In praise of Jimmy Vaughn

Larry F · March 2nd, 2008, 02:44 PM

Well, I like him. He has a very worn and beat down kind of sound now, as I hear live performances on Youtube. This allows all of his ideas to be connected as old friends. Listening to him is oddly comforting, as you sense he has experienced truth in music. I'm not too familiar with his past. Has he always played this way, or was he more notey in his youth? I can't imagine him playing like this when he was 25.

RodeoTex · March 2nd, 2008, 02:55 PM

I don't know too much about JV either but he sure as hell knows how to endorse a Stratocaster.
I admire him a lot even though I've never heard too much from him except the Fab TBirds.

Pete Galati · March 2nd, 2008, 02:59 PM

I think I recorded a Jimmy Vaughn Soundstage a couple nights ago. It was a Jimmy Reed thing I think. Haven't watched it yet though. Tends to take me 2 or 3 days to watch anything I taped.

He never seemed very flashy like his brother. I think his playing always stuck closer to the song's structure. But that's just a casual observation. I never followed his career all that closely.

getbent · March 2nd, 2008, 03:04 PM

The first thunderbirds albums is one of my all time favorite blues albums. JV is understated, beautiful and spot on. Anyone who ever asks me where they should start to play or listen to blues... I start them there. If they don't like that album... Charley Patton or Fred McDowell is gonna be a stretch!

Telehackster · March 2nd, 2008, 03:10 PM

I love those early T-bird albums, and I always dug Jimmy Vaughan's style. It seemed deceptively minimalist: that is, he didn't draw a grat deal of attention to himself and was doing far more for the song than you might realize at first.

Larry, if you've not done so you might check out Anson Funderburgh as well.

dhdfoster · March 2nd, 2008, 03:24 PM

I really like the older T-Birds stuff, but I also like his first couple solo records with the organ trio.

BTW it's "Jimmie". :)

rhomco · March 2nd, 2008, 03:25 PM

I met Jimmie in 1966 backstage at a battle of the bands thing that Vox and American Airlines did. This was a national contest that had regional qualifiers all over the country and culminated in a coliseum three live stage showdown at Dallas Texas. The national winner was awarded a recording contract and studio time. I was a founding member of a West Texas garage band called "The Living End" and Jimmy was a member of "The Chessmen" I believe. Just a skinny little kid that sat in the dressing room constantly playing his black Les Paul if my memory is correct. He was a highly regarded blues rocker back then that could play the Jeff Beck Yardbirds stuff like it was his own. Yes folks, he can, he has, he is...... The stuff I see from him today is pale by comparison.
Those were the days my friend........
Rob

stratavox · March 2nd, 2008, 03:41 PM

I've been fortunate enough to find just about all the JLV that's out there, and he's ALWAYS been economical, and , to use an overworked phrase, a walking Strat salesman. Check out ANY of the Antone's compilations he's on, and Lou Ann BArton's "Read My Lips" cd...and don't forget Derek O'Brian, while you're looking...

jumpnblues · March 2nd, 2008, 04:18 PM

Jimmie's (the correct spelling by the way) earlier stuff was almost always played with a pick vs his more recent finger/flailing style of playing. I love both styles. They differ somewhat in their phrasing. Very understated, full of a soulful hipness, phrasing from the gut.
It reminds me of a '34 Ford Boyd Coddington built that was very simple, elegant and also very understated, painted in black primer, red rims with chrome trim rings, and baby moons (I think), red interior. The car was low...down "in the weeds". That car and Jimmie just ooze a sort of hipness that is absolute and very unique. They are one and the same. Supremely confident and competent. Both Jimmie and that car are the blues. Come to think of it, all that goes for Anson too. Jimmie, Anson, and that car. They're all born of the same mold.

Tom

ibobunot · March 2nd, 2008, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhomco

I met Jimmie in 1966 backstage at a battle of the bands thing that Vox and American Airlines did. This was a national contest that had regional qualifiers all over the country and culminated in a coliseum three live stage showdown at Dallas Texas.

I was at that show....

But, I was in the audience it was my first live rock concert experience...

garytelecastor · March 2nd, 2008, 04:35 PM

I picked up a used burst JV strat that had been held by two owners, neither of whom played it. Like an idiot, I got short of cash and sold it. AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

voodoostation · March 2nd, 2008, 04:43 PM

It's a small world, after all, its a small world after all!

