Shining Stars

Vaughan Garrett

Songwriter, keyboardist, trumpeter, audio engineer and producer, video producer, and studio designer.

In second grade my mother gave me the choice, “Vaughan, you can either do the dishes or take piano lessons. Which one would you like to do?” So mom took me to piano lessons for four years! (I eventually learned how to do the dishes too lol.) Given the opportunity to join the middle school band, I chose the coronet. Lucky me because the coronet often carries the melody which enabled my future songwriting style. I played the trumpet in the South Garland High School Band and Jazz Ensemble. Years of hearing the Baptist church choir during services tuned my head to angelic music and layered vocals. It was then I found the Lord and the Lord found me. Seasonally I sang in church and school choirs.

At 18 I began hearing original music in my head, thus my focus was on songwriting. Dad bought me a Moog Opus 3 keyboard and Tascam reel-to- reel which provided me a way to record my ideas.

On to the University of North Texas, I studied Radio/TV/Film and got a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications. I brought my small studio with me to my apartment and recorded my original music in my free time and polished my sonic craft.

Following college my 35 year career was held at my family business, Garrett Metal Detectors, an internationally successful business created by my parents, Charles and Eleanor Garrett. Many of the years I produced instructional videos on products and documented treasure hunting travels and corporate participation in the Olympic games on multiple occasions.

The latter years at Garrett I became Vice President of Marketing Communications for the company supervising the internet and marketing.

Recording and song writing music never ceased during my tenure at Garrett, and many songs were written and sometimes recorded in an after-hours fashion at my private studios.

Upon retirement in 2022, my focus quickly reverted to music full-time.

The numerous songs which compiled during the past 35 years have now begun to see the light of tomorrow. My group, the Deepseekers, has the mission now to record and release the stockpile of songs for the world to hear and experience. The Lord has blessed me with the gift of song and the smarts to record it. Both Cory and Sean have joined the Deepseekers with purpose and enthusiasm to carry forth the completion of songs that matter in this universe, and I am thankful for them.

Cory Helms

Electric, acoustic, and bass guitars, keyboards, percussion, and production enhancements

My journey as a guitar player began at the age of 11. My older brother had taken a few guitar lessons and I was a bit intrigued when hearing the Sweet Child O’ Mine intro and The Munsters theme being hashed out in his room. He put it away after only a few lessons so I eventually grabbed the “Memphis” pearl white Strat copy from under his bed and proceeded to try and figure out how to make some sort of listenable sound with it. Soon after, the flood of new discoveries would come: Nirvana, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, and tons more. I never had any formal lessons so I developed my ear by trying to imitate everything I was hearing on the radio and seeing on TV.

Once I could navigate my way around the fretboard and could comfortably learn songs by ear, I began teaching lessons and playing in some garage and living room bands. In addition to the guitar, I also play the keyboard, bass, drums and auxiliary percussion.

I formed an instrumental duo with my best friend in high school called Professional Juice. I would always describe the style as Danny Elfman playing Nintendo with Chick Corea and Frank Zappa. I initially just wanted to make music for video games and movies, so this was the perfect vehicle for that. It was this project where I taught myself how to compose music, program keyboards/synthesizers, use sequencers, drum machines, workstations and DAWs.

Through the years, I’ve played with several other artists and bands including: The Chemistry Set, Rahim Quazi, Tony Williams, Back in Black, the Polyphonic Spree and more. Some career highlights would be: touring the world, Byron Bay in Australia, the Isle of Wight, the Tonight Show.

Sean McCurley

Drums and Percussion and all around cool-cat

I loved music class in elementary school and it was there on ‘show and tell’ days that I got to hear albums that other students would bring and play their favorite songs. That inspired me to start checking out the FM radio stations that began forming my taste in music. I would save my weekly allowance, ride my bike up to the local record store and buy the albums of the artists I loved hearing on the radio. The beat was such a strong and important component of the music and it really spoke to me. I had ‘make shift ’materials that I used for drum sticks and drums and would play along to my records as well as the radio.

