Beverly’s musician never doubted what he would do
Robert Vaughn has never nailed down what some call a “real job.”
Instead, he picks at his guitar with acrylic-coated fingernails in a dimly lit corner of Beverly’s in the Coeur d’Alene Resort. He’s been playing at the resort for 17 years.
“I didn’t get into music, it just got into me,” he said. “It was the kind of thing where there was never a doubt in my mind.”
Vaughn has grown as a musician, he said, from being a sponge of other tunes, to an interpreter.
He said putting his spin on each song is more challenging and less redundant. He doesn’t have a drum set on stage or any outboard gear. And he’s open to making up a verse if the timing’s right.
“As a growing musician, it’s a lot more fulfilling,” he said. “I play the songs, but I learn the chords and take it from there.”
He said his flexibility helps out because the crowd changes every night.
He was hired on as a jazz vocalist and guitar player, but opts to play for the people in the room rather than his own favorites. He said some nights he’s under the request line, and he lets the crowd run the show.
Vaughn said it’s gratifying to be able to have an affect on the crowd. But his passion rests in rich, soulful ballads on stage. Vaughn said writing down his music and sharing his experiences with others is his main motivation.
“When I’m singing something I wrote from my heart, I don’t want to be playing it to people that aren’t paying attention to it,” he said. “That’s the agony and the ecstasy of that room.”
Vaughn now plays weekends at the resort, and five nights a week during the summer. Between weddings, boat cruises and other functions, he rarely had time to get away. But with the busy summer schedule behind him, he’s focusing on his next CD, which he hopes to release by early 2005.
The CD is a mesh of his music influences, from the old school sounds of Stevie Wonder and early soul bands, like Earth, Wind and Fire and Tower of Power, to newer influences of famous jazz guitarists.
But the rhythm and blues album has Vaughn’s smooth baritone voice mixed with his own flavor of soulful guitar. The music fits his style with upbeat funk, Latin and jazz tracks mixed in with his share of ballads and acoustic solos.
Developing a label or publishing his work on a wide scale is an eventual goal, but he’s happy where he is. He doesn’t plan his work around a big recording deal like some musicians.
“All they want to do is get a record contract, then they realize they’re in the hamster cage running the wheel, doing the thing,” he said.
He has about 40 songs and this is the fourth CD he’s worked on. His other albums are rhythm and blues and a Christmas album.
Vaughn is doing the all the work on the new CD from start to finish. He’s arranging and producing the songs, singing, editing and mixing the final product. He’s also doing the artwork.
The CD has been in the works for several years.
“I’m finally at a point where I think I’ve done all the grunt work and now it’s a matter of putting the frosting on the cake,” he said.
Vaughn was born and raised in Spokane and started out in a few small bands after graduating from Ferris High School. His last band was Jazz Conspiracy, and they played together in Spokane for seven years.
He said playing in a band offers little room to change and grow because practice often meant playing songs the same way every time.
Danny McCollim, a friend of Vaughn’s since high school, teaches jazz piano at Eastern Washington University and music technology at Spokane Falls Community College.
He played piano in Jazz Conspiracy and said Vaughn is his favorite singer.
“Rob’s got the ability to take us on and kick it up a couple of notches,” he said. “Together, we all end up being better players.”
McCollim has helped with a few of the tracks on Vaughn’s new CD and said he’s excited to see the final product.