Seriously, I'm still in awe of the talent this site has and the talent this site knows.

I've always liked Jimmie's playing, actually heard him before Stevie. One of the reasons I'm a single coil kind of guy.

94bamf · March 2nd, 2008, 04:48 PM

I gotta admit there is something I like about JV's music, maybe it is his style of rythym playing, and the overall groove alot of his music has..

I can't say his lead playing has ever impressed me, but his music makes great backing tracks to play along with..

mojo2001 · March 2nd, 2008, 05:18 PM

13 years in Austin until I moved up to this golf retirement village two years ago (Williamsburg VA)

Saw JV as often as possible...usually with the Tilt a Whirl Band.

I remember the T-Bird days. They used to hit JC Dobbs in Philly a couple times a year. Yeah he was great then and maybe more "technical" and "tight" than now.

But I like his later stuff better. He plays a little bit out, a little bit off the heart of the beat, surprises me but always sounds Mr. Natural and unforced...kind of reminds me of Theolonious Monk.

A lot of the live festival footage I have seen lately doesn't do the man justice. I like this laid back, jamming cut from NAMM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VjX47zOmBxg

That grabs some of the feel I heard down by the lake in A-Town with a wildly appreciative crowd of over-40 party time JV lovers...sort of the house band for that group, among which I count myself.

As far as I am concerned, he is one of the greats alive today. Just about my favorite geetar slanger.

Joe

trag-o-caster · March 2nd, 2008, 05:25 PM

Nice to see folks diggin' Jimmie V! He seems to get bashed a lot around here. I think, if you've listened to the old masters, then you'll understand what Jimmie is trying to do. If you're version of good Blues guitar is Stevie Ray Vaughan, and it ends there - then you may get the impression that Jimmie is an under par player. The fact is that Jimmie can BURN, and I've heard him do it! I've heard Jimmie play some dazzling western swing stuff too, and he's also a great lap steel player.

Jimmie really likes to pay tribute to his heroes, and in doing so - he'll hold back those notes, and also hold back on the vibrato, and he can leave the impression of either being a throwback to a bygone era, or that he simply don't have a lot going on guitar-wise. Jimmie can wail - don't let 'im fool ya!

ibobunot · March 2nd, 2008, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trag-o-caster

Jimmie really likes to pay tribute to his heroes, and in doing so - he'll hold back those notes, and also hold back on the vibrato, and he can leave the impression of either being a throwback to a bygone era, or that he simply don't have a lot going on guitar-wise.

He is a throwback to a bygone era, the polar opposite Gary Moore a chronic sufferer of lead guitar player disease....

Larry F · March 2nd, 2008, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojo2001

I like this laid back, jamming cut from NAMM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VjX47zOmBxg

Oh, jeez. He was talking to me. Beethoven does that and Lightnin' Hopkins does. And now Jimmie. It is an exceedingly rare gift to make music from the heart like that, without any auto-pilot playing. I'll never be that good. But I have a new way of thinking. Jeez, that was good.

TheGoodTexan · March 2nd, 2008, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhdfoster

...but I also like his first couple solo records with the organ trio.

Yeah...Nile Rodgers produced Strange Pleasure....and man...that song, "Sweet Soul Vibe"...just knocks me off my feet every time. The intro vocals are a Hendrix guitar cop from Manic Depression...but they do'em with the vocals, as opposed to the guitar...how cool?!

And then the little frills and trills in the opening guitar riffs.

The one thing I hate is when people try to "rank" Jimmie against Stevie. They're both blues rock genuises in their own right. Jimmie seems to have more of an air on old-school rock-a-billy confidence about him...and Stevie always played like he had something to prove...like each show would be his last...

Ever seen the Jerry Lee Lewis story/movie (starring Dennis Quaid)...I think its called Great Balls of Fire? Jimmie is the guitar player in his band.

mojo2001 · March 2nd, 2008, 06:27 PM

Yeah this Stevie vs. Jimmie thing is nuts. Both of them were serious students of the same teachers, branches of the same tradition, brothers in more ways than one.

People who talk like that are the ones who think Stevie WROTE Texas Flood, maybe even invented the blues

Interviews with SRV demonstrate that he was humbled by and deeply appreciative of the great tradition in which he participated.

