Idgy Vaughn - Seriously
We’ve already noted the fact that Idgy Vaughn is seriously cute.
Having just spent most of four days with Idgy as Debi and I accompanied her to compete as a finalist in the WUMB Boston Folk Festival Song Contest, we can now attest that Idgy is also seriously smart, seriously thoughtful, and seriously at risk for major attention in the music world, should justice rule and the fates deliver.
Let’s get this out of the way: Idgy took second place in the adult division of the song contest. If she hadn’t experienced an equipment failure and been forced to play with an unfamiliar instrument, she likely would have taken first place. To hear the tune she played and make your own decision, surf here and choose “Time Bomb” in the music player.
Now, back to the serious.
There are so many paths to recognition these days, and so many of them begin and end with a pretty face, a stroke of luck, a flash in the pan, and a prompt landing in the dim recesses of public memory, right behind the next contestant on “American Idol.”
Idgy did in fact experience an incredible stroke of luck, when a friend hit the lottery and gave her the money to record a CD of her songs in the musical inferno of Austin, Texas. As a result, she managed to come up with an album that is so good, it would be tempting to dismiss it as just another well-funded vanity project, with the musical virtuosity of graying masters glossing over a lack of substance — except for a few little details.
First, the lyrics of these eleven completely original tunes are really, really good. Idgy’s powerful autobiographical stories describe the challenges of reaching for a dream while everyone around her worked their hardest to convince her she was foolish, crazy or evil. Her phrasing sounds so natural you’d guess she was raised by parents who spoke only in rhyme. Only one song on the album is not drawn directly from her own life, and only one song — the spunkiest little murder tune you’ve ever whistled — is fictional.
Then there’s the fact that every song features melodies and musical structures that quickly weld themselves into your brain so completely that it becomes difficult to remember what it was like before this music entered your life.
Add in the fact that Idgy is not a lightweight singer. In turns confident, aching, doubt-filled, sly, girlish, reverent or sexy, she constantly tunes her delivery to the content of the song, matching the packaging with the message.
Yes, the arrangement of each tune is brilliant, and it was surprising to learn just how much of that was because Idgy drove her musical posse like a woman possessed, betting she had only one chance to scratch this line in the history of Austin’s Flashpoint Studios, where folks like Townes Van Zandt, the Austin Lounge Lizards, Tish Hinojosa, Cindy Cashdollar and the Asylum Street Spankers have recorded previously.
Full disclosure: Idgy will not be bringing the busload of first-class musical codgers she recorded this brilliant CD with from Austin to Haddam for our show on Thursday, September 25 at 7:00pm.
She will be bringing Will Sexton, an ever-so-tasteful guitarist who somehow maintains a very low internet profile, while having played with a lengthy A-list of notables, and packing the thickest little black book of musicians Idgy’s ever seen.
This show will allow you the best of both worlds: the opportunity to hear the stripped-down, unadulterated songs the way they sounded shortly after birth, and the chance to take home a CD that combines an uncompromised new voice with an incomparable band and stellar arrangements.
Now that’s a seriously good deal.
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