lads are now going
under the handle of "VAUGHN", their new album
"Soldiers And Sailors On Riverside" is proving to be
Danny's best work to date, and after a stunning show at this
years Z Rock, it's looks as if Danny, Michael, Jaime, P.J and
Kyle have another chance to carve themselves a little niche into
todays world of music, and bring their music straight into the
21st Century. Today after all the pressures of his personnel life
and the music buisness Mr.Vaughn seems happy and content.
Nicky:- How long have you been singing Danny?
Danny:- I have been singing since birth, according to my Mother.
And she wasn't always happy about it. I was given a strict diet
of The Beatles, Joe Cocker, and Janis Joplin from the womb on
out, so I had a well developed set of lungs in no time. In school
they forced me into chorus just to put all the noise I was making
to good use. That worked out because the school chorus was mostly
girls.
Nicky:- Michael how
long have you been skin bashin?
Michael:- September 9 The will mark my 29th year behind a drum
kit. Tried saxophone for a while, but it wasn't violent enough!!
Nicky:- Danny, Did
you do anything prior to Waysted?
Danny:- Prior to Waysted I was cutting my teeth in cover bands in
the New York, New Jersey area. Only a few weeks before opening
for Iron Maiden I was doing an entire set of their material!
Nicky:- What was it
like opening for Iron Maiden? Were you nervous?
Danny:- Opening up for Iron Maiden was one of the best
experiences of my life. They were the largest audiences I have
ever played to. The guys in the band are the nicest I have yet
met and they were all incredibly supportive of us. I run into
them every once in a while and they are still the coolest band
around. Am I a fan, or what?
Nicky:- Michael,
what did you do prior to Tyketto/Vaughn?
Michael:- Prior to TYKETTO, I was the
original drummer in WHITE LION. I had actually met Danny (Vaughn)
through mutual friend, WHITE LION bassist James Lomenzo. Mike
Tramp and Vito Bratta wanted to do the Diamond Dave/Eddie
VanHalen thing, and the thought of being a "side
player" didn't appeal to me all that much. Danny wanted a
band, in every sense of the word, so that's how TYKETTO was born.
Nicky:- Why did you
break from Waysted, and what are your memories of those years?
Danny:- I left Waysted when certain senior members of the group
began living up to the bands name to much and too often. My
memories are mixed. I got to do some amazing things that I might
never have done otherwise. Got to play with Iron Maiden, still
the coolest band on two feet, got to tour the world, but also got
ripped off and told I could go home if I didn't like it. A sad
mixture.
Nicky:- How did
Tyketto come about and where did the name Tyketto come from?
Danny:-. The name Tyketto was spotted by Brooke spray painted on
a wall in Brooklyn somewhere. We still have no idea what it
means. The band got started, as almost everything good in my
musical career has, with a collaboration between me and Michael.
Nicky:- What is
Brooke up to at the moment?
Michael:- Brooke and I speak every now and again. He and Danny
actually ended up living 45 min. away from each other in
Nashville. Brooke helped Danny work on his acoustic guitars for
the tour we just did. He is happily married, and writing a ton of
great music. When he heard about the management/partnership
arrangement Danny and I worked out, I discussed doing something
similar with him. So we should be working on Brooke's solo album
sometime in 2001. 12 years later, he is still one of my dearest
brothers, and I look forward to seeing that lunatic again!
Nicky:- Tell me
about your new album "Soldiers And Sailors On
Riverside"?
Michael:- The album, Well since I've never had kids I can't
compare it to fatherhood, but I bet it must feel close! For this
album, Danny and I did EVERYTHING! We hired the personnel,
arranged, produced, and oversaw all
aspects of the process. This record runs the spectrum of music
written that we were considering for STRENGTH IN NUMBERS (1993)
up until things we were still writing as we pulled into the
recording studio parking lot in November 1999. Somehow, we ended
up with a cohesive, classic rock sounding (old Bad Co. in my
opinion), well produced album. Vintage sounds, great tunes, and
killer lyrics make me rank this album up there with DONT COME
EASY. So far the fans agree. Personally, I pushed myself harder
than ever with my drum tracks, and finally feel that I captured a
small portion of my heroes; John Bonham and Kenny Aronoff.
Personal favorites; "Word For Word" (aor heaven) and
"Handful Of Rain" (love the choral changes as well as
the vintage MOUNTAIN sounds). More work went into this than any
other, and more pride has come out of it
Nicky:- Can you
tell us how you got involved with Geffen records and why you
never did a second album for them?