Anyway, check out THIS JV version of Texas Flood and compare it to Stevie's iconic pyrotechnic version, both of which were tributes, tributaries, of the same river.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8BJ7i6l6eEY&feature=related

I don't know man, I kind go for the JV slow burn version. SRV was otherworldly, no doubt about that, but the original Larry Davis version kicked some mean booty too. JV hews a little bit closer to that classic original rendition--and that's a good thing. Shows where SRV came from and Jimmie is still there, keeping it real.

ibobunot · March 2nd, 2008, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGoodTexan

Jimmie seems to have more of an air on old-school rock-a-billy confidence about him....

The Vaughan Brothers - Good Texan

....

getbent · March 2nd, 2008, 06:42 PM

Mojo,

I went to college in Williamsburg! Spent many dollars on cold beer at the Green Leafe....

We used to love going to Pierce's Pit BBQ! If you haven't found that place... it is goooooooooodddd!

We saw the Tbirds in Va Beach back in the old days... their bus had more funk on it than I'd ever seen and bald tires to boot!

mojo2001 · March 2nd, 2008, 06:52 PM

Just in case there was ANY doubt that Mr. Jimmie Lee Vaughan is a REAL 21st century bluesman...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNovh...eature=related

--------------------------------------------
@ getbent -- Dude, I was at the Greenleafe Thursday. the only "bar" within walking distance of William and Mary, where I am an Archaeology PhD student.

Compare to UT where you can walk to a hundred+ bars, including Antones and the now-gone Joe's Generic Bar, home of cheap beer, low sanitary standards, and free blues 6 or 7 nights a week. The old Antones was basically on the UT campus.

Need I say more? All you can expect music wise in the 'Burg is some Fife and Drum repartee. Yankee Doodle and whatnot. Ya really got to be in the mood...

Geo · March 2nd, 2008, 07:04 PM

I really like his playing. It is most often based in very traditional
late '40s to early '60s styles so a lot of folks don't really get
where he is coming from. Quite frankly in my early years age 20s did
not appreciate that aspect but really like it now.
Funny how time can change things.
(Thanks Willie)

getbent · March 2nd, 2008, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojo2001

@ getbent -- Dude, I was at the Greenleafe Thursday. the only "bar" within walking distance of William and Mary, where I am an Archaeology PhD student.

Compare to UT where you can walk to a hundred+ bars, including Antones and the now-gone Joe's Generic Bar, home of cheap beer, low sanitary standards, and free blues 6 or 7 nights a week. The old Antones was basically on the UT campus.

Need I say more? All you can expect music wise in the 'Burg is some Fife and Drum repartee. Yankee Doodle and whatnot. Ya really got to be in the mood...

Bruce Hornsby used to play there all the time... just Bruce and the piano... it was great... there used to be some good places in NN & Hampton & Yorktown... we had a little band that used to play in Yorktown.. it was a little pool hall on the water... great steamers, cold beer and many of your honky tonk favorites!

I used to nap in Swem library upstairs on hot days...

March 2nd, 2008, 02:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
Larry F Friend of Leo's Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Iowa City, IA Age: 55 Posts: 2,222	In praise of Jimmy Vaughn Well, I like him. He has a very worn and beat down kind of sound now, as I hear live performances on Youtube. This allows all of his ideas to be connected as old friends. Listening to him is oddly comforting, as you sense he has experienced truth in music. I'm not too familiar with his past. Has he always played this way, or was he more notey in his youth? I can't imagine him playing like this when he was 25. __________________ larry

March 2nd, 2008, 02:55 PM	#2 (permalink)
RodeoTex Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 847	I don't know too much about JV either but he sure as hell knows how to endorse a Stratocaster. I admire him a lot even though I've never heard too much from him except the Fab TBirds. __________________ Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose.

March 2nd, 2008, 03:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
getbent Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Benito County, California Age: 48 Posts: 8,732 37 Photos	The first thunderbirds albums is one of my all time favorite blues albums. JV is understated, beautiful and spot on. Anyone who ever asks me where they should start to play or listen to blues... I start them there. If they don't like that album... Charley Patton or Fred McDowell is gonna be a stretch! __________________ I got a room at the top of the world tonight, I got a room at the top of the world tonight, and I ain't... comin'... down.

