By Noe Gutierrez
Recently, Blues guitar great Jimmie Vaughan celebrated his 68th birthday on March 20, 2019. Only three-and-a-half years older than his younger brother Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie was the principal inspiration for Stevie Ray to pick up the guitar and in 1963 handed him down a Gibson ES-125T. Jimmie himself began playing guitar at a young age and has built a legacy of American Blues that is unparalleled in the music world.
Talking to Jimmie on the phone, you can tell he is full of Texas Pride and there’s no doubt he unfurls the Lone Star flag right alongside Old Glory on the Fourth of July. It was an honor to speak briefly with the 4-time Grammy Award winner and one of the many featured performers at the Wedbush Garden Jam Music Festival at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on April 5th and 6th. Also on the bill are Lukas Nelson & The Promise of the Real, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos to name a few. You can see the full line-up and purchase tickets at gardenjammusicfestival.com. Below is my conversation with the legendary Jimmie Vaughan.
CVW: How are you doing overall Jimmie and where are you currently?
Vaughan: “I’m doing excellent! I’m at home. I’m about an hour west of Austin, Texas.”
CVW: You have a string of shows with Buddy Guy at House of Blues in Dallas, Austin City Limits LIVE, Utah, Arizona and of course our Wedbush Garden Jam Music Festival in Indian Wells, CA. What are your feelings on these shows?
Vaughan: “It’s great! It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I love my band and with the record coming out, I’m very excited. What can I say about Buddy Guy that hasn’t already been said?”
CVW: You have a new album, Baby, Please Come Home, being released on May 17, 2019. What would you like us to know about the record?
Vaughan: “It’s me with my favorite musicians playing a bunch of stuff that we like, how about that? It’s fun, I’m having a great time, we got a good tour coming up, and it’s exciting to have a new album coming out. I’m having a good time still.”
CVW: Your first single, Be My Lovey Dovey, is a great Blues shuffle and has a habit-forming hook that has it on repeat in my Apple Music account.
Vaughan: “It’s not very high brow, but it’s not meant to be, it’s just for fun. It’s sort of my blues rock and roll stuff that I do. It’s just for fun. I don’t know what to say besides that.”
CVW: How did Baby, Please Come Home come about? I also saw that you have a couple of bonus tracks.
Vaughan: “I had to go and pick the songs that suited me to make an arrangement with and then we recorded them. It was actually all very thought-out and worked, but they’re really designed to play live. I’ll be playing almost all of the album at the show in April.
The bonus tracks on the album are from my trio. We’re also going to do that live because the trio is in my band so I’m bringing them with me.”
CVW: Toby Lee shared with me that he is heavy into classic Volkswagen beetles and vans. You’re into vintage vehicles as well. What is it about guitar players and cars?
Vaughan: “I’m a hot-rodder, I love California and I come back and forth to the desert and every year I go to the car show at the Pomona Fairgrounds. When I started playing guitar my first thought was, oh, maybe I can get really good and get some money and buy a car? I was probably around Toby Lee’s age.”
CVW: When’s the last time you were out to the desert?
Vaughan: “I drive by there a lot and I’ve played a lot of gigs out there. I don’t remember the last time I played Indio. I’m sure it was the casino.”
CVW: 14 year-old Toby Lee will be performing for his first “official” show in the United States at the Wedbush Garden Jam Music Festival. You picked up the guitar early on as well. What was the attraction to the Blues?
Vaughan: “I haven’t seen him yet. I’m sure he’s something else. It will be good to see him. I picked up the guitar when I was twelve. Very soon after that, the Blues pulled me in. My uncles played guitar on both sides of the family so there was a lot of guitar music around and a lot of stuff on the radio. It’s always been around in my life. I’m the oldest so I started playing first.”
CVW: Any last words for our Coachella Valley Weekly readers Jimmie?
Vaughan: “I’ve got my band, we’re ready and we’re looking forward to it!”
Catch Jimmie Vaughan and band on Saturday, April 6th at the Wedbush Garden Jam Music Festival.