In the 6th grade I got a real snare drum and my first Zildjian crash cymbal. I made a practice room out of my closet and, the second I was done with my chores and my schoolwork, I was in there bashing away! In middle school I participated in the band all 3 years and in high school I marched snare in the drum line all 4 years and was the drum captain my senior year. My Grandma bought me my first drum set my freshman year and I started playing in the jazz band when I was a sophomore and that’s where I began to read drum set music. This was also around the time when I met Vaughan. We bonded over our love for great music!

During my Junior year, that jazz band entered a regional jazz competition and won! That victory garnered us an invitation to perform at the prestigious Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. That was the proverbial bug from which I was bitten! Two years later I earned a full music scholarship to college though I only attended briefly because that summer I had the privilege to study with Chuck Mangione’s drummer in New York for a week. That gave me the inspiration to get better and get closer to my goal of becoming a professional drummer. I began to immerse myself in the music scene by going out every night to check out players who inspired me, which also lead to ‘sitting in’ and having my chance to be heard.

I’m so blessed to have had so many incredible musical opportunities and have gotten the chance to play (and/or record) with SO many legends. (Paul Anka, LeeAnn Rimes, George Duke, Kirk Whalum, Andy Timmons, to name a few) I’m also deeply honored to be fully supported by Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and Remo Drum Heads.

How The Stars Aligned

In Vaughan’s Words

Sean was introduced to me through a friend at South Garland High School in 1982. Seniors typically don’t hang out with the freshmen but Sean was different. He was an up and coming “cool cat” that played a mean kit, and had great taste in music. We hit it off right away and I introduced him to deep cuts from hot bands like Rush and Genesis. He listened to music on my new Magneplanar loudspeakers and was just as impressed as I was with their detailed wall of sound. Sean joined the South Garland band and later Jazz ensemble and went on to achieve greatness. In 2017 Sean reached out to say hello and his timing was perfect (ba-da-boom) as I needed a drummer for a Garrett Metal Detectors video project and we rekindled our friendship. Soon Sean was laying down tracks on the songs I was creating and became the drummer for the Deepseekers.

In 2018 I was looking for a guitar, a Strat type, and found much more. I responded to a Craigslist ad and that’s how I met Cory. I purchased the guitar, plus I became his student and took private lessons from him. I originally thought I could lay down the guitar parts myself but he had the skills and a similar mindset as I about making music. We hit it off and it was then I asked him to lay down guitar and bass on a batch of new songs. His style and energy aligned with mine and he was perfect for the mission. He soon joined the Deepseekers and has become a steady force in the production process and understands the vision.

How The Stars Aligned

In Vaughan’s Words

Sean was introduced to me through a friend at South Garland High School in 1982. Seniors typically don’t hang out with the freshmen but Sean was different. He was an up and coming “cool cat” that played a mean kit, and had great taste in music. We hit it off right away and I introduced him to deep cuts from hot bands like Rush and Genesis. He listened to music on my new Magneplanar loudspeakers and was just as impressed as I was with their detailed wall of sound. Sean joined the South Garland band and later Jazz ensemble and went on to achieve greatness. We lost touch through the years but in 2017 Sean reached out to say hello and his timing was perfect (ba-da-boom) as I needed a drummer for a Garrett Metal Detectors video project and we rekindled our friendship. Soon Sean was laying down tracks on the songs I was creating and became the drummer for the Deepseekers.

In 2018 I was looking for a guitar, a Strat type, and found much more. I responded to an ad on Craigslist and that’s how I met Cory. I purchased the guitar, plus I became his student and took private guitar lessons from him. I originally thought I could lay down the guitar parts myself but he had the skills and a similar mindset as I about making music. We hit it off and it was then I asked him to lay down guitar and bass on a batch of new songs. His style and energy aligned with mine and he was perfect for the mission. He soon joined the Deepseekers and has become a steady force in the production process and understands the vision.

Shooting Stars

Brian McKenzie – Photography

Alan Ray – Cinematography

Miguel Ardito – Web

Justin Rivera – Audio Assistance

DEEPSEEKERS

DEEPSEEKERS

Shining Stars

How The Stars Aligned

How The Stars Aligned

Shooting Stars

DEEPSEEKERS