Danny:- We did a showcase at The Cat Club
in New York City and our managers had created such a buzz about
us that every major label was there to check us out. Mary Gormley
from Geffen was the most insistent that we "didn't sign with
anyone until we met with them". She brought in John Kalodner
and the rest was easy. "Strength In Numbers" was
actually recorded for Geffen and was in the process of being
released when a nameless, faceless accountant pulled the plug.
Thankfully, they were gracious enough to allow us to take the
record we had made to another label.
Nicky:- How did you
get involved with White Lion for those debut UK shows you played
in 1991, and what are you memories of those?
Danny:- I loved that tour with White Lion. There was so much
friendly competition because we all had known each other for so
long. Michael was their original drummer, and James Lomenzo is
still one of my very best friends from the old neighborhood. We
were managed by the same company so hooking up was easy.
Michael:- It was ironic that we ended up with the same management
company as WHITE LION. That was where the 91 tour connection came
from. Everybody on the East Coast music scene knew and worked
with each other back then.
Nicky:- What's your
fondest musical memory?
Danny:- I don't know which memory would be the fondest. Opening
up for Iron Maiden in Budapest in front of 40,000 screaming
people is one. Signing my first record deal. This last little
Vaughn tour was the most emotional thing I've ever done.
Nicky:- Why was the
last Vaughn tour your mose emotional experience?
Danny:- It's hard to put into words what we all were feeling on
this last Vaughn tour. It has become such a struggle for any band
that is not in the mainstream to be heard at all. It takes so
much more work than it did when
Tyketto was with Waysted. Then you had an entire machine behind
you trying to take care of business. Now we do it all ourselves.
Every single victory is a personal one. For people to refer to
our cd as "classic" and "album of the year"
is too good to be true. We really felt each persons cheers and
good wishes.
Michael: Oddly enough, my fondest memories of making music were
on this last tour. Getting away from it all for a while and
coming back to it has given me a new appreciation for what I do.
This tour wasn't about money, girls or record sales, but about
playing onstage with my best friends every night.
Nicky:- Why did you
leave Tyketto after "Strength In Numbers" and then what
made you rejoin the guys for the new album?
Danny:-. I left Tyketto because the road had eaten me up. It was
no fun anymore. There was too much tension. Nirvana was in and
everybody with long hair and melodies and guitars that stayed in
tune were out. Most importantly, my wife contracted leukemia and
I needed to be home. When I had written 30 or 40 songs and I knew
it was time to do something with them, Michael and Jaimie were
the first people I thought of. You're not going to beat that
rhythm section.
Nicky:- Michael,
How did you get involved with Steve Augeri for the
"Shine" album and what was he like to work with?
Michael:- We had met Steve in the New York area, and instantly
became friends. We were all blown away by his band TALL STORIES,
who had just released their debut album. Me, Steve and Brooke
would play around a few NY clubs together on occasion. When Danny
told us he was leaving, we called Steve that night, and we were
rehearsing the following Monday! We never even held auditions.
Steve is one of the most genuine, sincere, family oriented person
I've ever met, and I'm very happy for him.
Nicky:- "Shine" was a slightly
different sounding album, tell me about the record?
Michael:- In retrospect, I think that we should have not called
the band TYKETTO for the SHINE record, as we had really become
something entirely different. Steve and Danny have very different
singing styles, and we were all experimenting as players. We cut
many tracks totally live, which TYKETTO had never done before. It
was also our first self produced effort. Where Brooke had mapped
out most of the solos on the first two albums, he tried a more
freeform approach. Although I love it, SHINE was difficult album
because it symbolized an end of an era in the TYKETTO chapter.
But I still get chills listening to RAW THIGH or LET IT GO.
Nicky:- Obviously
Steve went on to the Journey camp, but is that the reason he left
Tyketto and are you still friends?
Michael:- I dont ever remember us officially calling it quits
with TYKETTO. Although no formal announcements were made, I think
the four of us knew TYKETTO was done after the SHINE album. When
we returned from Europe in 1996, everyone just went their
seperate ways. After 10 non-stop years of playing, touring, and
living together, I needed some time off. Steve didn't get the
Journey call until long after we wrapped up TYKETTO. He actually
popped in to our L'amour show this May in Brooklyn. We got to
catch up on each other's lives, and he
and Danny really hit it off!
Nicky:- Tell me
about the compilation cd "Take Out.", have you ever
thought of releasing a full live album or video? You must have
some material from those early days lying around.
