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MM -
Introduce the band to us and how did you all meet?
Michael Clayton Arbeeny on Drums
Jaimie Scott on Bass
PJ Zitarosa on electric guitar
Kyle Cummings on keyboards
Danny Vaughn - singing, screaming, strumming, and banging on things with
sticks.
Michael and I have been friends for longer than either of us can
believe.
Jaimie was picked to join Tyketto after our first album "Don't Come
Easy" through a national search where we tortured ourselves by
listening to hundreds of tapes of bass players. One of the circles in
Dante's inferno in hell is similar to that experience I think! The other
two guys were found by Michael, who has a line on almost all the musical
talent coming out of the New Jersey area.
MM - Describe your music and who it
would appeal to?
My music I guess is all about melody. Something that is a little lost
these days. This new cd "Soldiers and Sailors On Riverside"
feels very 70's to me. A very classic rock kind of spirit.
MM - Do you regret the split up of
Tyketto and do you guys still keep in touch?
No, I don't regret the split up of Tyketto. The kind of music we were
doing was caught in changing tide and we were inevitably going to get
left behind like so many of our peers. So I'm glad that we didn't
drastically change our image to cater to the new or try to force
ourselves to be something that we weren't. I rather think we went out
with some dignity. Most of Tyketto is still playing in VAUGHN now and we
are all still in touch with Brooke and Jimi Kennedy regularly and
everyone is friendly. (This is beginning to sound like a Brady Bunch
episode).
MM - Where in the world do the band
call home?
We do all of our band work out of New Jersey, where Michael, Kyle, and
PJ live, but I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and Jaimie lives in Dallas,
Texas.
MM - You must be really pleased with
how the new CD 'Soldiers and Sailors on Riverside' has turned out.
What's your favourite track off the album?
I hate to cop out on you, but trying to name a favourite song is like
picking a favourite child. It would feel wrong to do it.
MM - Where do you get the inspiration
for the songs you write?
Each song has a different starting point. Usually, they are at least in
part from experiences I have had, or observed in my own life or the
lives of those around me. Then I take writer's licence and play with the
stories a bit. On the new cd an awful lot of it comes directly from my
life and is deeply personal. I try to broaden things a bit so they
become stories other people can identify with.
MM - What's your worst habit?
I've got a big mouth and I need to be the centre of attention. But at
least I shaped that into a career!
MM - What bands do you like to listen
to?
Far too many to name. King's X, The Beatles, Zep, Stones, Stevie Wonder,
Elton John, Rage Against The Machine, Rancid, it's all over the map.
Something for every mood.
MM - How would you like to see Rock
Music progress in the new Millennium?
I would like to see a little more talent back in music instead of this
really youthful trend. A bit more of a balance between the two. I'm very
glad to see that there is a little less embolism causing screaming and a
little more actual singing going on. I'd also like to see some real
"Rock Stars" emerge soon. Most of the people that are hot
right now have very little mystery or star quality about them.
MM - While on tour will you be doing
any acoustic sets or record signings?
I may just set up an acoustic guitar and a coin box out front of some of
the gigs in the daytime! I'm told there will be a couple of signings and
if we are asked to do anything acoustically, we definitely can, but I'm
afraid I don't have any details right now.
MM - You are headlining the rock
festival at Jilly's in Manchester on 1st October, have you ever
performed with any of the other bands i.e. Kick, Contagious, Sugar Town
and Deadline before?
We had Kick opening for us on our last UK tour and I quite enjoyed them.
The singer, in particular impressed me. Contagious played with us
at Z Rock and did very well, so it should be a great show.
MM - What do you love most about
being in a rock band?
If you're with the right group of people the camaraderie is
irreplaceable. You laugh so much it hurts. That and the fact that, while
I'm on tour, I'm not working a day job.
MM - What are the bands plans for the
future?
After the tour, it's back to the writers desk to work on the next album.
There are some other plans in the works with other bands involved but
there's no point in getting into all that as a million things can go
wrong between now and then.
MM - If you could meet any one person
out of rock history who would it be?
I'd like to be with Stevie Ray Vaughan right after that Colorado show so
I could talk him out of getting on that damned helicopter.
MM - Generally, are you an optimist
or a pessimist? Is your glass half full or half empty?
I think I'm right in the process of changing that outlook. On the
surface I'm something of a pessimist and yet my songs usually have a
note of hope in them somewhere. I think I might be line right in the
middle of the glass.
MM - Lastly, what short phrase would
describe the band and it's members right now?
Chomping At The Bit!
Official Vaughn site: www.vaughn.de
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