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Following his much-appreciated, live-streamed, online show on Thursday 26th March, Danny Vaughn is planning another, at the request of his fans, with whom he’s long built up a close relationship: one, he’s acknowledged, that helped him overcome challenges and hardships, like the PledgeMusic problems last year that put his solo album in jeopardy.

Danny’s track record especially touring with that fantastic new solo album ‘Myths, Legends & Lies‘, and with Dan Reed for their joint acoustic project Snake Oil & Harmony, has honed his lifelong love of storytelling, song and contact.

“Isolation is not a good state of affairs for performers,” Danny admits, “We’re an odd group because we are outwardly extroverted but inwardly introverted, if that makes sense? But those two opposites make up a balance that is key to who we are.”

“This,” he adds, “would account for why so many singers and performers are putting up videos of themselves right now: singing for us, sending us messages of encouragement or reading us Shakespeare. We’re doing what we always have done: reaching out to the hearts of others.”

Live performance matters to Danny: “For myself, I knew that if I didn’t sing and play for somebody after 12 days in isolation, I would start to climb the walls. So, I set a date and time, boarded the social media train and got the word out — as fast and as far as I could — that a show was coming.”

“Last Thursday – for a little over two hours – I sang for and connected with over 600 people from at least two dozen different countries! We exchanged greetings, I told stories, people put in requests and there was an unexpectedly deep feeling of community and solidarity: a success on every level! We aren’t alone and we are in this together.”

“The whole thing was so well-received that I have been asked by an overwhelming majority to do it all over again. So here it comes: Thursday, 2nd April — 8pm GMT; 3pm EST; 12 Noon Pacific.”

“These performances are free, but to watch you have to have a Facebook account and go to the page Danny Vaughn’s Myths, Legends & Lies.

“Make some good food, get comfortable on your couch, and put me up on your big screen TV! My wife will be manning the laptop, so you can send in your messages, questions, thoughts – whatever you like — and we will see them.”

Danny has valued many things about the gigs. “I need to acknowledge the incredible generosity of so many people who watched me on Thursday,” he says, “These concerts are free, as I say, but so many of you went to my website and made donations that I felt overwhelmed and humbled.  Thank-you for helping me keep the lights on!  I look forward to sharing another evening with all of you on 2nd April! Thank you all so much! Stay well and stay safe.”

Make a date with Danny Vaughn, and if you didn’t catch his lockdown debut, check out the following link, where you can watch last Thursday’s concert in its entirety:

Stay safe and hold the line!

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Review: Snake Oil & Harmony – Hurricane Riders

Zero One Entertainment (Feb 28th 2020)

Reviewer: Peter Scallan

This is Snake Oil & Harmony’s debut album. When reviewing debut albums there can be a degree of apprehension as to what you are getting. However, with this debut album, it is more about the intrigue of hearing what two seasoned pros such as Danny Vaughn and Dan Reed will come up with! Being a huge fan of both guys in terms of their individual band and solo efforts, the key question for me was, ‘Will the whole be greater than the sum of the parts?’

From the opening bars of ‘The Lines Are Open‘ and lush acoustic guitar you know what you are getting. With the guys trading lead vocals from verse-to-verse and the lush harmonies, the song has distinctive elements of the solo work of both, while creating something original. We move quickly into ‘Last Man Standing‘ with Danny opening the vocals then joined by Dan on harmonies. And what a glorious hook in the chorus.

The emotive ‘Aberfan‘, which is about the 1966 mining disaster in the village of the same name, is next up. While this song sounds more like a Dan Reed solo song, it actually evokes more of a Crowded House/Neil Finn feel and is a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives in that disaster. ‘Dance In The Heart Of The Sun‘ has Latin American undertones to it and could be a great number to dance to! The pace drops a little for ‘Another Reason‘, and it seems to have late sixties vibe to the rhythm and bounces along very nicely indeed. With Dan taking the lead vocals it has a really lush feel to it.

‘Damned If You Do‘ has an obvious country influence with what sounds like lap steel guitar with Danny taking the vocal duties and Dan providing backing and refrains. In structure and melody it has feel reminiscent of early Eagles and to great effect too. The light country stylings continue with the superb ‘Where The Water Goes‘ which has one of the best choruses I have heard in quite some time. Trading lead vocals across the verses seamlessly and equally so in their backing of each other, this epitomises how comfortable these two appear to be musically with each other.

