RICK: GREEN
BILL: YELLOW

His Last Words:
A poem I wrote about the death of my dad that my sons. my brother Mike and I spoke over some weird piano and FX.
I played the piano totally separately from the rest of the track and when I laid it in, it fit perfectly, even ended at the end of the sound FX. Really synchronistic.

It's Always Something:
About a moment in my life that taught me how life is a balance, Yin Yang type thing. Just as Jessie's Girl finally started to catch fire in 1981, my dad died.
We put a lot of time into the loops and live drums, getting them just right, and it shows real well in the different sections of this song.

Religion Of The Heart:
A song about personal spiritual discipline, not about finding Christianity.
Used a sub bass part in choruses that makes the track sound extra healthy in that area.

Beautiful Prize:
A song about incest I wrote after a meeting with a victim. It's my take on it, with input from what I was hearing from the woman I spoke with.
Another wonderful lyric, great guitar work. I think after the song dies out, on the multi-track reels you'd be able to hear R.S. playing surf music. (possibly Outer Limits)

Karma:
My take on what the word means to me personally.
I like the whole record, but this is my favorite. Heavy drum compression (sometimes cymbal crashes sound like hi-hat splashes). First bar of bridge has real tape phasing. (We usually do real tape phasing somewhere on each record). The bass part was played by Lance, and glues the whole feel together for me.

Shock to My System:
One of the few straight love songs on the album.
Chorus loops really push these sections, especially the last chorus where it benefits from extra loops for even more lift. Backwards keyboard at the outro almost sounds the same if played forwards.

Free:
The next single (in Oct). A spiritual message from a boy (4 years old) in my neighborhood who drowned on a family trip in Tahoe. It's one of the 2 songs I've written that I felt actually came 'through' me from someplace else directly. The other being 'My Fathers Chair'. My favorite song on the album.
When I finished the song I new I had to get Richard Page to sing the "I'm Free" line. I've always loved his voice. It has a great spiritual quality to it.
It was great getting Richard Page to sing on it. Stan Bush's vocals are also cool coming in at bar 9 of the outro. Incredible lyric.

Prayer:
Clean up your own back yard. It was originally a 'save the world' type thing but I rewrote the words at the last minute. It's one of my favorite choruses on the album.
R.S. and I have worked on this song in various versions for quite a while, and have never gotten tired of it. Rick's bass player Lance played a great bass part on it.

White Room:
This one I re-wrote pretty drastically as it's the oldest song on the album. I wrote it with Jim Vallance in '93 I think.
Older song, but feels great! Jack White played some great ambient drums in the bridges and outro. (just 2 microphones, heavily compressed)

IN veRonicA's HEAD:
About a friend of mine who went thru a particularly hurtful divorce and who survived. The capital letters in the title spell out her real name (RIA)
We've also worked on this song in different versions for some time. It has great energy, and my daughter Alana plays it over and over.

Ordinary Girl: About my wife.
Great feel with all programmed drums and loops. Also used sub bass in choruses.

Act of Faith:
Bobby Brookes a friend of mine died on the helicopter that killed Stevie Ray Vaughn and this is a song to his widow Barbara that I sent her when it was written (about 4 years ago)
This is the second version of this song also. It has lots of great samples, and a great lyric.

Jessie's Girl:
The Japanese company wanted something for their version so I did this in the studio. It's live except for the overdubbed Dobro.



Tech Specs:
7 songs were done on 72 track analog (3 24trk machines locked to code) 4 songs were done on 48 track analog and Last Words was done on ADATs.
The record was recorded using mostly vintage Neve and SSL gear.
We mixed it on an 80 input SSL 8000. We mixed to half inch analog at 30 i.p.s. and DAT as a back up.

 

Says Danny:
To me, Somewhere Lost In Time is reality, fire, passion, and feeling. The one thing I tried to capture with this album was "feel." No drum machines or sequencers were used, and the nothing was quantized for perfect timing. I did what I felt was best for production and reality for a one man album. It shows versatility, song writing, and in a few songs, a "look mom, no hands" attitude.


