In the first episode of Masters and Founders, Dan Dillard talks guitars, cars, and turning a master skill into your profession with Jimmie Vaughan, Texas Music legend. Recorded in the historical Antone’s music club in Austin, TX, Dan dives into Jimmie Vaughan’s childhood and how he became motivated to pick up a guitar in the first place.

Guest: Jimmie Vaughan
Host: Dan Dillard
Producer: Myrriah Gossett
Music by:Scott Holms

Transcript:

there’s a lot to be said when someone puts in over ten thousand hours learning a skill mastered the technique or conquering the field masters and founders list about a space to learn and hear from the folks were moving and shaking in a variety of industries no matter what the end result there’s always something you can learn from the journey today I welcome you to the first episode of masters and founders I’m your host Dan Dillard today we have quite the treat for any Texas music fans listening Yvonne has said himself he has had the entire career and is still doing things the old fashioned way whether it’s guitars cars rather motivations Jimmy definitely follows his passions Jimmy’s clocked in more than thirty thousand hours of playing the guitar and as much as he doesn’t want to add up the math today we’re going to honor his time and hopefully learn how to make a magical skill into a career here’s my conversation with Jimmy Hoffa it’s are a very special guest an icon here in Austin Jimmie Vaughan thank you so much for being with him thank you thanks for having me as you know we have had a magazine here for the last few the last year on the founders of Austin and so what we wanna do is embark on a new journey called a masters and founders what a master is a someone who spent more than ten thousand hours in their profession so we were talking about before the show of how many hours you guess you have doing music do it there started trying to play in in sixty three okay so so we figure cut two thousand hours at least a year you’re probably at thirty thousand hours I don’t know what to think of too many yes good we need to go the other way I like it I like it so of the entire purpose of masters and founders is just to give others a path to follow through the juries that we’ve gone through and so when I was thinking of a a master in in in what they do your name just popped into my head because of I really appreciate and respect everything that you’ve done throughout your career %HESITATION so the the the question of that I have and I love just at the back of history when was the first time that you %HESITATION picked up a guitar when did you know the music was calling you well I told the story a lot but when I was in junior high %HESITATION this friend of mine said he said Hey man if you want a girlfriend you’re gonna have to play football I was like oh no %HESITATION that’s not going to hurt he said no you have to play football he said you’re small you could probably play half back or something like that you know and I’ve only played you know touch football it at school anyway so I said okay you know do anything to get a girlfriend motivation when you’re when you’re that age so %HESITATION so I went down there and got in my group that was supposed to be for the half backs not knowing that half back was like to main guy or something you know are one of the main guys anyway so when it came my turn to try out they he said okay I want to run out among throw your fast so they threw me pass and I mysteriously caught it and then they piled on me attack on me like im immediately and I broke my collarbone hello right then and Jimmie Vaughan so I had to go home I went to the schools office and the nurse and %HESITATION they sent me to the doctor and I had to go I was at home for three months so my dad said I don’t know what we’re gonna do with you %HESITATION because they you know the schools also are like everybody’s daycare right three take your kids if you don’t know what to do with employment in the school so %HESITATION he gave me this guitar for fifty Bucks that his friend had had three strings on it he said here he said maybe this will keep you out of trouble and I’ve been playing ever since that was in nineteen sixty three while so soon after that I had a gig we started we had a band and you know can play yet but we that doesn’t matter well that was a little to mask is I mean so I’ve had a guitar for a long time as million do anything with it so you picked it up and said you have a teacher did there’s no you to back then to to learn how to do just figure out I just try to play well what I heard on the radio and Jimmie Vaughan at my uncles played on both sides of my family so that we show me little things and I my dad knew several musicians and they would come over and show me little thing he’s you know on the guitar so so there was a lot of people around me that encourage me and you know to have a support system the yeah I guess yeah and then %HESITATION but you know the main ingredient was I was desperate and I didn’t know what else to do to and %HESITATION and now you know it was the right at that age where you’re excited new trying to figure out what’s going on and %HESITATION I don’t want to be a failure I can play football so I was like all worried about that and %HESITATION I was kind of happy that I have to go to school for three months okay so I just you know start playing guitar not my plan ever since this at what point did you say I can make money at this %HESITATION well pretty quick because no we I had a friend %HESITATION a couple of friends who also became the guys in the band with a trio mmhm and %HESITATION after a few months we are we start playing parties and you know trying to play at school anywhere in the park we live close to a park and Jimmie Vaughan it just seems like we just started playing you know I think even that summer I had a gig five nights a week well so study that a club is a my dad would have to take the the parents would have to the dads we have to argue about who had to take the kids tonight you know and then pick them up at the at all usually all three be there set in the back Ernest the arm so the during this time was there any doubt or you know as you start growing I I just my imagenes is going back in history in trying to figure this out %HESITATION I can imagine what you’re going through so was there any doubt that this once you