‘Canonball‘ takes the country feel to the next level with some superb Americana playing and arrangements and is Eaglesque for me. We stray back into more straight-forward melodic acoustic material with penultimate track ‘Save The Day‘. It is one of the few tracks with electric guitar and reinforces just how versatile both of these guys are in terms of their musicality. It is fitting that we return to the acoustic feel of the opening song and the trading of lead vocal licks on an almost line-by-line basis. ‘Little Hercules‘ wholly epitomises the sheer class of this album and the lush chorus just reinforces this class further. Superb!

I am sure a whole bunch of people must have thought when these guys started singing together it would be but a fleeting moment in time. As I usually explain when working with a band, if the musicians bear in mind the basic equation of singer = Knob, we should be fine! Let’s face it, two very successful band leaders and solo artists and both sing lead vocals – just how long would it be before the egos kicked in and it ended in disaster?

Wrong! What this album demonstrates is musically and possibly personally how comfortable these two hugely talented gentleman are with each other. If you like the band and solo efforts of these gentlemen then this is absolutely essential. If you’re not that familiar with one or both – this is a superb introduction. The whole is indeed greater than the sum of the parts. Sublime! Just absolutely sublime! Thank you gentleman – I look forward to seeing you at the Glasgow gig.

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Danny Vaughn and Dan Reed are delighted to premiere the lyric video for the lead single from ‘Hurricane Riders‘: their joint project Snake Oil & Harmony’s full-length, debut album.

‘Last Man Standing’ is a glorious track that vividly showcases just how well the two Dans work together. Here, Dan Reed provides the tune (with a super-catchy hook and melody) and Danny Vaughn provides his trademark talent for storytelling in song and honest-yet-uplifting lyrics, whilst the singers’ voices complement each other perfectly.

Dan Reed explains the song’s origins: “‘Last Man Standing’ is one of the tracks on the new album where I had written this track that had no lyrics and passed it over to Danny Vaughn who within days sent it back with this amazing story and in-depth lyrics that captured the mood of the music perfectly and reinforced with immense positivity ‘why’ we were making an album together! Often times on this road called life, we have to wonder if we will metaphorically be the last person standing in different situations, but when it comes to romance and love the stakes are the highest for the heart and soul.”

Danny Vaughn adds this about their process: “From the start, Snake Oil & Harmony has been about collaboration and partnership. It’s very difficult to find two lead singers and their respective bands’ main songwriters who can be completely at ease with one another. ‘Last Man Standing’ illustrates the clockwork of our partnership very well. Dan trusted me with some very evocative music to paint a picture with and the ideas started coming immediately. The whole album is filled with moments where it’s difficult to tell where one man’s work leaves off and the other one picks up.”

Snake Oil & Harmony’s own origins traced back to Reed and Vaughn’s meeting at Download Festival in 2014 as frontmen of their respective bands: Danny Vaughn, as lead vocalist of hard rock band Tyketto) and Dan Reed, fronting funk rockers Dan Reed Network. Recognising kindred spirits, the two decided to combine their talents in a joint project: a live acoustic touring act called Snake Oil & Harmony. This led to two acclaimed tours, where the pair shared their songs, and the stories behind them, with audiences throughout Europe, building a rep for their singing, musicianship and spellbinding rapport with their audiences.

The tours sparked the pair into further creative partnership, kindling their considerable talents as songwriters to create new, original songs, which they added to their repertoire on tour to critical acclaim and their fans’ delight. Now, Snake Oil & Harmony are releasing their debut album, Hurricane Riders Friday 28th February, to coincide with their next tour, which begins in March 2020.

Both artists are thrilled to be taking the album out on the road, along with their respective solo material (with classic Dan Reed Network and Tyketto songs on the bill as well).

Snake Oil & Harmony’s new tour takes in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Austria and other countries between March and early April, and will mark the group’s debuts in cities like Stockholm and Göteborg in Sweden.

For a limited time, you can pre-order the first Snake Oil & Harmony album at Townsend Music. Pre-orders will be taken from now until Feb 3 and all those who purchase in advance will receive their copies by Valentine’s Day!

Pre-order link

https://snakeoilandharmony.tmstor.es/

UK Tour Dates

March 12: Putney, London, The Half Moon

March 13: Milton Keynes, The Craufurd Arms

March 14: Sheffield, Local Authority @ The Corporation

March 15: Newcastle Upon Tyne, The Cluny

March 17: Chester, The Live Rooms

March 18: Bristol, The Fleece

March 20: Aberdare, Wales, Jacs

March 21: Stoke On Trent, Eleven

March 22: Bilston, The Robin 2

March 24: Blackpool, The Waterloo

March 25: Glasgow, Cottiers Theatre

March 27: Manchester, Night People

March 28: Ballymena, NI, The Diamond

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Five years ago, Danny Vaughn (lead vocalist of Tyketto) and Dan Reed (frontman of funk rockers Dan Reed Network) decided to combine their talents in a joint project: a live acoustic touring act called Snake Oil & Harmony.

