Vince Vanguard releases Americana anthem "Wildfire"

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Vince Vanguard Wildfire
Vince Vanguard

Americana songwriter Vince Vanguard grew up surrounded by music. His father was a blues fanatic, named his son after Eric Clapton (Vince’s birth name is Eric Plein), and took Vince to his first concert, BB King. "Blues music’s idea of the struggle of the spirit, and letting those feelings out always resonated with me", Vince says. His dad also kept a bass sitting in his office, and the image of the old, cool-looking instrument made an indelible impression on the young boy. Vince’s uncle playing acoustic guitar and conducting family singalongs also had a profound effect on him growing up.

It seemed only natural Vince would explore music, and he took to playing in rock bands throughout high school, college, and beyond. However, he always found he was very self-conscious about songwriting, and needed booze to access his feelings and let go of his inhabitations. "For most of my life, I recorded ideas mumbling under my breath after I was good and lubricated", Vince shares. "After getting my life together, I decided to finally record my story and my feelings. I did this for my own healing, but I hope my experiences connect with and comfort others going through similar things", Vince says.

He just released a song on YouTube called "Wildfire", an Americana anthem with vocals that sound like echoes coming from the wild forests. The catchy rhythm is powered by heartfelt guitar riffs recalling the sparkling and movement of the fire among the trees. Vince shares: "When I first heard the song "Wildfire" by Watchhouse (who released music as Mandolin Orange at the time), I fell in love with the song and had it on repeat for a week straight. It morphed into a songwriting exercise of creating my own "Wildfire". At the time when I wrote the song there had just been a local wildfire in one of the canyons adjacent to Boulder, Colorado where I was living. It inspired the imagery I played off of to address the legend of Chief Niwot's Curse as well as themes of community and identity".

 

Vince Vanguard's solo album, "Spirit Blues", is a soulful folk and Americana album flush with personal revelation, hard truths, and fine songcraft. Helonged to record and release a solo album for years. The irony here being he actually owned a recording studio and ran his own production company - his dream was literally at his fingertips. Sadly, he was a casuality of the musician’s overindulgent lifestyle. "I talked about recording for years, but couldn’t make it happen until I made some important changes. I guess I hid in that studio", Vince admits. He continues: "These songs were written and recorded for me. I wasn’t trying to be commercially successful, or catch a certain group’s attention. They're all just my pain and existential rumination, and the need for their cathartic release".

The 10-song album is a pure distillation of where Vince was at when he wrote the songs. Conceptually, this is a courageously confessional storyteller album with a well-thought-out song sequence that speaks to a dark victory. The final track, "Just So You Know", was written after Vince got the help he needed to overcome his demons. At its core, "Spirit Blues" is just Vince’s sweetly weary vocals and his folkie acoustic guitar playing, but, at times, this essentialized presentation is thoughtfully enhanced by additional instrumentation such as organ, clean melodic guitars, piano, harmony vocals, lap steel, and a rhythm section. Thematically, "Spirit Blues" grapples with a journey of addiction, but the lyrics are universal - this isn’t a detailed sobriety travelogue.

Today, Vince is enjoying a busy and meaningful life filled with many endeavors outside of music. "Spirit Blues" snapshots the crossroads moment before Vince found his way forward, and it will remain a powerful reminder of a transformative time. Reflecting back on it all, Vince says: "I needed to get these songs off my chest to break ties with my past. Now, I feel like I can move on".

Vince Vanguard Wildfire
Vince Vanguard

Instagram: @vincevanguard

Website: Vince Vanguard

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