Local rock band Vago will release their first full-length CD "Over Moons and Heavy Arms" this Saturday at the Waiting Room. The new disc isn't a departure of style for the band, but a snapshot of how far the band has come in their musicianship, their songwriting and recording. The band has been playing the live stages of Omaha and touring regionally and nationally for close to seven years now. The band released their first CD, "The Mariachi EP," in 2004. I met up with singer and guitarist Daniel Burns, bassist Thomas Burns and drummer Lee Gambrel recently to discuss the album, the changes in the Omaha music scene and what the future holds for the band.
The album is full of songs with multiple meanings, including the title, and the band was cautious to not give those away to me, or to at least go "off the record" with their revelations. I asked the band specifically about the title of the album, which is a lyric from the opening track on the album, "American Joe."
Daniel Burns said: "That line kind of grabs the whole concept and the whole idea of how we approach lyrics. They are about something very specific, but they are interpreted, which is the kind of music that we like to listen to." When pressed for a lyrical theme on the album, Daniel simply stated, "You know how Omaha is drastically different than it was 10 years ago, but it is still the same? It all kind of wraps around that stuff. Any record is autobiographical, but growing up in Omaha and watching the scene grow is really present in us." Daniel Burns' brother Thomas then added, "It not's a concept record, but there is a theme to it. Most of the songs have multiple meanings. Songs that can be deciphered, but don't have to be."
The theme of the album became a little more clear when I asked the band about some of the songs that stand out to them personally. Thomas Burns opined, "I like 'Cowboy'. It's a little bit about how the record is made in a way. It's about songwriting." For Daniel Burns it was "The Water."
"It captures the whole thing of the record. It's kind of that love-hate that a lot of us have in the Midwest. When you are young you hate Omaha, but now it is kind of cool. Getting a new perspective on where you are at."
"Vine To The Sky" is the song that Gambrel chose. "It's just like, 'Oh I play music because I love it,' but you still have that little pipe dream of being on a bus and making a living at what you do. It's that dream that we all have."
The band recorded the CD locally at Bassline studios, but spent many months prior demo-ing the record at home. Daniel Burns explained, "This album took a lot more time. We did it once at home. We put a lot of thought into our song selection."
Thomas Burns adds: "We went out to make it less polished, to make it sound more like us." Daniel also took the time in-between albums to grow as a musician, spending some time with local guitar legend Storm Rhodes. "I took guitar lessons for the first time in my life since the last record," he said. "I knew I had learned stuff, but I didn't think it made a difference. Tom thought it did. Lee thought it did. Then I listened to both records back to back, and realized it did make difference."
The band hired a college radio promoter for the "Maricahi EP" to successful results and plan to run a bigger campaign for this album. The band was surprised by the reaction and amount of Web traffic they got from the campaign. "I always try to minimize it." Daniel Burns said. "But it's college kids, and those are the people on the block that are into music."
Thomas adds, "We don't fall into the typical indie band sound. We were kind of surprised that it was the college crowd that we connected with." The band seems motivated by that response and plan to tour more frequently, record more EPs, and even "put out something that no other local rock band has done before." You can see what else that band has up their sleeve this Saturday at the Waiting Room when they celebrate the release of "Over Moons And Heavy Arms" with special guests Sleep Said the Monster, Ten O' Clock Scholars and Korey Anderson.