March 2nd, 2008, 03:25 PM	#7 (permalink)
rhomco Tele-Holic Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Crowley, Texas Posts: 678	I met Jimmie in I met Jimmie in 1966 backstage at a battle of the bands thing that Vox and American Airlines did. This was a national contest that had regional qualifiers all over the country and culminated in a coliseum three live stage showdown at Dallas Texas. The national winner was awarded a recording contract and studio time. I was a founding member of a West Texas garage band called "The Living End" and Jimmy was a member of "The Chessmen" I believe. Just a skinny little kid that sat in the dressing room constantly playing his black Les Paul if my memory is correct. He was a highly regarded blues rocker back then that could play the Jeff Beck Yardbirds stuff like it was his own. Yes folks, he can, he has, he is...... The stuff I see from him today is pale by comparison. Those were the days my friend........ Rob __________________ If I won the Lotto.... I'd just build guitars and sell them till the money ran out

March 2nd, 2008, 03:41 PM	#8 (permalink)
stratavox TDPRI Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 54	JLV... I've been fortunate enough to find just about all the JLV that's out there, and he's ALWAYS been economical, and , to use an overworked phrase, a walking Strat salesman. Check out ANY of the Antone's compilations he's on, and Lou Ann BArton's "Read My Lips" cd...and don't forget Derek O'Brian, while you're looking...

March 2nd, 2008, 02:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
Pete Galati Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 8,104 2 Photos	I think I recorded a Jimmy Vaughn Soundstage a couple nights ago. It was a Jimmy Reed thing I think. Haven't watched it yet though. Tends to take me 2 or 3 days to watch anything I taped. He never seemed very flashy like his brother. I think his playing always stuck closer to the song's structure. But that's just a casual observation. I never followed his career all that closely.

March 2nd, 2008, 03:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
Telehackster Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas, USA Age: 42 Posts: 813	I love those early T-bird albums, and I always dug Jimmy Vaughan's style. It seemed deceptively minimalist: that is, he didn't draw a grat deal of attention to himself and was doing far more for the song than you might realize at first. Larry, if you've not done so you might check out Anson Funderburgh as well.

March 2nd, 2008, 03:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
dhdfoster Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: San Francisco, CA Age: 40 Posts: 929	I really like the older T-Birds stuff, but I also like his first couple solo records with the organ trio. BTW it's "Jimmie". :)

March 2nd, 2008, 04:18 PM	#9 (permalink)
jumpnblues Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midwest Age: 58 Posts: 1,560	Jimmie's (the correct spelling by the way) earlier stuff was almost always played with a pick vs his more recent finger/flailing style of playing. I love both styles. They differ somewhat in their phrasing. Very understated, full of a soulful hipness, phrasing from the gut. It reminds me of a '34 Ford Boyd Coddington built that was very simple, elegant and also very understated, painted in black primer, red rims with chrome trim rings, and baby moons (I think), red interior. The car was low...down "in the weeds". That car and Jimmie just ooze a sort of hipness that is absolute and very unique. They are one and the same. Supremely confident and competent. Both Jimmie and that car are the blues. Come to think of it, all that goes for Anson too. Jimmie, Anson, and that car. They're all born of the same mold. Tom __________________ jumpnblues

March 2nd, 2008, 04:35 PM	#11 (permalink)
garytelecastor Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,084 18 Photos	I picked up a used burst JV strat that had been held by two owners, neither of whom played it. Like an idiot, I got short of cash and sold it. AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! __________________ éí 'aaníígÓÓ 'áhoot'é Redd Volkaert is a Jedi Knight at one with the Force!!!

March 2nd, 2008, 04:43 PM	#12 (permalink)
voodoostation Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2007 Location: Midlothian, Va Age: 34 Posts: 252 1 Photos	It's a small world, after all, its a small world after all! Seriously, I'm still in awe of the talent this site has and the talent this site knows. I've always liked Jimmie's playing, actually heard him before Stevie. One of the reasons I'm a single coil kind of guy. __________________ "You said you're from college but you don't seem too bright, 'cause you just brung a switchblade to a pistol fight" - Chris Knight

March 2nd, 2008, 04:48 PM	#13 (permalink)
94bamf Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Kansas City Age: 31 Posts: 134	I gotta admit there is something I like about JV's music, maybe it is his style of rythym playing, and the overall groove alot of his music has.. I can't say his lead playing has ever impressed me, but his music makes great backing tracks to play along with..