The project led to two acclaimed tours, where they shared their songs and the stories behind them with audiences throughout Europe, building a rep for their singing, musicianship and spellbinding rapport with their audiences.
The tours sparked the pair into further creative partnership, kindling their considerable talents to create new, original songs, which they added to their repertoire on tour. Now, Snake Oil & Harmony are releasing their debut album, ‘Hurricane Riders‘ on Friday 28 Feb, 2020 on Zero One Entertainment, to coincide with their next tour, which begins in March 2020.

“I first met Dan Reed at the Download Festival in 2014 and felt an immediate affinity,” says Danny Vaughn, “Similar to myself, he has built a reputation as a strong acoustic performer. That prompted me to ask him if he would be interested in doing a tour together. We started planning right there backstage. We named the project ‘Snake Oil & Harmony’ and it was evident from the audience’s reaction to the very first show that we were on to something special.”

Likewise Dan Reed recalls their first encounter at Download, “We were sharing the same stage. Tyketto was on right before us and blew us away.”
“We met after our set,” he adds, “and it immediately felt like a kinship was forming from our first words together. Not long after Download, Danny reached out to me to do an acoustic tour together, and I jumped right on board.” 

Danny and Dan recognised an immediate sense of kinship and chemistry. “It is not a given that, just because two people can sing, they can sing well together,” Danny Vaughn reflects, “But we were immediately creating a sound that everyone saw as special. Add to that the variety of stories, jokes and cartoon voices each of us does and you get a unique alchemy that creates a show that is never the same twice.”

Under the Snake Oil & Harmony banner, the two Dans undertook two extensive live tours and made also critically-acclaimed appearances at many festivals, plus the ‘Monsters of Rock Cruise‘ in America, playing a wide variety of songs from their respective solo careers, and from their bands: Dan Reed Network and Tyketto.

“People began to ask if we were going to try and write any songs together,” recalls Danny Vaughn, “So we wrote our first song, ‘Where The Water Goes‘, and played it on our next tour to see what our audience would make of it. The reaction was overwhelming and unanimous: it was time to make an album!”

Dan Reed agrees, “After a couple really wonderful tours and receiving such positive feedback from the audiences on how our voices worked well together we decided to experiment and write a song together for the third tour we were about to embark on, to give the audience something different the third time around. I sent Danny a piece of music I had recently recorded but had no vocals. He sent it back within a very short period of time with a completely finished lyric and melody that I simply adored and flowed with the music perfectly! The scene was then set for us to keep on going.”

These steps and synergy took Snake Oil & Harmony from the live stage to the studio as well, and would lead to recording their full-length album, ‘Hurricane Riders‘, in Prague (where Dan Reed now dwells), at the legendary ‘Faust Studios’.

Danny Vaughn describes their creative process in this way: “Dan took the helm on this idea and the experience of writing and recording ‘Hurricane Riders’ with him as producer and overall lightning rod has been fantastic. I think it’s the perfect blend of our differing styles and exactly what our fans are waiting to hear. I’m very excited about this new chapter in our history together and I think everyone else is going to love it too.”

Naturally, the album features Vaughn and Reed on vocals and guitars, but it also brings on board Bengt Jonasson on bass and Robert Mehmet Sinan Ikiz on the drums —  “our bad ass Swedish musical brothers” as Dan Reed calls them!
“I have been blessed to work with so many great musicians on this musical journey,” Reed goes on to say, “I really can’t wait for people to hear what Danny Vaughn and I have concocted for everyone’s listening pleasure! We strove to make an album rooted in the 70’s with a focus on storytelling and live musicianship… and feel we achieved that goal in spades!”
“I can’t wait for everyone to hear the album and looking forward to what people think and feel about this album!”

‘Hurricane Riders‘ will be released Feb 28th 2020, to coincide with Snake Oil & Harmony‘s next live dates. Both artists are thrilled to be taking the brand-new album they have created together out on the road, along with their respective solo material, plus classic Dan Reed Network and Tyketto songs on the bill. Snake Oil & Harmony gigs showcase the unique chemistry and kinship of two master singers, songwriters and storytellers, not to mention infectious melodies and thought-provoking lyrics.

