Josh Dion: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

A heart beat. Sometimes pulsing rapidly, nearly taking your breath away with it’s hurried thumping against your chest. Other times its steady. Rhythmic. Softly telling the story of the emotions flooding your mind, overflowing your conscience and into this essential organ. Every now and then it stops for a moment. The stillness robs your natural airflow, lingers for a brief second, and then resumes a steady pace. A Josh Dion drum beat. It mimics the heart beat so perfectly, your body vibrates at the pace of the music, moving, feeling, exalting energy that eagerly attempts to match the spirit and soul Josh Dion brings to the stage.

A lifelong drummer whose upbeat, funky, and earthy music sets him worlds apart from the standard NYC singer-songwriter, Dion’s musical travels have encountered both speed bumps and express lanes, providing learning opportunities and carving invaluable life lessons along the way. From the drum kit received for his first birthday to the first song he wrote at age 24, the once-aspiring jazz drummer performed everything from wedding gigs to blues gigs to children’s music to make his way to the top. Understanding the importance of networking, Dion claims, “You never say no to anything. Before you know it, you have a pretty good living going.”

Good living it's been for Josh, who formed the Josh Dion Band four years ago after a brief touring stint with the band ulu, an opportunity he shared with fellow JD band member and bass player Brian Killeen. It was during these travels that Josh started writing lyrics and keeping a journal of life experiences, a creative outlet that opened many doors in his future. After the tour he spent a short period playing with Chuck Loeb, honing and exploring his vocal capabilities, put together the Josh Dion Band, and engaged in four years worth of performances, time on the road, and invaluable adventures that shaped where he is today. The band parted ways this past January, and since then Josh has been focused on writing and building the next chapter of his career.

An artist who “cut his teeth” at venues like The Bitter End and the Bleecker Street scene, Dion is currently building an expanded fan base and exposing his music to different locations in NY’s Lower East Side. “I’m trying to find what my true personality is,” Josh explains, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts. “I think we become more complex, especially in this day and age… there’s just so much. I’m coming from so many different types of music it’s really hard to narrow down [my sound]. Everything is a mixture of everything else now… Eventually you get into a groove of what works for your performing style and sound, how you want people to respond to it, and how you want to be perceived.”

The one-time “old soul” is moving forward and living in the now, setting no boundaries and staying focused on what goals lie ahead. Influenced in phases over the course of time, classic rock, blues, Dixie ragtime, old jazz, big band, soul, funk, and gospel are some of the many sounds that musically permeate through his listeners. Often feeling isolated as a drummer who didn’t follow the traditional singer-songwriter path, Dion struggles to find his place in the music scene, opting to march to his own beat more often than not. Finding new homes in places like Sullivan Hall and Rockwood Music Hall helped quench some of the thirst for new. “I really like Rockwood,” Dion exclaims. “I feel like people are going there, there’s something exciting happening. I’m interested in that.” With such an eclectic personal style, a place like Rockwood has exposed Josh to a continuous flow of people open to a variety of sounds, garnering that universal appeal he strives for with his music.

A creature of natural progression, Dion takes a moment to ruminate about his travels to Spain with the Josh Dion Band for the WOMAD Festival, an experience that reminded him of the power and pleasure of life as a musician. Painting a picturesque background of looming Medieval castles and gently rolling hills, Josh describes the moment he understood exactly what his music could accomplish: “We played a show to about 1,000 people… [The show] was explosive... we connected- it was a beautiful thing. The next day I had a ‘drum clinic’ to teach… people found out and thought it was another show but it wasn’t, it was just me and my drum set.” Not wanting to disappoint the confused audience, Dion called bassist Brian Killeen on stage, and the two had a blast putting on an impromptu show at three in the afternoon. “I remember realizing ‘I could do that!’” he recalls, understanding finally, “Don’t show any fear. Don’t allow yourself to go there. Just make music… When you’re giving your all and you feel a huge pull from the audience, you have to give more.”

Audience response is crucial to Josh Dion, who loves nothing more than to see people grooving and dancing as he rocks out onstage. “People take so many different things away from lyrics and songs, it’s whatever you’re feeling really,” Josh offers. “I get it from people and I want to give it to people. I want them to feel that energy.” Approaching songwriting from a drummer’s perspective is slightly different, and sometimes Dion has found the strongest songs actually happen sans instruments- “The best hook comes when there isn’t anything there.”

Falling somewhere in the middle of R&B and singer-songwriter roots rock, Josh tunes into the heart of the song, taking into account strong lyrics and how the audience will react. “A song is like that one emotion that makes you feel a lyric,” Dion reveals thoughtfully. “You get a part of a song and it’ll have a hook to it, that one lyric, and you’ll just know. It will be a life force, and you just have to protect it. Build around it. That’s the essence of the song.”

From the eight-year-old rock drummer with a mullet to the powerful adult presence that commands every stage and drum set with life and energy, Josh Dion is musical force to be reckoned with. This approachable, genuine, and engaging entertainer humbly understands the struggle, the learning curve, and the risk that comes with the musician’s life, and eagerly looks to share the knowledge life has bestowed, living by the priceless lesson a drum teacher once taught him, “What’s mine is yours.”

