Vaughan Penn

“Who is Vaughan Penn? I swear I’ve heard of her before.” Well, chances are that you probably have. Vaughan has had over 20 songs chosen for major network television shows, DVDs, Internet Soundtracks, and Feature Film Shorts. “Ready To Rise” and “Can’t Help Myself” were featured on the premiere of MTV’s Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County which aired September 28, 2004. “I Can’t Help Myself” was also chosen for Episode 3 of MTV’s Laguna Beach. “I Miss You,” from her CD, Transcendence will be featured on the new Las Vegas Season 1 DVD. “More Than Meets the Eyes,” from Transcendence is on the new Season 3 Dawson’s Creek DVD and Internet Soundtrack. “I Can’t Help Myself” was on Boston Public in May 2004. “If You Could See,” was featured on the January 22, 2004 episode of Fox TV’s Tru Calling. Three songs from Transcendence, “The Deeper I Fall,” “If You Could See,” and “I Can’t Help Myself,” will be featured on the new 20th Century Fox Roswell DVD. “Brokenhearted,” Track 10 on Transcendence, was used on three major television shows in 2003: Fox TV’s Boston Public (April 28th); Fox TV’s Tru Calling (November 13th); and, most recently, Jerry Bruckheimer’s (American Gigolo, Beverly Hills Cop), SKIN which premiered in the Fall of 2003. Two more songs from Transcendence, “It’s a Game” and “I’m Over It,” were featured on NBC’s very popular drama, Providence. Three songs from her second CD, Somebody Besides Yourself, “Eye For An Eye,” “Happy and Free,” and “Right In Front of You” were also on Providence. Another song from Somebody Besides Yourself, “Truth,” was featured on NBC’s Cold Feet. Her song, “House of Mirrors,” was used as an end title on a George Lucas (Star Wars) compilation DVD of feature film shorts. Vaughan Penn is, from her earliest memories, a performer. She comes by it naturally, she was born into a family of musicians, singers, and dancers. When she was 14, she found her individuality among performers when she picked up a guitar and immediately began to write songs, “I didn’t really want to sing other people’s music, I only wanted to write. The guitar gave the deep and intense feelings that I had inside a place to go. I was relieved that the wacky and crazy emotions served a higher purpose. The guitar helped channel the music and created a bridge between what I felt in my soul and the world.” After high school, she became the lead singer of a popular cover band but she had a passion to perform her original music so she made the long migration to Los Angeles. In LA, she made a living working on movie sets and television shows while honing her songwriting skills and performing her original music. She put together an acoustic band with an upright bass, viola, cello, acoustic guitar, and percussion. She caught the attention of high profile publishers and was also nominated for Acoustic Artist of the Year by the National Academy of Songwriters. She made her way to Nashville and began focusing on her music career and songwriting full time. In Nashville, she found another love, recording. “I had a studio in the basement of the house where I lived so I got comfortable working anytime I felt inspired. I had no pressure to be creative so the muse really flowed. I started assigning all the parts I heard in my head to the different instruments on the tracks. I developed a passion for orchestration, overdubs, and the vast choices of melodies that can work together. Producing gives me more room to be creative on a multi-faceted level.” She was invited to perform at MIDEM, the world’s largest independent music festival in Cannes, France. From there, she toured Europe and promoted her self-produced recordings compiled on her first release, “The World’s Alright.” It was distributed and supported by MD Records, one of Scandinavia’s most successful independent labels. The first single, “Eye for an Eye” served as a catalyst to generate airplay and build a respectable European fan base. Critics from leading newspapers in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway loved the recordings and gave the record outstanding reviews. As a result of the sudden notoriety, she was asked to be a featured artist on the number one primetime show in Norway, Vera Vera. Back in the US, she continued to write fervently, this time with more of a pop-rock feel that led her back into the studio to begin recording. She spent some creative time as a writer and producer and had the privilege of co-producing some of her songs with Ben Keith (musician and producer for Neil Young and Jewel’s “Pieces of You”) and Mark Trojanowski (Sister Hazel). And, she had the opportunity to record and play live with some amazing Nashville musicians. Vaughan is an inspiring live performer who draws her audience in from the very first chord and holds them there until the very last. Over the course of her musical career, she has shared the stage with luminaries such as Melissa Etheridge, Huey Lewis and The News, The Indigo Girls, Edwin McCain, Angie Aparo, Shawn Mullins, Sister Hazel, Emmylou Harris, and Nanci Griffith, among many others. Vaughan has created her own unique sound of earthy-pop-rock music that combines meaningful songwriting with a powerfully melodic sound. With strong rhythmic textures and intricate chord and string arrangements, her songs have pure emotional honesty; both musically and lyrically. “I don’t always write from intellect because all of the ingredients for songwriting and wisdoms necessary to draw from are all found in the heart not in the mind. For a song to come through I get myself in the right space emotionally and let the song come out.” Vaughan’s flexibility broadens and expands the appeal of her music to a wide and varied audience. Her inventive and thought provoking style draws comparisons to similar artists such as Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch, Hillary Duff, and Sixpence None the Richer. “Writing a song is like giving birth…a very intimate and personal experience. It can be unnerving because you are unveiling so much of your core self to the world. But you can’t help but do it. I guess you could say, I am an exhibitionist of the heart.”