For a limited time, you can pre-order the first Snake Oil & Harmony album at Townsend Music. Pre-orders will be taken from now until Feb 3 and all those who purchase in advance will receive their copies by Valentine’s Day!

Pre-order link

https://snakeoilandharmony.tmstor.es/

UK Tour Dates:

March 12: Putney, London, The Half Moon

March 13: Milton Keynes, The Craufurd Arms

March 14: Sheffield, Local Authority @ The Corporation

March 15: Newcastle Upon Tyne, The Cluny

March 17: Chester, The Live Rooms

March 18: Bristol, The Fleece

March 20: Aberdare, Wales, Jacs

March 21: Stoke On Trent, Eleven

March 22: Bilston, The Robin 2

March 24: Blackpool, The Waterloo

March 25: Glasgow, Cottiers Theatre

March 27: Manchester, Night People

March 28: Ballymena, NI, The Diamond

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To celebrate the announcement of their new album Dan Reed Network are also extremely proud to share the first single ‘Fade To Light‘ with a music video they feel encapsulates the whole experience of recording ‘Origins‘.

“The video for ‘Fade To Light‘ is taken from the inaugural live studio recording session at Blueprint Studios in Manchester and is the perfect microcosm for this entire process. What I think really translates throughout is how having an audience in the room fed the band with a unique energy that pushed us to expand our creative horizons. We’re thrilled with the results,” explains Dan Reed.

While recording the album DRN opened the studio doors to the public and invited them in to be a part of an exclusive series of recording sessions that spanned the globe with tracks that would eventually become Origins recorded at Blueprint Studio’s in Manchester, The Power Station in NYC, Nia Studios in Portland Oregon and finally Studio 4 in Stockholm.

The concept allowed supporters of the band to intimately witness the whole process of recording a brand new song from scratch with the band individually tracking drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and vocals before inviting the audience to participate and provide backing vocals for the song as can be seen in the brand new video for ‘Fade To Light‘. The audience were also witness to a classic Dan Reed Network being re-imagined right before their eyes.

Tracklisting:
1. Fade to Light
2. Ritual
3. Right in Front of Me
4. Forgot to Make Her Mine
5. Shameless
6. Let it Go
7. One Last Time
8. Rainbow Child

Tracks 1 & 2 recorded in Manchester, 3 & 4 in NYC, 5 & 6 in Portland and 7 & 8 in Stockholm

 

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Review: Snake Oil and Harmony

Borderline London March 3rd 2018

Reviewer: Dan Mann

The Snake Oil and Harmony Tour is now on it’s third outing, with messers Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) and Dan Reed (Dan Reed Network) presenting an intimate, stripped back experience stretched over two hours.

After experiencing Snake Oil and Harmony for the first time, my immediate reaction was why only two hours!

I was so drawn into not only the music itself, played on acoustic guitars, which covered songs from across DV & DR’s wide and varied careers, but also the stories, some of them quite personal, and the general banter between the two performers and the audience.

It was pretty obvious the audience were made up of Tyketto and Dan Reed Network etc fans, who sang along with much gusto to the delight of DV & DR. All of which just added to the overall experience.

One things for certain, I’ll be buying tickets again at the earliest opportunity.

 

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Dan Reed Network are pleased to confirm they will be special guest on Extreme’s December 2017 UK tour.

The O2 Pre-sale starts Wednesday, 2 August at 9am, followed by a Live Nation Pre-sale on Thursday 3 August at 9am. Tickets go on sale to the general public from livenation.co.uk and www.ticketmaster.co.uk on Friday 4 August at 9am.

All cylinders are furiously firing, Dan Reed Network are back all guns blazing. With the recent release of their critically acclaimed album ‘Fight Another Day‘ safely in their pockets, the band have indulged Europe and the States in a fiery return to the touring circuit.

“DRN is honoured to be touring with Extreme this December in the UK,” says Dan Reed. “The funk rock scene of the late 80’s early 90’s was an exciting, inventive era in the music scene and to be sharing the stage with one of a handful of bands that championed that movement will be nothing but good times on stage for us, and a raucous experience for the audience. This tour promises to be an adrenaline fueled evening of soaring melodies, infectious grooves and a party atmosphere that we in the band are truly excited about being a part of, and we are tremendously grateful to be on the road with such a talented and innovative band. Time to funk it up big time!”