Pass it on.

Be sure to catch Josh this Friday, July 24, 9:00 pm at Rockwood Music Hall, and on September 5 at the Mercury Lounge!

For more info on Josh Dion, including music and tour dates, please visit www.joshdion.com or find Josh on Facebook- www.facebook.com.

Ryan Vaughn: Outside the "Box"

Ryan Vaughn may strike you as just another Village hipster with a cool air of confidence and a dream. Excited blue eyes accentuated by Clark Kent glasses, a genuine smile, and a warm greeting make you feel instantly at ease. There's more to this unique and talented drummer/percussionist, however; he's one of the most honest, driven, and well-spoken young artists in the up-and-coming New York City music scene.

This 25-year-old NY implant burst his way onto the scene in 2004. The first beat on his drum came at the age of 10 in a California school jazz band. That percussion experience put him ahead of the game when he moved to Arizona the following year, where Ryan's competitive nature pushed him to continue being the best in his class and stay ahead of the curve. After high school graduation he enrolled in Mesa Community College, earning two associates degrees before transferring with a full ride to WPUNJ's prestigious jazz program.

"My dad had a job he hated and retired way early and always encouraged my brother and I to pursue something we enjoy and have fun, but be smart about it," Vaughn said. He credits his parents, brother, aunts and uncles with being one hundred percent supportive of his career choice and talent, despite not coming from a "musical family."

In sitting and talking with Ryan, enthusiasm and passion for his art radiate through the room. I first saw Ryan perform on a cajon (accent on the "a")- a large wood box on which he makes original sounds that rival a full African tribe in the height of fertility season. The rhythms, beats, clatters and reverberations he was able to make out of what seemed like a simple box and some kitchen utensils blew me away. The "utensils" include shakers, tambourines, sticks, cymbals, etc. "I'll [see something] make it my own and try to do it better," says Vaughn, "Everything makes sound... I'll play the table, I'll play the floor... There's always more, there's never enough."

An artist who can discover rhythms that never existed before, and who can breathe life into a piece of music rejuvenating it's very essence; three words that Ryan used to represent his sound are: "Organic. Primal. Colorful." Vaughn explains, "Organic- I don't strap stuff on myself... I need to be able to move around, pick it up off the floor... I want to be very earthly and worldly... all honest, not contrived. Primal- You hit things. They make sound. Man hits box. It's all physical. Colorful- I create textures... It's like painting with sound." And what an exquisite picture he paints.

After sitting for awhile sipping our 9th Street Espresso coffees, we dove into the topic of the New York City singer/songwriter scene. Vaughn has impressively established relationships with virtually every singer/songwriter in the city in the past 5 years. One quick glance at his gig calendar and you'll see that is no exaggeration.

Spending his first year working, commuting, sleeping two hours a night, checking out different venues and artists, he would attend shows alone, collect cards, load up his database, and send e-mails, hoping to get his name out to as many people as possible.

It was his persistence with Jill Stevenson after seeing her play The Living Room that landed him his first NY gig. He went on to play with the Josh Dion Band and later hooked up with Dan Torres. With Dan, he spent time writing and playing in California, leading to a six-month tour in England, before returning to New York last year and hitting the scene hard. Most recently, Ryan was featured on The Conan O'Brien Show as a percussionist for Joshua Radin, an opportunity that came up, quite literally, because of a dream and a friendship with Radin's drummer. "Somehow the universe takes care of you. Sometimes you just have to have faith... that you're gonna make rent," Vaughn says with a slight smirk, as though taunting the Universe to test him.

For Vaughn, and many of the artists who live and breathe the culture and music of NYC, the singer/songwriter scene is extremely personal. A community of like souls, making music and trying to survive. From folk to country to rock, the essence is all the same- original music and personal lyrics, untainted by professional producers. Songs are their "babies," their "seedlings," continuously played out to see how they grow. Sometimes the arrangements will never change; sometimes they will evolve ten times over. Ryan compared the writing process to two schools of thought: "Beethoven wrote nine symphonies and spent forever trying to get it right. Mozart just cranked them out. Most singer/songwriters fall into one of those categories."

Vaughn pointed out these musicians recently had one of their most successful nights in years at the live music bar Piano's NYC, on a random Tuesday. Why? Because people need music right now. It's cheap, it's entertaining, it's an escape from the problems we deal with every day. It's comforting, a warm blanket to wrap ourselves in on these dismal, cold winter nights. Every song provides a hug- some warm and squishy, some tight and fierce, some sort and comforting. We find reflections of ourselves in these artists, identifying with their pleasure and pain; their musical journey offers a glimmer of hope.

Ryan Vaughn's passion and ambition is so addicting and infectious you feel inspired to do more with your life after speaking with him. Musicians who strike a personal chord for Ryan include Dan Torres, Wes Hutchinson, Sasha Dobson, Mieka Pauley, and Pete and J, to name a few. They're incredible singers and songwriters, along with being smart business people. Networking is second nature to them; understanding the give and take, and immersing themselves with like minds. As for Ryan, his words say it best. "I want to play with the stars, I want to be a household name, I want to change the world. I want it all. I want big."

For more information on Ryan and upcoming shows, check out www.ryanvaughn.com.