Michael:- That was a labor of love, and sort of my personal
epitaph for TYKETTO. I wanted to put a retrospective package
together that paid tribute to the 5 musicians that I shared a
decade of my life with. I was very proud of that album, and I was
very happy that some great songs finally got a chance to be
heard. Despite a few bootleg videos floating around the internet,
we dont have any concert footage that could be released, and any
unreleased traks worth releasing are on TAKE OUT.......
Nicky:- Danny, how
did the idea for the Flesh And Blood project with Mark Mangold
come around and will there be another album?
Danny:-
Flesh and Blood was a project that had already been finished with
a different singer. Unfortunately, nobody was interested and when
I ran into Mark doing a different little demo project, he asked
me if I'd like to give it a try. I don't know if we'll do another
one or not. We always talk about it, but our schedules are full
right now. Talking about the Flesh And Blood project Mark Mangold
had this to say about his collaboration with Danny.
Mark Mangold:- Danny is a great friend and working with him is
always fun, easy and a complete pleasure. Rock on Danny.
Nicky:- The new
album is brilliant, how did you get involved with Z Records and
why the name change to Vaughn?
Danny:- Thanks for your kind words about the new album. We
decided not to call the band Tyketto because without Brooke, it
isn't. Also, the songs pretty much all came from me, which they
never had before. Initially it was going to be more of a solo
project. The guys turned it into an awesome band. I got an e mail
from a friend in the UK who knew that I was looking for a record
company and had been frustrated because everyone wanted me to
ride the Tyketto wave and re hash the old material. Anyway, she
suggested that Z records was doing well by it's bands. Bless her.
Michael:- After speaking with Mark (Alger), it seemed that he was
willing to let us make the record we wanted to make. Hence the
relationship began. Headlining Z was the highlight of the tour,
and as long as we are invited, we are back in 2001!
Nicky:- How did you
find Z Rock and will you be back next year?
Danny:- Z rock was awesome. I have never felt so glad to be on a
stage. The new guys were gobsmacked by the reaction of the
British audience and their singing along to all the songs. They'd
never seen a crowd like that before. I certainly hope to be back
next year. Go Wigan!
Nicky:- That was an
impressive speach at Z Rock, your obviously very pissed at the
current state in melodic rock?
Danny:- Dear God, what did I say now? I
wouldn't say I'm pissed off. I don't really know what the state
of things are in the UK, musically, but in the States I think
people are buying millions of records from too many disposable
bands. Nothing with any lasting bite. There are always some good
with the bad, but in general it's been a bit of a musical
wasteland.
Nicky:- Tell us a
typical day in the life of Danny Vaughn?
Danny:- Hah! To do that would depend on which Danny Vaughn you
are referring to. The touring musician, or the 9 to 5 warehouse
or office drone. Guess which one is more interesting.
Nicky:- When your
working in the warehouse, do you go around singing without
realizing it?
Danny:- I sing without realizing it all the time! In the
warehouse or out. I'm also always writing, which is tough when
you're at work and can't stop, grab a guitar and finish an idea.
You lose so many thoughts by the end of the day. Of course, if an
idea sticks with me all day long, I know it's a winner.
Nicky:- And to you
Michael, what does a typical day involve?
Michael:- Typical-don't know about that! As I run a large booking
agency and handle close to 1000 shows a year, it involves alot of
screaming, phones ringing, and at least 2 pots of coffee. I lead
a hectic, but happy life!
Nicky:- Any advice
for the aspiring musician?
Danny:- I don't know if I'm the proper one to give advice but I
am fairly confident of one thing. Make the music that moves you.
Don't make what's popular. Make music that gets under your own
skin. Believe in whatever
message you are putting across. Make it personal. The audience
can tell. On the other side of that coin, remember that you are
simply an entertainer, not a prophet, or a savior. Just a
musician.
Nicky:-Anything you
would like to say to your fans in Europe and the UK?
Danny:- . I think I used up all my good stuff on the limited
edition single that we did where I did my little soliloquy. All I
can say now is, "Thank you so much for welcoming us back,
and we look forward to doing it all again in September"!
Michael:- Without sounding cheesy, just wanted to thank everyone
for their support. TYKETTO has been a success throughout Europe
and Japan without any help from mainstream radio. Our audience is
diehard, and refuses to let us slip away. Thanks for your
persistence!!! We will be back in Europe in September 2000.
Keep in touch at www.vaughn.de
Peace
(Interview by Nicky Baldrian)