Extreme December UK Tour
Special Guests Dan Reed Network
Book online – livenation.co.uk and www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Newcastle O2 Academy Wednesday 13 December
Glasgow O2 Academy                    Thursday 14 December
Leeds O2 Academy                         Saturday 16 December
Birmingham O2 Academy            Sunday 17 December
Bristol O2 Academy                        Monday 18 December
London O2 Academy Brixton      Wednesday 20 December

Official Website

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Dan Reed’s fourth solo album ‘Confessions’ will be available for worldwide pre-order through the Dan Reed Store from Wednesday 5th July, before it is officially released on Friday 15th September.

The new album will coincide with Dan’s intimate solo tour in beautiful settings which kicks off at London’s St. Pancras Old Church on Thursday 14th September. Tickets for Dan’s solo tour can be booked from www.ticketsource.co.uk/dan-reed-confessions.

Each of the UK solo concerts will be filmed and recorded for an upcoming live DVD compilation.  Everyone ticket buyer in the UK will receive a free DVD download in September.

The official music video for first single ‘Smile’ will be premiered on Monday 14th August. A limited edition run of 100 signed copies of the single ‘Smile’ on 7” cream coloured vinyl is now available for pre-order before it is officially released on Friday 1st September. The single includes a second track ‘Lift You Up’ on the B-Side. Pre-order the single from the Dan Reed Store.

For ‘Confessions‘, Dan wanted to create a genuine solo album to push his own comfort zone as a keyboardist and guitarist, creating something entirely from self-expression. Reed performed all the live instruments and vocals, and also programmed the beats and synth parts.

The album features special guest appearances by guitarists Rob Daiker, Geoff Tyson and Martin Tidmarsh.

Dan Reed – ‘Confessions’ – Solo September 2017 UK Tour

Book Online – www.ticketsource.co.uk 

London, St. Pancras Old Church                                 Thursday 14 September

Manchester, Sacred Trinity Church Salford          Friday 15 September (SOLD OUT)

Newcastle, The Cluny 2                                                 Saturday 16 September

Nottingham, Greyhound Beeston                            Sunday 17 September (SOLD OUT)

Photo Credit: © The Margo

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Crammed into a hot and sweaty 100 Club on a Friday night, the evening’s entertainment was kicked off in fine style by British melodic rockers Vega.

photo by Eric Duvet Photography

Having seen them a few times over the years, I kind of knew what to expect. However, I was wrong……….the band kicked things up not one notch, but three or four! Vocalist Nick Workman‘s voice just seems to get better and better and he and the rest of the band were truly on fine form.

The enthusiastic crowd sang along to every track and the band could quite easily have performed for a couple of hours. They certainly deserve to be headlining Festivals in my humble opinion.

And so to the headliners, Dan Reed Network. I was fortunate enough to have seen them the first three times they visited these shores, including the awesome, more than capacity crowd gig at the sorely missed Marquee.

Dan Reed announced that they would be ‘starting slow’. This ‘announcement was said with a twinkle in the eye, the band launching into their performance with boosters firmly on full power.

We were barely into the set when minutes after I was chatting to Nathan James (Inglorious) in the crowd , he took to the stage for a ‘duet’ with Dan Reed & Co of Kiss track ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’. The crowd lapping it up, the vibe already firmly set that it was time to get into the groove and let the music take you along for the ride.

photo by Eric Duvet Photography

It’s wonderful to hear so many favorites live once again, from the superb ‘Get To You‘ through to ‘Cruise Together‘. The on stage banter and camaraderie of the band is something that makes you smile from ear to ear. Dan Reed announcing he’s Trump, and issuing an ‘executive order’ to guitarist extraordinaire Brion James to play some Steely Dan, Brion rising to the challenge with a rendition of ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’ accompanied by Dan proceeding to eat his own t-shirt!

The crowd were actively encouraged to get involved, either singing along to ‘Seven Sisters Road’ or shouting requests.

photo by Eric Duvet Photography

We were treated to keyboardist Rob Daiker taking to the guitar to perform one of his solo songs, ‘All For A Kiss’, which I’ve got to say was fantastic, and just highlights the overflowing talent this band has.

You can tell the professionalism of a band by how they act when gremlins affect the sound or equipment. Strange buzzing caused Dan Reed to initially ‘accuse’ the master of the bass line, Melvin Brannon, of having a faulty amp. All taken in good jest and the vibe didn’t drop 1%, the crowd laughing along.

The highlight for me was ‘Champion‘ from their latest album ‘Fight Another Day‘. It caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up and reinforced the fact that the passage of time has done nothing to reduce the impact this band has, either recorded or live!

Overall, this is going to be a hard evening to beat this year, both bands giving us a performance to relish and remember.