1) Save Us
This song is my religious song to the world. I am not a preacher, nor am I a religious radical or Christian rocker that uses God to try to sell records. Those people in my eyes are the sinners. I do love God, and will talk about Him to those that wish to converse about the subject. I wanted this song to lash out and grip those that listened to it, to believe that there is something more after this life. The world is bad, but can be good! It's what you make of it. The song also hits very hard with a hook that asks God to save us from ourselves, for we are a doomed race because of each other. High energy with a church type pipe organ, this song will get your interest as soon as the music fully kicks in. By the time the solo hits, you'll know there is a God. :-)

2) Come To Me
I kept having this dream for about 3 or 4 nights one time. In it, was a women's voice that sounded familiar, but I just couldn't place it. On the last night of the dream, she revealed herself to me.......what a knockout she was!! So I had to write a dreamy, up tempo rocker about her with a few airy dynamics. Kickin and rippin, this one will get ya rockin!

3) Lost Without Your Love
Probably the biggest hook of the album in my opinion, and this will be the song we release on US airwaves. Catchy, feely melodic rock at its best here man! Another tune about a hopeless romantic getting dumped...LOL!! Actually all the rest meet this criteria......what can I say, I'm unlucky with love!
Definitely a possible hit in my eyes, and the toughest solo section I ever had to play. For some reason I just couldn't make up my mind on what to play in the solo section and once I did, it was near impossible to play what I heard in my head!

4) Love Me Or Leave Me
Kinda Bad English or Dokken sounding with heavy guitars and vocals. This tunes subject matter again reflects on that hopeless romantic in love, but this time she can't make up her mind, and as always, I give her her walking papers! Great hook, nice up tempo rocker with loads of stacked back-ups and a harmony guitar solo section!

5) Is Love A Lie
One of my favorite solo's on this one, but the lyrical content is quite good as well. The tune asks the question of whether or not love is BS or not. Another ripping in your face rocker, with an airy feel...I like it! The "Evil Ones" favorite as well.

6) Somewhere Lost In Time
Probably my overall favorite because I captured the exact mood and voices in my head and actually got them down to tape! Something that doesn't happen often. :-) A Giant-ish/Sykes-ish type of power ballad that has some pretty intense dynamics and feel. I actually like my voice on this one....very strange...did I just say that? LOL! This one is about my last relationship, and I knew it was going downhill. I needed the relationship to finally end before I could finish it. It took me 2 years to write. Crying my heart out on this one, but I get the final goodbye, and the solo seals it, just like in real life. :-)

7) All The Time
I always thought this was the best song I ever wrote, until some of the newer ones came into the picture. A slow starting melodic beginning sets this one up to scare you when it kicks in. By the time you get to the hook, you'll be singing along with this song for sure! This song is about my first "in love" experience...you never forget your first true love ya know....how could I? ;-)

8) Dirty Mean & Nasty
Probably my least favorite, but it seems that everyone else loves this song!? I just don't get it???? Anyway, a definite old Van Halen vibe here, but a lyrical sci-fi movie is the topic in this one. I was watching TV one night and fell asleep. When I woke up in the middle of the night, there was this weird movie just starting. Well, this hot looking super model type chick gets out of this smokin Caddy, and walks into this bar all dressed to kill. She is really a demon and wishes to make love to all the men in the bar.
Little do they know that she will take their souls afterwards if they can't hang with her. As she was taking these guys to hell, I fell asleep and didn't see the rest of the show!
DAMN!!!! Anyway, I woke up and finished the movie in my own words describing what I though might have happened if I was one of those guys in the bar. When it came to be my turn, I was a more powerful demon than she was, so I took her soul. :-)
Just a fun little tune with a great grove, and a shredding solo. No, I don't like demons or the Devil. I think they suck, and quite well I might add. Definitely a live song!

9) Dreams
This tune was 95% written by my good friend Andy Slostad who helped me on this whole album tremendously. It's about a great girl/guy friendship, but the guy wanted more and never told her about it. She leaves him, and he writes this song to send to her one day. A mid-tempo rocker with a good hook, and a Danzi twist ending. It's a good song to break up all the monotony of the constant up tempo tunes. Nice hooks, back-ups, and overall feeling.

