It was late Sunday night around 10:30pm. I finally had the chance to sit down and speak over the phone with up and coming singer songwriting / blues-based guitarist Tyrone Vaughan. We talked about his musical background, his influences and his career.

The first time I met Tyrone was at StarCity Recording Company in Bethlehem PA just before he, and producer Jeff Glixman, went into a mixing session for his debut album. In January of this year, I again had the opportunity to meet up with Tyrone Vaughan. This time it was in Los Angeles at the NAMM Convention where he was being interviewed by Fender guitars. Oh yeah. He plays some remarkable vintage Fenders like his '62 and '54 Stratocasters.

Driven, insightful, and very down to earth, Tyrone talked to Fizzkicks.com about it all.

Fizzkicks: How Would You Categorize Your Sound?
Tyrone: My sound is very basic with a bit of modern soul rock. I wouldn¹t call it blues because it has some great rock elements to it as well as a sound of today. I write my music so I can pull it off great live. My sound is all about a live feel which makes it really fun to play.

Fizzkicks: What Would Be Your Favorite Song Off Your New Self-Titled Album?
Tyrone: I really like 52-weeks, but then again I really love them all. You see, 52-weeks is a song that has gone through various versions but has stuck with me. It is a strong song that can be played many different ways and still hold its own. I just really like it!

Fizzkicks: How Do You Write Your Songs?
Tyrone: I start off with a simple verse based around the root of the chord; then I mute the strings on my guitar so I leave room for my vocals. When I lead off with 2-string root chord it really leaves lots of open space for coloring with my additional guitar parts and other instruments. When I wrote the song "Protect You", those words felt nice and rolled off my tongue and guitar chords nicely. Keeping my songs open from the start allows me plenty of flexibility in my writing. When I write lyrics, I try to tell a story and paint a picture from my experiences. Sometimes it¹s one or two experiences, or it could be a bunch all rolled up into one song. When I am writing my guitar parts I mess around with various cool pieces of music. When it feels good and fits together, it becomes a song. Really, throughout the entire process, guitar and vocal melody tells me where the chorus goes, the beat and the tempo. It¹s really cool when a song sorta creates itself. I know it is going to be great when nothing has been forced.

Fizzkicks: It Sounds Like Being One With Your Vocals and Guitar Are Important?
Tyrone: Very much so! That¹s really important to me and it takes a tremendous amount of hard work to make a song sing as one instrument. When I look back at some of my influences, like my uncle Stevie Ray Vaughan and my dad Jimmy Vaughan, they were not only talented, but they worked harder than anyone else. And once you master your instrument and grasp your musical skills, you own your sound and songs. You represent your songs better than anybody. Getting good at my guitar skills really helps me put together songs. It is amazing! It¹s like the good Lord sends me songs and I just perform them. It has to flow between me and my guitar.

Fizzkicks: What are some vital aspects of your musical influences?
Tyrone: Well, the most common and compelling thing about all my influences such as the early Pretenders with Al Greene, John Cougar, Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane¹s Addiction and of course my late uncle and dad¹s albums, is that they have great tonal quality. These artists have super tonal qualities in their hands, voices and in their songs. They have written simple tracks that sound great both live and recorded. They all have really good guitar parts and they all show a great passion for their work. My uncle Stevie had a great sound because he worked at it. I am really into my stage sound and working on the quality of sound. My roots are very important influences for me today; I actually grew up in blues clubs. Every Monday I was out there with them at Antone¹s on 6th street in Austin. See, even Austin, Texas where I am from is an influence to me. Austin is a place where you can be free and creative to do your music.

Fizzkicks: What Drives You?
Tyrone: I want to write great albums that can be recreated live. My drive stems from my music; everything about music is my drive. I strive for well recorded, mixed and mastered recordings. The dedication and time it takes to write an album is part of my drive so I can get out there and perform it well live.

Fizzkicks: What Was It Like Working With Veteran Producer Jeff Glixman?
Tyrone: It was amazing! It solidified and grew my songs. He sets a standard, and to be able to hang with him in the studio is a good thing. I was up to the challenge, and it gave me a lot of confidence. Jeff and I came together in a very positive way and when we were done with the album, we both were grinning from ear to ear with a "can you believe it, we have a record!!" Just watching Jeff work the mixing board is incredible and seeing him work the tones, gives me so many ideas for the second album. Jeff really helped me explore my abilities and take my band to new levels. It was really Jeff that stepped up and made the right call when he said, "I want to take your songs to tape". It got the whole band excited and it told me that Jeff really cared about the band. He really wanted to take the time and energy to get it done right. In the end, we got songs with warmth and depth to the sound.

Fizzkicks: Talk to Us about the Recording Experience of Going to Tape?
Tyrone: Recording on reel-to-reel tape was awesome for me because that is the way lots of my favorite albums where created. It was great for Jeff, because it was like he was cutting a band "back in the day" when all you had was analog equipment. When you are recording to tape the producer has to be there in every session for each take. And Jeff was there through the entire process. The sound just came out so warm and true. The thing I like about recording to tape rather than Pro-Tools, is that the performance has a different focus. The entire track has to have feel and dedication to get the musical part across they way you want it. What I mean by focus and dedication is that when you record with digital editing software like Pro-Tools, a lot of musicians get sloppy and settle for takes that aren¹t great and rely on the engineer to fix it later. I would rather get great solid sounding takes all the way through on tape. And, that is what we did. It is harder because it might take a bunch of takes, but it makes you a stronger person and better musician all around. The music industry is tough to begin with, so doing it this way in the studio will always reminds us how hard we have to work.

Fizzkicks: What Type of Gear Do You Use?
Tyrone: Well, I play a '62 rosewood neck Fender Strat, and a '54 maple neck tobacco sun-burst Fender Strat through a '67 heavily-modified black face Fender Bassman amp with a 4 x12 Fulton Webb-cabinet. I also use a Matchless Phoenix thru a Fulton-Webb 4x 12. Some of my pedal effects include a Drive-O-Matic, Sex Drive, and Ibanez Tube Screamer. The other guitarist in my band, Bruce, plays a Les Paul, and, man, between Bruce and me on stage we make our guitars sing together. We have to play very dynamically together and our gear definitely helps create the vibe for our sound.

Fizzkicks: Do you ever get compared to your dad Jimmy, and late Uncle Stevie?
Tyrone: Some people say I play a little like my dad and Stevie, but others say I have my own sound. Following in their footsteps keeps me going. I have heard crazy shit, like you are the best guitarist, but I know my heritage ­ our hands follow the same paths, we naturally play the same way. But I like to say I have a little of both of them in me. What they have done in their musical careers has opened the gate. To say that Stevie gave me a few guitars and wanted me to play guitar has really made me want to get my music out there and be heard. I accept the hard challenges and scarifies it takes; I follow one simple rule: "Make the music the best you can". I honestly feel very blessed and fortunate. I will always be looking for my niche while being prepared for good things that come my way.