started down that path that this is what you wanted to do was as I wanted other things or what didn’t call you and that was your passion and then from that point forward you just pretty pretty a determined you know I I didn’t I went fake about the future I was just enjoyed playing and I thought to myself Hey this is pretty easy and it’s fun and you know it’s interesting and you know I was just thinking well I’m just you know going to have a record and then I’ll make a lot of money and I’ll just drive away I’ll get a new car and drive off I didn’t really I didn’t really think about anything to do with reality you know just just one day at a time put one foot forward and for the other it was fun to play so you know it I before I play guitar I was I was like an artist at school you know and I was always drawing and I was kind of weird anyway like that you know autistic artistic there you go that’s the word was there any fear of taking something that and I think I know the answers but by what you said but in the fear of taking what you love and turn it into myself as I interview turning into one turning it into revenue your Jimmie Vaughan the thing that you full time so I hear sometimes an artist let’s do that for their passion but they don’t really want to turn into a business because I don’t know anything about anything I was an obvious fourteen thirteen fourteen and you know after playing for a year or so in my band %HESITATION the trio then I got hired by another band by the time I was fourteen I was playing in a band that was making three hundred dollars a week so I was making more money than my pop well all of a sudden at forty yeah so %HESITATION I just didn’t think about it I was just you know having fun playing guitar you don’t also I get stand all weekend and I’m too young for that so usually a before that you know my parents to take me my dad would take me to the gag in his truck and Jimmie Vaughan so all the sudden I was out of town you know and and the rest of the guys in the band were like twenty one so gave you a lot of liberty and it was a young was correct yeah sounds like what a fantastic time yeah do you have any of you looking back on your career you have any favorite moments %HESITATION you you just kind of throughout the decades of planes well we are I don’t know how I can’t remember how old I was because I was in that band for a couple years the the chessmen was the name of the band and they had Jimmie Vaughan a couple of local records forty fives that were on the on the top top forty you know so they did really get it to turn the parties and such and we would open for Dan say came to town whatever they were at the memorial auditorium or so we %HESITATION for Hendrix and the Mamas and Papas and %HESITATION different bands that sounds that sounds like what I. that’s all the good just incredible journey for a you know for it fourteen fifteen year old kid this that’s wild you know not to go home either right what was that like when you met your first I I get that at some point you were star struck I would think yes No yeah sure I mean any time any time that you know you met you mean he one of your heroes you you don’t really know what to say anyway so but it it all seems to work out said a now me being that being the doing this for such a long time Jimmie Vaughan and the circles of everything you’ve grown networks all that it’s just a whole different environment I mean it’s it’s a is it what is that group what does that feel like we just going into a huge event would love of the artist and you just get to shake hands and is that wasn’t feeling well you know it’s the same when you play it will begin stage with Eric Clapton and all these people if you’re she’ll goes up and near %HESITATION you don’t really think about it sometimes I’ll go home after one of those things and I’ll go wow I just play with Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy but why you’re doing it in a year your natural defenses go up and you sort of turn into a gunslinger kind of a thing yeah can totally focus must be the same with sports you know completely for is if you yeah because if you use if you really thought about what you do anyway freak you out I mean I would imagine that’s the way it is on some level you have to think about it but on another level here is hard and you know is in the zone that’s that’s incredible I was always wondered about that that’s the answer for all my questions Jimmie Vaughan is in the zone so Jimmie Vaughan the one topic I want to get to his change in music from an outsider I have no musical talent whatsoever but I do know that I’ve seen a lot of change as in as in with many businesses and and and and and so so so forth with music we’ve seen it go from records to a subscription service and now there’s more vinyl back in these changes how do you deal personally with the change of like records myself they sound better than they sound better than digital %HESITATION but you know I’m I’m sixty six so I remember records in and all that so as far as impact what you do though it doesn’t have any impact on your disk I really try not to get all worried about all that because there’s not much I can do about it you know %HESITATION and just try to play good focus on your craft focus so my playing and Jimmie Vaughan we still record the same way we still record with tape on a on a roof gene like this it goes around around interesting and then we manipulate it with all the new stuff we use the old stuff too so he’s all compressors tape it ends up on tape well we recorded digitally now mmhm like with pro tools and then we at the end we put it on tape and put it through the Jimmie Vaughan compressors and sometimes even use a old tape echo plex and things like that so we sort of turn it into Jimmie Vaughan the nineteen all these before we give it back to well that’s because it sounds better that’s so interesting here with all the equipment that you have everything digital so we use all that stuff right to record and and to over Dublin everything you just it’s like having a unlimited a hundred track machine but with no problems right so we recorded and Jimmie Vaughan and then we turn it into a tape and then master nice that’s that’s very interesting this one sounds warm okay had no clue that’s that’s just my mind also the tape makes a a certain compression noise to it to Mexico like that makes