Vaughn Dollinger

I grew up under the San Fernando Valley sun, listening to my Russian mother blast Enya, Loreena McKennitt and Madonnas Immaculate Collection on repeat. I started taking voice lessons at age six and continued my training in classical and musical theatre up to and throughout high school, at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. While all my friends were applying to conservatories, I started to question my passion for a career in opera. I happened to stumble upon Blue by Joni Mitchell and immediately fell in love. It was at that point I decided to become a songwriter.

After high school, I started attending Musicians Institute as a voice major, but soon found my songwriting stymied because my guitar playing couldnt keep up. With the bravery of those who dont know better, I enrolled and completed the Guitar Performance Program instead, where I cut my teeth on Jazz and Blues. After gaining experience in several different collaborative projects and cover bands, I sat down to write Philosophy of Nice. I wrote twenty songs initially and performed them all over Los Angeles for about a year.

The Pacific Northwest was calling my name, so I decided to leave Los Angeles for Portland, Oregon. During my two years in Portland, I joined the band VTRN and performed extensively for a year. Funny enough, I also acquired a knack for fire spinning. After VTRNs second album, the band dissipated and I decided to move back to the LA sunshine.

Upon returning, I have refined the original twenty songs to five and self-released my debut EP, Philosophy of Nice, which is attached to this EPK.