STOLL VAUGHAN’S DESIRES SHAPE ON VINYL, CD & DIGITAL APRIL 17

STOLL VAUGHAN’S DESIRES SHAPE ON VINYL, CD & DIGITAL APRIL 17

“Weather In Kentucky” Single Out Now – April/May Southern Tour With Allman Betts Band To Follow

Michael Hepworth

Kentucky (Perfect Music Today) 4/16/20/-Stoll Vaughan, Desires Shape. It sure sounds like the shape of singer-songwriter Stoll Vaughan’s latest desire is to go as far inside himself as possible, see what he finds there and then write songs that speak to those deepest discoveries. This is an album of soulful purity, one that lets Vaughan not get distracted by anything. It’s all just Vaughan, his 1946 Martin 000-18 acoustic guitar and piano. The level of directness on songs like “Weather in Kentucky” and “So Righteous” are near-chilling. It sounds like the man has confronted things inside which cause him to take stock in how far he’s come and how far he still has to go. The Kentucky musician has had a road case full of experiences, writing and touring with a wealth of well-known artists, but this time out Vaughan strips it down to just himself. The best news is that it feels like he’s entered a brand new level, and opened himself to the world of possibilities which comes with finding out you already have everything you need. Set him free.

Stoll Vaughan’s album Desires Shape will be released through Commonwealth Artist on April 17. The much-lauded singer-songwriter’s latest album will be available on vinyl, CD and digital formats and includes the lead single “Weather In Kentucky,” an ode to the artist’s home state. In support of Desires Shape, Vaughan will embark on a tour of the South as main support for frequent collaborators The Allman Betts Band.

Link to “Weather In Kentucky” video:

https://youtu.be/_hMLQ6cBYhc

Stoll Vaughan’s background is a storied one with lots of strange turns. In the late ‘90s he was recruited to play guitar by punk-turned-rock band Chamberlain while working at John Mellencamp guitarist Mike Wanchic’s recording studio. By the mid ‘00s, Vaughan had released two solo albums, Hold On Thru Sleep and Dreams and Love Like A Mule, touring with the likes of Mellencamp, John Fogerty, Marty Stuart, Don Williams, James McMurtry, and most improbably as a concert opener act on a Journey/Def Leppard national tour. Vaughan then detoured into TV/film, with his songs featured in True Blood, Friday Night Lights, Shameless and The Office. He also composed music for David Lynch’s Webby Award-winning documentary series Interview Project. In 2018, his solo career resumed with the release The Conversation, his third album.

Americana Highways’ Bill Bentley cited Vaughan for writing “the kind of songs that feel like they will be around a long time, moving listeners to use them as something to hold on to and hopefully make sense of what can sometimes be the senseless.” Writing for The Final on Vinyl, Keith Hannaleck suggested, “Think of the poetic Dylan, the passion of Cash, and the tasteful six-string arrangements of a Mark Knopfler and you have Stoll Vaughan.” Matt Wallock of American Songwriter noted Vaughan’s “Dylanesque sense of imagining something just beyond one’s grasp.”

In sharp contrast to The Conversation, which was recorded in both Indiana by Wanchic and in Tennessee by My Morning Jacket guitarist Carl Broemel, Desires Shape was tracked entirely in the singer/guitarist’s current home of Los Angeles, with a minimalist approach. The end result is as pure and stripped down as possible, consisting entirely of originals sung and played on a 1946 Martin 000-18 acoustic guitar by Vaughan, who co-produced the album with Effie Dozier.

“A whirlwind of activity ensued after the release of The Conversation album 18 months ago,” says Vaughan. “There were tour dates throughout the country, radio visits, festival performances and lengthy songwriting sessions with collaborators Devon Allman and Duane Betts for their Allman Betts Band. I was inspired by the way things were moving and blessed to find the time to write and record these songs for Desires Shape. I wanted to approach this record with a simplicity that would force its intimacy. The title is something of a reflection of that desire to exist and be proud of your raw form.”

Vaughan’s relationship with Devon Allman and Duane Betts (the sons of Allman Brothers Band mainstays Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts) has been an ongoing creative endeavor over the past few years. He co-produced and co-wrote the four original songs on Betts’ Sketches of American Music EP and six of the originals on the Allman Betts Band’s Down To the River, the group’s debut album. He also wrote or co-wrote ten songs on their follow up full-length Bless Your Heart, due out this June.

Duane Betts offered high praise for his songwriting collaborator, “Stoll Vaughan is the real deal, authentic, American songwriter. It is always an honor to work with him and to call him my dear friend.”

Duane’s bandmate,Devon Allman was equally effusive, offering, “Stoll Vaughan is the consummate Americana songwriter. He’s singlehandedly brought our songwriting partnership to the next level. He resumé speaks for itself. He is an unspoken legend. Truly.”

On the eve on the release of Desires Shape, Vaughan reflected, “To be able to write, record and perform is a true blessing and continues to shape my life and for that I am grateful. I hope people enjoy this record and it connects to them as it does to me.”

–https://americanahighways.org/2020/04/06/bentleys-bandstand-april-2020/