10) Pop Goes The What
This is one of those "look mom, no hands" tunes. I wanted one shredfest ripping from start to finish instrumental that would wake up the neighbors, demonstrating all my musical abilities on every instrument. It starts out with a little baby (no he ain't my kid!) crying while someone plays a music box of "Pop Goes The Weasel." Well this kid don't like that music box, so I give him MY version of it. Needless to say by the middle of the solo, he's laughin'! :-) I totally love this tune and can't wait to pull it off live!!!
I think I can hear it playing in the background of a Sony Playstation game! LOL!!!!

11) I Want To Spend My Life With You (Damn that's a long title!)
The story behind this tune is personal, but it's so mind blowing to me I feel I have to share it! Ready? Get out your tissues for little Danny "D" now ok? Ok. Well, the hopeless romantic dated a girl for 10 years. (I was 10, she was 7..you know how little kids start out and grow apart, but we never did) The 10th year was very rocky because of my music career and her lack of interest in the rock scene. (Dance music chicks and rocker dudes don't mix!) But of course we must have done something right in all those years. :-) Anyway, I decided that we should get married, and wanted to write the perfect proposal / wedding song for us, and that was what this tune was about. When I went to present the whole idea of marriage to her, with my proposal being this song, (which we often talked about but were too young to pursue in the past) she told me she couldn't marry me!?
I was like "what do you mean?" She says...."Danny, marriage to you would make my life complete, but I think it won't be possible now because.........drum roll..........sure you're ready for this?? Nah, next album! LOL!!!!!! Ok, that ain't fair! She says: "It won't be possible now because I'm pregnant with another mans child!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" /me pulls out gun and puts it to head! Needless to say lil Danny tucked his tail between his legs, went home and cried until 1995, but got a killer love ballad out of the deal. :-)
She didn't hear the song until this year finally, (it was written in 93) and asked to use my gun after she heard it! Seems to be the story of my life man, so I write songs about stuff like that. Feel sorry for me yet? I thought not! LOL!!! A nice Richard Marx type tune...you know the kind...the wedding song type. I felt I needed one of these....just to have. Probably my first and last attempt at "pop." ;-)

There you have it man. :-)
I really think this album shows all the sides of Danny Danzi, and should have a song for everyone. It's the best I can do on my own, and I don't regret anything about how it turned out other than upgrading my gear while it was being created. The new gear gave some of the songs a much better sound, and I wanted this sound throughout the whole thing, but deadlines would not allow me to re-do the tunes that were done using the old gear. If you feel you want to edit any of this, by all means do what you have to do. I just wanted to reach out to you and the people that read this, as just a normal dude and friend. Not a superficial rockstar asshole, but a normal human being with the same problems we all go through. Thanks so much for the chance to tell it to ya in my own words....Peace....

FEARLESS
Danny Vaughn - This couldn't be anything else but an opening track. It's an anthem in every sense of the word. Complete with a giant, sing along part at the end. Michael brought out the cannons for the drum parts. (I think he's been working out). Lyrically, it's about befriending or loving any one that you choose regardless of height, weight, color, status, religion, or any other conditions that get placed on us. To live Fearlessly is to live righteously and happily regardless of how you are perceived.
Michael C. Arbeeny - The second I heard this one I knew we had a winner. Has that WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS vibe one would hear at a sporting event. Gets the blood pumpin and makes you want to turn up the stereo all the way.

HAUNTED
DV - This is one of 2 co-writes on the cd. My friend Darren Futch from the band FLINT was my sounding board as I played with different ways of presenting the story. A simple song about two people living in the same town that are perfect for each other but never quite seem to get to meet. Plenty of pathos here! There's a problem child on every record and this one was ours. We kept rewriting it and changing it to improve it right up until the last moment. All praise to PJ for coming up with the monster guitar part over the choruses that I didn't get at first!
MCA - Another one that spoke up loud and clear the first time I heard it. The album's production "PROBLEM CHILD" but well worth every gray hair I got from it!! A sad song that reminds us love isnt sometimes fair. HUGE chorus.......