it sound like it’s just give it a different it’s almost better than feel what you could have imagined right a lecture answer those like you don’t you don’t even worry about what’s going on in the environment you just do what you do you just focus yeah well that’s pretty much always the way spend because when I first started trying to play blues and all the stuff it was kind of a little bit of it saying it was popular but it wasn’t the big thing I mean if I’d wanted to %HESITATION just to some kind of music that was popular are made more money it would have been that right so I was I’ve pretty much from beginning always kind of followed my heart my dreams and %HESITATION as if it was %HESITATION a drawing or Jimmie Vaughan some kind of art projectors that’s what just for the sake up you know yeah that’s what I love about both masters and founders and following your dream is so many we’ll get fed this box like you gotta do college going to this go to that and then there’s this whole stream that you’re going to follow and at some point people wake up it’s it’ll have to do that I can just do what I want sounds like you from a very young age is kind of how I didn’t know what I was supposed to do Jimmie Vaughan as far as everyone telling me what I was supposed to just do your own thing and %HESITATION so you could almost say that I have an anti career everything is anti you know just a survivor from the very beginning something like that yeah sure makes sense what would your advice be to a young young artist starting today young fourteen year old today well I can I can sort of give you an example when I was a kid mustard bring home %HESITATION records of discovery occurs from my new favorite yeah I whatever it was Freddie came or Eric Clapton or some record I’m fine you know and really love it I would Jimmie Vaughan go home and devour it try to figure out what they were doing and you know dissected and try to figure it out but I imagined myself if I was in the room with all my favorite musicians and we’re having a Randy Randy and it came around to me what the hell was I going to do because I can do what they did I had to do something that was a little bit mind you know right so Jimmie Vaughan I started asking myself what do I do if you do that if you plan instrument out thank it’s probably the same with art or anything riding if you ask your my mother used to call it you’re no war she would say you’ll know in your no and I was like what does that mean you should be like get out get out here and so %HESITATION if you if you whatever it is creative if you ask yourself what is it that I do it’ll start talking to you listen listen to yeah that’s yes well you know that’s part of our creative part of our brain that tells us those things is there if you access and alive yeah info and then you you get more and more thinking about this stuff in it soon soon you can’t do anything else except what you do which is another problem it creates momentum but Jimmie Vaughan you just keep at it if you love something sick it’s good I think it’s good to try and do something that you love because then if you’re not successful you still love it right right so everything is not about money although I like money just merged anybody but %HESITATION is something to be said for doing something you love %HESITATION in your life you know it’s just like you don’t wanna you wanna be with somebody you love right it would be if somebody you don’t like for sure personally speaking you know I’m sure so it’s the same with music or art or %HESITATION anything really did a long your career and I I have a feeling of the answer this but did you feel like you made any mistakes or to just quit all call yeah yeah %HESITATION well I can remember one time %HESITATION we made a couple of records in the Thunderbirds and the record company said you know when you guys did this ten years ago that was really great we need to re redo that one because I I think I can get it on the radio nearly I don’t know that didn’t sound right near like all come owns just you know let’s just try it so a member we did a song that we did before we did over for a new label and the he moved down so I don’t know I don’t it’s it’s it’s it’s tough to always listen to somebody’s supposed to know what right the delicious post listen yourself and and %HESITATION volume pension yeah you need to go do your homework really think about it but cool we’ll sit here and and tones and I know that there’s a little bit of I mean the family and towns and of it’s an amazing family of how did you get involved with with with in terms of this %HESITATION music city culture well we used to when we first started %HESITATION Thunderbirds used to play all around town play on sixth street display %HESITATION at the one night which is right over this cross over here on Red River and we play anywhere but but there’s a couple places we played all the time and then %HESITATION Clifford started coming around we start here in %HESITATION people say yeah there’s this guy named Clifford %HESITATION he likes blues he wants to come over there so we went over there and %HESITATION he said I’m going to open a club we’re gonna have only blues we’re like yeah sure because back then you know it would be all different kinds of bands just like Austin it’s you know it’s always got everything there’s twenty kinds of different bands and and the answer is you think you know what they are there’s another a new car right so %HESITATION I had actually never heard of a place that only had blues unless it was some legendary place in Chicago or Mississippi or something that I’ve never been you know from the fifties or something so so anyway it was true Clifford opened a club called and turns on six street a block over on the corner across from the Driskell and %HESITATION we knew we knew him pretty good him and Susan and all the people pretty good by then %HESITATION this is a couple of years later and %HESITATION so we were like we played every night down there and %HESITATION and he would book his favorite %HESITATION and our favorite blues singers from Chicago or Mississippi or Los Angeles or wherever they lived at the time and and they would come and we’d be the band so he had to be careful because sometimes she would spend all your money on the bar tab you will come in late I didn’t make any money and then make a managing our