Review Fix chats with Dave Vargo, who discusses his new album and so much more.
Review Fix: How is this CD different than your previous work?
Dave Vargo: This CD might be a little more on Indie Rock side of Americana than my previous work.
Review Fix: What else did you do on here that you haven’t done anywhere else?
Vargo: This is the first of my albums to include a cowritten song. Vanish in the Light was written with my friend Danielle Marrone.
Review Fix: Are you excited to play this one live?
Vargo: I have been performing the songs solo. Just me and an acoustic guitar. It would be great to break out the electric guitars and get loud with a full band!
Review Fix: You’ve won over a ton of people with your sound over the years. What do you think you do that makes you unique?
Vargo: I am probably not that unique. But I do try to bring everything I can to each project. It’s very important to me to put out music that’s good top to bottom. I want each album to be a collection of strong songs. No fillers or throw away songs.
Review Fix: What’s the track on this album you’re most proud of?
Vargo: They are all my babies, lol. But if I had to pick one it would probably be Back Then. I think that I came up with a really good opening lyric- “Never been a father. No longer a son.”
Review Fix: What set of lyrics were the hardest for you to write?
Vargo: Probably Empty Space. My dog Bella, who had been at my side while I had written all of my songs, cancer had come back and I knew that her days were numbered. The lyrics are mostly about imagining life without her.
Review Fix: Any stories behind any of these tunes you feel like sharing?
Vargo: The stem of the idea for my song Best Version came from a rather mundane moment at the dry cleaners that I frequent every week when I looked out across the highway at patch of land that used to be a lush wooded area. Suddenly, a la Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi,” the trees were gone and I saw a convenience store and gas station were going up. The line “History’s gone/nobody cares” evolved into a reflection on the different histories we create for ourselves throughout our lives.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Vargo: I am heading back into the studio later this month to start a new project. I will be producing, arranging, and performing on an EP for songwriters Scott Rubine & Jay Weiner. I am also planning to hit the road in September to play some shows.
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