FLY AWAY
DV - This guitar riff came on me one day and simply wouldn't leave me alone. I would play it over and over hypnotically telling myself "I know there's a song in here somewhere!". It's about my own life where, on a few recent occasions, my wife and I have had to pack up our belongings and move on from a place that we thought we would make our home. Sometimes fate has other plans.
MCA - My personal Fave on the album. An airy riff and free-form rhythm make this one move nicely. A melancholy story, but with an optimistic future saying "Hey we gave it our best shot; time to move on"

MILLION MILES OF ROAD
DV -Another autobiographical one. I had a birthday recently and I was musing on what has occurred in my life so far and what I may or may not have learned. It's simple, but straight to the point.
MCA - Great anthem Realizing that, although you might not be exactly where you want, being where you are aint that bad either!!! The moral I get is "enjoy the trip as well as striving to get to the finish line"

WAS THERE A MOMENT
DV -This one is a co-write between myself and John Liedersdorff of the band BLOWUP. We got together because we had a hunch that our styles would merge well even though we write different types of songs. We were pleasantly surprised. This was one of the most painless collaborations I've ever done. Hope to do some more. Another short and to the point rocker!
MCA - Taking on different production ideas was a great and fulfilling challenge on this album. "MOMENT" pushed us into a modern realm that I really enjoyed. A more punky straight ahead approach worked like a charm. Cut 2 totally different tracks for this one to make it great.

WHEN YOU WALK AWAY
DV - I've had this idea floating around for a while. Lyrically it's about confronting the truth of my wife's having been diagnosed with a fatal form of leukemia and how we both were going to try and deal with the inevitable outcome. I'm happy to say that she has beat it and is in remission. But when this was written, the reality of death was very close. It's deeply personal and I think Kyle's performance really captures the loneliness of the song.
MCA - We had huge instrumentation recorded for this one, and after realizing the power of the lone vocal and the piano, we left most everything out. In my opinion, Danny's best ballad to date. It takes you somewhere for a few minutes, as any great song should. Also reminds me just how talented Kyle is!!

DULCIMER STREET
DV - This is the only older song from a previous home demo that got put on the record. Paul Orofino came up with the idea of a cool drum loop like Peter Gabriel and we all followed with some really unusual instrumentation. Definitely an oddball! It is about a mythical home coming of a beaten Southern regiment in the times of the American Civil War. It's not really pro south as much as it is celebrating the end of a long war and the big party that follows! (although I think the party part is strictly fictional).
MCA - Again, we experimented with different drum sounds and production ideas. This one found me with 3 dirty bath towels draped over the drums. At first I had a hard time "getting" this one, but as the song progressed, it became a monster. Great harnonies on the chorus.

JUST LIKE THAT
DV - One of my favorites. Straight ahead, American rock tale about people that I most admire in this world. They live life on their terms. Fearlessly. Also features a good friend, Lisa Bekker on vocals with me. Boys, don't all fall in love at once!
MCA - We had too much material for SOLDIERS AND SAILORS, so this one got shelved. PJ laid in a great guitar riff, and this one was ready in 2 days. Another song reminding us that life is short; enjoy the ride while you can.

CARRY ME HOME
DV - To all musicians that are toying with the idea of spending a lot of money on home studio equipment, it's worth it! When I played all my new ideas for Michael with just me and an acoustic guitar, he wasn't getting this one. So I spent a week working on my new Roland home studio and presented everybody with a much more worked up idea and it was in! It's got some really outstanding bass playing on it and is one of the coolest grooves I've ever written. Lyrically? Hmmmmm... I think you'll have to decide for yourself what's going on here. I think I'd been reading a lot of Carlos Castaneda at the time!
MCA - If I may regress to the shallow depths of being a drummer for a second I can't wait to get a copy of the CD because I think this will be my favorite VAUGHN song to have sex to!!! Just a slow, sexy groove that builds to a fantastic chaotic ending. A perfect album closer.

MCA There you have it. Hope everyone enjoys this record as much as we do!!!!