March 2nd, 2008, 05:18 PM	#14 (permalink)
mojo2001 Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Colonial Virginia Age: 48 Posts: 176	13 years in Austin until I moved up to this golf retirement village two years ago (Williamsburg VA) Saw JV as often as possible...usually with the Tilt a Whirl Band. I remember the T-Bird days. They used to hit JC Dobbs in Philly a couple times a year. Yeah he was great then and maybe more "technical" and "tight" than now. But I like his later stuff better. He plays a little bit out, a little bit off the heart of the beat, surprises me but always sounds Mr. Natural and unforced...kind of reminds me of Theolonious Monk. A lot of the live festival footage I have seen lately doesn't do the man justice. I like this laid back, jamming cut from NAMM http://youtube.com/watch?v=VjX47zOmBxg That grabs some of the feel I heard down by the lake in A-Town with a wildly appreciative crowd of over-40 party time JV lovers...sort of the house band for that group, among which I count myself. As far as I am concerned, he is one of the greats alive today. Just about my favorite geetar slanger. Joe

March 2nd, 2008, 05:25 PM	#15 (permalink)
trag-o-caster Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Flushing, Michigan Posts: 4,302	Nice to see folks diggin' Jimmie V! He seems to get bashed a lot around here. I think, if you've listened to the old masters, then you'll understand what Jimmie is trying to do. If you're version of good Blues guitar is Stevie Ray Vaughan, and it ends there - then you may get the impression that Jimmie is an under par player. The fact is that Jimmie can BURN, and I've heard him do it! I've heard Jimmie play some dazzling western swing stuff too, and he's also a great lap steel player. Jimmie really likes to pay tribute to his heroes, and in doing so - he'll hold back those notes, and also hold back on the vibrato, and he can leave the impression of either being a throwback to a bygone era, or that he simply don't have a lot going on guitar-wise. Jimmie can wail - don't let 'im fool ya! __________________ Timothy Jon Lamb

March 2nd, 2008, 06:27 PM	#19 (permalink)
mojo2001 Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Colonial Virginia Age: 48 Posts: 176	Yeah this Stevie vs. Jimmie thing is nuts. Both of them were serious students of the same teachers, branches of the same tradition, brothers in more ways than one. People who talk like that are the ones who think Stevie WROTE Texas Flood, maybe even invented the blues Interviews with SRV demonstrate that he was humbled by and deeply appreciative of the great tradition in which he participated. Anyway, check out THIS JV version of Texas Flood and compare it to Stevie's iconic pyrotechnic version, both of which were tributes, tributaries, of the same river. http://youtube.com/watch?v=8BJ7i6l6eEY&feature=related I don't know man, I kind go for the JV slow burn version. SRV was otherworldly, no doubt about that, but the original Larry Davis version kicked some mean booty too. JV hews a little bit closer to that classic original rendition--and that's a good thing. Shows where SRV came from and Jimmie is still there, keeping it real.

March 2nd, 2008, 06:42 PM	#21 (permalink)
getbent Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Benito County, California Age: 48 Posts: 8,732 37 Photos	Mojo, I went to college in Williamsburg! Spent many dollars on cold beer at the Green Leafe.... We used to love going to Pierce's Pit BBQ! If you haven't found that place... it is goooooooooodddd! We saw the Tbirds in Va Beach back in the old days... their bus had more funk on it than I'd ever seen and bald tires to boot! __________________ I got a room at the top of the world tonight, I got a room at the top of the world tonight, and I ain't... comin'... down.

March 2nd, 2008, 06:52 PM	#22 (permalink)
mojo2001 Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Colonial Virginia Age: 48 Posts: 176	Just in case there was ANY doubt that Mr. Jimmie Lee Vaughan is a REAL 21st century bluesman... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNovh...eature=related -------------------------------------------- @ getbent -- Dude, I was at the Greenleafe Thursday. the only "bar" within walking distance of William and Mary, where I am an Archaeology PhD student. Compare to UT where you can walk to a hundred+ bars, including Antones and the now-gone Joe's Generic Bar, home of cheap beer, low sanitary standards, and free blues 6 or 7 nights a week. The old Antones was basically on the UT campus. Need I say more? All you can expect music wise in the 'Burg is some Fife and Drum repartee. Yankee Doodle and whatnot. Ya really got to be in the mood...

March 2nd, 2008, 07:04 PM	#23 (permalink)
Geo Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hendersonville, TN Age: 59 Posts: 2,431 15 Photos	I really like his playing. It is most often based in very traditional late '40s to early '60s styles so a lot of folks don't really get where he is coming from. Quite frankly in my early years age 20s did not appreciate that aspect but really like it now. Funny how time can change things. (Thanks Willie) __________________ "Somewhere between culture and agriculture"