money but %HESITATION this one anyway we had a great time and we would we play down there almost every night and there were several people that were sort of in the house band they called it and it would depend on %HESITATION who it was that was coming you know where they need to warn store you know if it was more like a low down Chicago type thing or if it was more sophisticated like Bobby bland type thing and so there was with me and bill Campbell and Danny Freeman mostly %HESITATION and they’ll all different horn players we can go on and on and on well but everybody was hanging around %HESITATION that was the end of that so it was it was really a great thing for a for the music you know for us and and we have somewhere to go sounds like a lot of fun it was great speaking of %HESITATION albums we we mentioned right for the show that %HESITATION you’ve you’ve got to let your last album it’s only with all the name of the album is a live it see boys nice little rival club there yes yes and %HESITATION Mike Flanagan it myself and George we played down there %HESITATION most weekends when we’re in town we’re not out with my band or he’s not out doing something with and %HESITATION what we learned a lot of recording over there that’s awesome what number is this with a problem ma’am helps because I have no idea a lot of it’s probably fifteen or twenty I don’t know full congratulations have to go Kalama congratulations on that that thank you it was a lot of fun and it’s it’s a record that we didn’t even it’s not the studio we went next to the studio and but it’s just life this is what we did I have one more question for you regarding passion because I know you’re not able to cars together so %HESITATION I know that is a passion any other questions let’s talk about cars let’s talk about the passions well like I said I always go back to when I was a kid I used to draw cars and I was in the cars before I start playing so all right most parents start our I was crazy because all I thought about was cars and %HESITATION I liked I got it in my head somehow that unlike taught rods and %HESITATION custom cars from the fifties yes I was born in fifty one so when I was five or six years old I started thinking about cars and %HESITATION and I would draw pictures of cars and bill model cars and so when I started playing the guitar I played for a couple of days and I thought from if I really practice on this I can get some money by car so it was always Sir like that carrot hanging out there you know it’s so what what’s but actually reality they’re beautiful things and %HESITATION you know they’re beautiful you can drive a man is there also a way out I just committed some dots you know so girls lead you to music and music legend yeah I know it sounds you know very %HESITATION old time minutes and everything but I mean it is with what else is there do you have a favorite color all I have a whole lot of cars that I really like I like forty fords and thirty two Ford select for July but I like to feel like see Cadillacs and forgot massager relies too so I really like the the thirty scars are hot rod in the fifties mostly fifties era stuff is what I really like just like the music so you know basically what I do is just pretend that I’m doing my favorite stuff so in the used to it and then you did it what advice I think we’re gonna end on that that was a awesome awesome %HESITATION the presidency the also we want to add to our audience and thing else you want to share about your history that we haven’t talked about now I’ve got you on the spot you got me on the spot now I’m drawing a blank %HESITATION will release just by helping others get follow their passion I thank you Sir I just want to say that for me I was not particularly smart in school I wasn’t I could do it all and I did really I made good grades up until I started playing music and then I lost interest you know so I just ran off and follow my dreams I don’t suggest anybody run offer do that but but %HESITATION but music was always %HESITATION magical special thing that it was exciting to me and I wanted it and I wanted to work hard you know to learn about it and still it’s still in my life and I’m still learning I’m still a two guitar lessons hello and %HESITATION I’m still learning and %HESITATION it it changes the whole time when you’re playing you can’t stay the same or you stop so you can always come to you yearning and searching for that next thing you know so I would just say there’s enough people in the world you know I think everybody should try to do what they love or try to find out what they love and then try to do it I know maybe that sounds silly with all the crazy stuff going on in the world but %HESITATION I think your spot on and that’s that’s what I’ve discovered in what I I tend to do in my life is full of my passion and I love what you just said which was which of your you were just telling people to follow with the with with a do but also you’re also continually studying your craft mother what you’re still learning because it’s always a learning process absolutely I mean and plastic it can’t stay the same it has to go somewhere you know it I guess it would be nice if you’re really good all the sudden and you just played the same record over and over you can’t do that you have to keep looking for the next chapter or something well I think globally as humans we have all and as human evolves as human nature’s evolves we have to go along with it and so what I’m hearing you say is you get to a certain point but then you see things change and you want to keep up with it and push forward and push the limits push the envelope yeah I mean I I think that I think have a feel blessed then %HESITATION in a country and in a state that I can do I love hearing that even Jimi ball still takes guitar lessons it proves that there are always ways to evolve learn and improve no matter what our skill level thank you Jimmy for taking the time to speak with me the masters in founders team includes me damn Dillard and producer Mariah gossip special thanks to Ryan Francis Nina Thomas brown a lawyer and the whole team found in Austin if you enjoyed our first show please rate and review us on I tunes as it helps other folks discover the show and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button thanks for listening

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